I Wish You Would is the Autobiography of Spring Etta Edwards,
which chronologies her life in the hood from birth in Cabrini Green
to the major move from Chicago’s west side to the Robert
Taylor Housing Projects on the south side of Chicago. In I Wish
You Would, Spring takes you through her life from a bullied child
to her high school years, her love life and her journey into
womanhood. Her life is relatable to scenarios women, and
people in general are experiencing right now in their everyday
lives.
Excerpt:
“I don’t want no Scrub…” TLC made this song popular in the 90s; however, I was living this song in the summer of 1976. School was out, and I was going to be a senior in the fall. My friends and I would be discussing which college we were going to attend. It was the first day of summer break. I came downstairs to wait for Friend1, so we could hang out. I was looking good, wearing one of the halter dresses Idol had made, and my signature dark burgundy lipstick. You couldn’t tell me shit. Guys were complimenting me as they walked or drove by. My ego was pumped. My tits had finally caught up with my onion, so I was feeling fine.
It was taking my girl a minute to come downstairs, and low and behold a car slows up, and the Scrub starts hollin’ at me. I actually caught the eye of the best friend who was driving, and he was the one who wanted to stop. The best friend was fine, Scrub, not so much. I was sitting on the steps of DuSable high school, and they asked if they could join me. I lied and said I was waiting for my boyfriend hoping this would deter them, but the Scrub said, “We’ll wait with you.” Damn! The best friend sat on the large concrete base to my left, and the Scrub sat right next to me on the school steps. Although the best friend was fine, he was dull as hell. Scrub had a great sense of humor and kept me laughing. He wasn’t nearly as cute as the best friend, but his physique appealed to me more. Both brothas had banging bodies, but Scrub had more of an athletic build, and I liked that.
I was only 17 at the time, but I looked older than my age. The Scrub tried to guess my age, and I let him think I was 22 and in my senior year of college. He told me he was 28. I know I said I wanted a man, but damn, seriously…My girl finally came down, and I introduced her to the best friend. The Scrub and I decided to go sit in the car, and get better acquainted. By now, I was starting to like him, and he said, “It looks like your man stood you up,”
I replied, “it looks like you’re right.”
Scrub said he didn’t like my lipstick, and asked if he could kiss it off? I said yes, and we kissed…Ugh,
Spring Etta Edwards was born and reared in Chicago Illinois. She is one of 12 children. Spring’s the mother of three children, and grandmother of nine. She has a master’s degree from Capella University in Human Resources Management. Spring Etta Edwards currently resides in Las Vegas Nevada as a Human Resources Manager and along with her youngest sister is the caregiver to their 90 year-old mother.
Get to know Spring:
- Is this the first book you’ve written? No, I was asked to write a book as part of an art exhibit in grade school, so my first book was bind in the sixth grade.
- Why did you write this book? Whenever I would discuss growing up one of 12 children to a single mom, and the struggles of living in poverty, and the projects, someone would always say, “You should write a book.” It had been on my mind for many years, and literally days before my late husband passed, my spirit told me to write the book.
- How long did it take you to write your book? It took me approximately two months to write an extremely rough draft of about 110,000 words. I started the manuscript the first week of April in 2013 and completed it in mid-June 2013. I was unable to edit the chapters concerning my late husband, so it set on a shelf until last year. While it was still difficult to edit the chapters, I was able to complete a couple of edits before publishing.
- It’s an autobiography, did you struggle with sharing such personal details about your life? Discussing my life has never been an issue for me; however, I was concerned about discussing family, but this is my story to tell, and if you’re going to write an autobiography, it must be truthful whether it’s good, bad or ugly.
- What advice can you give to someone who’s interested in writing a book, but don’t know where
to begin? The most honest answer I can give is, if you don’t have a passion for writing, it can be a struggle. If this is not the case, then start with a memory, idea or something that you’re well versed in, or have experience or knowledge of. Don’t worry about the order of your thoughts, just write them down. The editing process can handle placement.
6. Are you working on any current projects? Yes, my next project is like the prequel to my autobiography. One reader wanted to know why I was so scared of my mother growing up, and this is discussed in my next project.
- Who are your literary inspirations? I’m a big fan of Lawrence Sanders’ (R.I.P.) work. He wrote murder mysteries with a dry sense of Humor. Danielle Steele is also one of my inspirations. She writes love story, but not necessarily the romance type novels. I also enjoy reading autobiographies in general. One of my favorites is Angel’s Ashes by the late Frank McCourt; I was able to relate to his impoverished childhood.
Find the book and the author:
www.springettaedwards.net
Email: [email protected]
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Wish-You-Would-Autobiography-Lessons/dp/1542381533/ref