Hesitations

Hesitations is a book of poetry and reflections that captures the journey of the author, Sheena Graham, as she breaks the cycle of hesitating. Her father spent his life wondering if his hesitation had cost his mom her life. The words he spoke as he lay on his deathbed made Sheena wonder about the role hesitating played in her own life. It was larger than she imagined. Divided into six chapters, "Hesitations" is the first step in her journey towards healing. Being in a constant state of hesitancy and pausing before deciding, acting, or choosing anything is draining. The included pieces range her struggles from age thirteen to the present and are not in any special order because, on any given day, they may represent a current struggle. She is still a work in progress who realizes owning her emotions is the only way she will ever move forward.

"It is the ink flowing from the pen that rescues me again and again." Sheena Graham spent years "afraid to cry or admit that her tears, her dreams, and her fears, were real," except when writing. After close to forty years in education of readily sharing original musicals, poetry, and songs she is beginning to publish her personal works.

Sheena's original pieces have been performed at the Westport Playhouse in CT, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. 2018, and the White House 2014 and 2016. She has been featured in the book "Notable Valley African Americans," received the Beard Excellence in Teaching Award, the Phi Delta Kappa Educator's Golden Apple award, and Teacher of the Year Awards from the NANBP, NAACP, and Bridgeport. She is Connecticut's 2019 Teacher of the Year.