Hello, and good morning everybody. Hi, good morning the Flicy Heath.
How are you doing. I'm good, how are you? Absolutely fantastic.
Been waiting to talk with you because hummingbirds are such a powerful total animal that
it's like, oh, I cannot wait to really dig into this story.
Thank you, thanks for having me. What is your connection to the hummingbird
and to have the spirit of a hummingbird? Well, the hummingbird represents and
symbolizes, you know, joy and tenacity and just getting through hard times with
that positive outlook. I think midway through the book you definitely get an idea
of where the title came from. Yeah. Absolutely, And it's one of
those where I want listeners to really participate with this story and go into it
with an open heart, because you really do invite them to not only enjoy
the story, but maybe to search their own hearts as well. For sure.
Definitely what kind of other books do you find yourself putting out there in
the way of you know, we're to have a continuation, because this is
one of those stories where you go, I want more, I want I
want more. And I think it's because I'm a binge watcher when it comes
to television. Well, you know when I when I go over my reviews
and some of the feedback, it does sound like people want more, more
of the second half of the story of the adulthood and maybe more of the
healing process. So I would consider that certainly the one of the things that
you put in here. I mean, you've got such a real world here
in the way of trauma, betrayal, fear, helplessness, and yet and
yet this is this is the fun part. There's a healing and that to
me is that that's the victory at the end. Yes, I think a
lot of it was almost a coping mechanism at the time, like a lot
of positive self talk in order to get through it, and that carried through
into my adult life. And it's actually you know done me well. Being
from from Vietnam or having those connections to Vietnam. I work with a gentleman
that is from there and the stories he shares with me. In fact,
we even have neighbors that would love to move there. For you to bring
these stories forward like this, this really gives people an identity to have like,
hey, this is about my culture as well. Yes, you know,
I've been back to visit a couple of times, and I brought as
much as I could from the imagery and the feelings the culture into the book
where it was relevant. And there's been so many people that I meet during
book signings that have a connection one way or the other and it really resonates
with them. One of the things I mean, it had to have been
an open heart that you held in your hands, because we don't know a
person until we experience their story. And that's what you put your you know,
you put your breath, your heart beat, everything into this. Yes,
I wanted to give my readers the most authentic version of the story I
possibly could, so I relived all of those experiences and the emotions not only
for my audience but for myself as a healing process. Was it was therapy.
Did you journal during this, because that's one of the things that I
do as a writer is that when I when I start building a book,
I have a separate journal that explains why I did this, the emotions I
went through, so that I can identify because as writers, you know how
we are, sometimes we can get kind of crazy with our emotions. Definitely,
I didn't necessarily journal, but I guess you could consider it. I
did. I dedicated some time, you know, if this was all during
COVID where I wrote for a few hours, like once or twice a week,
and then I put those passages together. So I think you could consider
journaling in a way. And I also outlined a lot of stuff. It's
it takes work, actually to make sense of things that happened in the past
through the eyes of a child. And isn't it really weird how the things
that we go through later on in life, it becomes tools. Yes,
when you reassess them with a mature mind. There are so many more layers
and appreciation for what you've been through. When you spend your early life on
the run like you did, how do you slow down to enjoy life?
How do you how do you get into your presence of what is right now?
Yeah, So it's interesting because I've been working on this, you know,
I'm so used to this fast paced, highly chaotic and although it's not
the same as it was in my past where it was negative, it's all
positive stuff. I do have to be mindful about not taking on too much
so that I can stay present. It definitely helps to have kids to slow
life down because you know, they grow so fast, so you really just
have to live in the moment and slow it down because before you know it,
you'll miss it all. See. That's why I always try to convince
listeners that, you know, if you're looking to slow down life, go
locate boredom, and when you sit in boredom, all of a sudden times
basically stand still for a moment. Mm hmm definitely. But when it comes
to reading a book, don't you like trans that energy of knowing that our
imaginations are going someplace. I like that before this, this this meta quest
that was out where we can just you know, put these goggles on our
head and we go into this world writing. Go read a book. Go
for that advantage. Oh, I know. I think it's just as effective
as any kind of you know, VR video game that you play to just
open your mind up and let the story take over. Now, one of
the things that I can relate with in this story because I did not get
to really have a relationship with my father. Well, look a look at
this here. Does does your father have a place in your future? Right
now? It doesn't look like it. There was a possibility, and we've
had our interactions here and there, but it just didn't feel real and genuine.
And he was also very against the book being published. Oh wow,
Yeah, I've been on the Barnes and Noble tour with other writers and boy,
we've we've talked about things like that, like because it's so easy to
silence someone who's holding a writing instrument or their fingers are on a keyboard.
Mm hmmm. So we haven't spoken since the book's been published. Wow,
how do you deal with that creatively? Because I mean, like I said,
what you know, we as creative people. It comes from the universe
and it moves right through us into the into the hearts and eyes of those
that are going to read it. I think it's okay. You know,
we have this expectation in our heads what a father should be like, and
it's not always that black and white and easy, and not every relationships the
same and some some don't serve you, you know, positively at all.
And it's not something we have to hold on to just because it's some society's
you know, image or expectation of a father's role. Do you have a
favorite writing place? So when I wrote this, I was I was in
an airbnb studio in Philadelphia all by myself. But I write it just in
my office, a little corner office in my in my house. Yeah.
Well, you see, a lot of people don't understand that because it's like
my writing place is different from where I come in to do, you know,
do do a broadcast, And they're two completely different personalities. People don't
realize that writers and other things that we do in our life, those are
just different transitions. Mm hmmm. Yeah. So my space that I use
for you know, work, is not the same space that I use to
be creative. Yeah, and you have to learn how to respect it,
don't you. Definitely? What what are your writing times? I'm a very
early morning person. Yeah. With my kind of schedule, you know,
I a lot of the writing, the creative part or the crew is already
happening in my mind and then I have to literally schedule, you know,
dedicated protected time. I would say, usually in the evening after the kids
go down with the glass of wine. I hear that a lot with moms
and stuff. Now, speaking of the glass of wine, I'll bring this
up many times. I'll ask somebody, did you have a wine glass moment
where you went into your story after a couple of SIPs and said, all
right, I've got the confidence I'm going to change this, just to see
how I'm going to write myself out of it. I can't specifically remember a
moment of doing that, but I did drink you know, wine the entire
time I wrote it. See that's like one of my books. What I
did was I was drinking wine and I went in and I actually took out
a character. And then and I challenged myself to you know, okay,
now, what are you gonna do with the story? You just took out
one of the big characters. And I told myself, figure it out.
Figure it out. Oh wow. And because I just writers in general just
inspire me so much, because of because of the chances that we take.
Just by putting words on a page, you're taking a chance. Oh yeah.
And just even with the stories I decided to include in a memoir,
I think I was taking a chance. Is it weird to call it a
memoir? Because I mean, as readers, we have to remind ourselves that
it is about you. I don't think it's weird. I mean I mean
it's it's like in the way of like, okay, because easily this could
have been a story and that was just you know put you know, like
nonfiction. Oh yeah, yeah, I guess so. I think the memoir
part comes because I try to write it through the eyes of me being very
young. Yeah, so you know there you have to fill in some of
the gaps and be creative and make something very painful into art. You know.
One of the things that I've learned in talking with actors and even songwriters
and stuff. If you don't share your story, the future doesn't receive it.
And that's what's great about you putting this book together because I want listeners
to read this and I want them to understand that even their story needs to
belong to the future. Oh if it's just by me writing it, it
just leaves, it leaves. I don't know, a story for my kids.
The pages, the physical pages are left, you know, long after
I'm gone. It's just so meaningful to me. And yeah, absolutely,
we really should, you know, embrace our stories because if you change your
perspective and you share your story, you'll eventually find power in it. Absolutely.
Where can people go to find out more about you, to discover you
and to support you? So you can find me on Instagram. I am
Felicia Keith Underscore MD. I also have a blog called Mixed Feelings Mama dot
com and my book is available as an audiobook as well as paperback on all
platforms Amazon, Barnes, and Noble. Is it your voice? Yes,
I narrate the whole thing. See that's beautiful. You totally get it.
You totally get it. It's a memoir, so I couldn't use anybody else's
voice. Please come back to the show anytime in the future. The door
is always going to be open for you. Thank you so much. Appreciate
that. Will you'd be brilliant today? Okay, you too,