We’re looking forward to introducing you to Micki Berthelot Morency. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Micki, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Have you stood up for someone when it cost you something?
A- As a Haitian immigrant living LEGALLY in Florida as an American citizen, I’m in a unique position to speak and act on behalf of my immigrant brothers and sisters who are living with temporary and ambiguous statuses. People are losing faith and trust. Even those of us with citizenship are fearful of repercussions, but I recently stepped in to help a family with making decisions that involve me assuming a major role in the lives of their American-born children in the event that the parents are deported back to Haiti. In my retirement, I’m very active with traveling overseas and with my book events. How do I change my life to accommodate these elementary-aged children? How can I not, when the parents share with me that they’re able to sleep better knowing that their kids will not end up with the state of Florida to raise them, because I volunteer to reunite them with their parents by taking them to Haiti or wherever the parents happen to be.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am the middle child of a Haitian family of seven and grew up fighting to be seen and heard, a need that fostered my drive to write about my life experiences. I graduated from Northeastern University (Boston) and later The Institute for Writers. My brand is my life as an author, a mother/grandmother, a wife, a sibling, a friend, a community volunteer, and the way I show up every day as someone who straddles dual cultures that define my life in America as I live under many acquired identities and labels.
To read my books/writings is to have a front row seat to my Haitian-American experience and witness the many ways I embrace, condemn, defend, cherish, deny, explain, and present my countries. The one that birthed me and the one that made me who I am today.
I had a career in banking and later in the social services industry where I found my calling. From January 2022 to January 2024, I was the Vice President of DEI at Women Fiction Writers Association.
Currently, I write fulltime. I am the author of two novels: THE ISLAND SISTERS and I SHALL FIND YOU. Through my writings, I aim to educate, entertain and tackle uncomfortable truths. I have won many writing contests; the most notable one was published in the Writer’s Digest magazine contest in 2020. I am working on book #3.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My papa. As I grew taller than my oldest brother, my three sisters and almost rivaled my other two brothers in height at five foot ten, I wanted to disappear underground. I wanted to be average to fit in.
Papa saw my distress at an early age and told me that no one remembers “average” but that no one forgets a tall, beautiful, confident and intelligent woman who walks in the door. Sure enough, he was right. I would not want to change anything about me, especially my height.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I almost gave up on publishing my books after my first submissions did not land a home. I remembered being told that I could not write for publication in English which was my third language. But then, I remembered how my ancestors did not give up in fighting for freedom from our colonizers, so I persevered. I set out to prove them wrong.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
That our elders are not disposable once they can no longer produce anything material. They are to be revered for
their contributions, their resources, and their presence among us. In my culture we don’t have a word for “senior facilities..”
Even in America, we care for our elders at home for as long as possible.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
Lately, when I’m spending time with my 3-year-old granddaughter. Her innocence anchors me and gives me hope.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mickimorency.com
- Instagram: @mickimorency3588
- Linkedin: Micki Berthelot Morency
- Twitter: @mickimorency
- Facebook: Micki Berthelot Morency
Image Credits
Micki Berthelot Morency
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