As Thyself by Nia
Almost every woman can relate to having to rediscover life after heartbreak. For some of us that heartbreak happens very young; in her case, she was very young. The abandonment by her father and the death of her grandfather shaped her in a way she did not discover until she was well into her twenties. She never desired to express how it made her feel, because she knew she had to be strong for her family, so like many girls, she carried her pain and frustration. But like with many things in nature what you bury, eventually grows.
Nia Jovan Andrews, 37, is re-releasing her memoirs "As Thyself" by Nia. The book journeys through her life experiences, showing how she took the failures, heartbreak and disappointments as opportunities to become a better person. "As Thyself" by Nia chronicles many of Nia’s personal experiences that helped her get to a place where she realized that she needed to self-evaluate to live her life self-aware, gaining an understanding that what she brings to any situation or relationship can affect the temperature of that experience. She says, “Many young adults will not take ownership over what they bring, because sometimes they don’t realize that they’re operating in bad behaviors, because they won’t dig deep enough to recognize their issues; that was me!” She added, “I thought I was right about everything, I was very close-minded, selfish and hungry for success, which is a recipe for disaster. I needed to be saved from myself (lol). I see many of my peers on that same path and if I can help them in their early twenties, great, but I see them over thirty making some of the mistakes I made when I was twenty, especially in romantic relationships, I mean, that is still a work-in-progress, but since I became more open-minded, I’m not making decisions with bad information.”
This memoir will reveal many of those moments where she was operating in immaturity and then she will share the lesson and the areas that she had to evaluate to get the lesson, then apply it to her life now.
Excerpt from the Introduction:
“My story does not start here, but surely this example began a self-examination; I went through a very emotional break-up. Not emotional because the person I was engaged to did anything wrong, but emotional because after being disappointed, I had to do some soul searching. I had to evaluate why I allowed that relationship to go as far as to being engaged when I knew it was not compatible for marriage.”
Nia has written a number of articles in her magazine addressing these issues for her peers and other young adults, like “Manifested Behavior; Buried Issues” & “Building Healthy Unions” (Rebel Issue 2013) “Overcoming Rejection” & “Discerning Motives in Dating” (Unbox Me Issue 2014). Along with BlogTalkRadio on topics like, “They meant well but...: Good Deeds.” All the topics that she has been focusing on along with this new memoir “As Thyself” allows the reader to see the importance of personal ownership, accountability and mostly self-love. She believes that it is not impossible to love thy neighbor as thyself if you do not love yourself, but she believes that if you can see the value in yourself and your purpose you can learn to appreciate the same in others and begin to treat them “As Thyself.”
About author: A graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Journalism/Magazine Article Writing, and in 2017 she completed a Masters of Jurisprudence in Intellectual Property at The John Marshall Law School Chicago, now University of Chicago in Illinois Law School. She works as a content strategist consultant and is managing editor and news analyst through Jones Publishing & Enterprises, LLC.
About Publisher: Jones Publishing & Enterprises, LLC. (JP&E) is a product and corporate services boutique that houses published works, provides services in Intellectual Property Management, Licensing, and Contract Negotiations; and conducts workshops that promote business growth. We're equipped to provide business services for the expansion of business brands through licensing and consulting on registrations/intellectual property (business, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets) for start-up ideas and new businesses. Consulting on communication strategy for various project-specific content in healthcare and public health. We support teams in building out communications plans that get media interviews, published articles, and product placement.
As Thyself by Nia
As Thyself by Nia
Relationships Part 3: God's Love
Relationship Talk Part 2: Romantic Love
Relationships: Self Love
Author Q&A
Why did you title your book “As Thyself?”
It’s from the Bible verse, “Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself.” I’ve heard so many sermons, read many articles and lessons on Love Thy Neighbor, but I wanted to find a way to focus on self-love. I wanted to explore that understanding from a biblical position. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” was Jesus’ second command and we always hear it I think with others in mind, but I think it included the ability to love yourself as well as others.
What made you want to write a book about self-love?
I had to get there. I had to get to a place where I loved everything about me. Not that I was taught not to love myself. I was just shaped by so many experiences and most of those experiences came from making moves with bad information, so I had to dig deep to find out what I learned wrong to remove it, what I learned properly to enhance it, and what I did not learn at all to learn it. That all started with learning who God created me to be.
How did you decide which stories to share from your experiences?
The ones that had the most impact. The ones that caused me to dig and evaluate. I’m not that old so most of the stories happened in my 20’s and they stemmed from childhood brokenness and I was able to connect the experiences to the buried hurt.
How long have you been a writer?
All my life. I was born to do this. I’m still growing as a storyteller, but I can remember being very small and sitting against a closed bedroom door escaping by writing in my mickey mouse journal. I’ve always been able to express my thoughts better through written word. There’s a joy I cannot get from anything else like when I write. Excitement, eagerness, happiness, imagination, and recollection all hit me at once. It’s a great feeling.
When did you discover you were a good writer?
I don’t think that I am “good” I feel like I’m okay and growing. I recall two moments when I knew I was really called to do this. Once, in sixth grade when the teacher would always use my papers as examples to the class, then again my senior year in high school when the teacher read my paper aloud calling it perfect. After that I knew it would be a long journey to me becoming a great writer, but I believe I am on my way.
What have you had published prior to this book?
I have two guide books "Shattered by Violence; Mended by God," an administrative guide, but mostly articles. I have spent years working on my craft and cultivating my thoughts and plans, so I started my magazine. I never wanted a big company to benefit from my hard work and debt accumulated from investing in my higher education. Nor, have I wanted to water down my message. So, i’ve written freelance for a few publications, but I am most proud of the articles I have written for my own publication, because I wrote from my heart in my truth. I can recall writing an article about celibacy, but it was really about choosing to abstain, but the publisher did not have a full understanding of what celibacy is and the commitment it required. I wrote the article from the perspective of the publisher, but it still bothers me because I feel like I failed in truly educating people when I knew better. That’s one article, I could not imagine feeling that way with an entire portfolio of work. I have few, but I’m proud of my work, because it’s me, my truths and transparency.
Is that why you decided to self-publish?
Absolutely. I could not see it any other way. I don’t like being lied to or told someone is capable of doing something for my dreams that I cannot do for myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fine being taught or mentored, but I don’t believe in other people controlling my vision. I understand some people don’t have time, so they need publishers, but I decided to make time, because I am tied to the entire idea of writing and publishing is the biggest part, so I wanted to master that part for myself.
Will there be another book?
Ehhhh...I don’t know yet. I really want to spend some time focusing on my magazine and making it a community go to publication for a source of impartation on current cultural spirituality through accounts of everyday people. We are suppose to be living epistles I want to capture that. I started a piece about a prostitute in the magazine, so I might turn that into a fiction novel, but I haven’t decided yet.