We recently connected with Keeley Brooks and have shared our conversation below.
Keeley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Thanks for having me! Without a doubt, my mission is to bring awareness (and entertainment) to others through my craft, whether it be in my work as a creative writer or as an entertainment journalist.
As an entertainment writer, I love focusing on film, television, and streaming content. I’m a pretty voracious consumer, so I always have something I’m excited to write about in a funny, engaging way. I love sharing what I’ve seen in case others are curious about something specific. Maybe they don’t have time to watch something but still want to know what it’s about, or they want to know what to expect out of a title, or they want to know what makes it a quality piece of cinematic expression worthy of taking the time to watch it. I love, love, love, LOVE to write about entertainment!
As a creative writer, I focus on mental health awareness, self-help, and self-care. Getting all vulnerable and sharing my own experiences with mental health is how I spread awareness about a subject that is still considered taboo when it shouldn’t be. Mental health (and self-care) is just as important as physical health, and to struggle with it is normal, not shameful or indicative of weakness. All it’s indicative of is that you’re human. In this fast-paced, chaotic world, we ALL experience mental health issues; some are just more extreme than others, and there is nothing wrong with that. But just because we experience struggles does not mean we have to become them.
For me, my trauma started as a small child when I was bullied in elementary and middle school, then sexually assaulted by an extended family member. At 11 years old, I found myself paralyzed with fear, shame, confusion, and anxiety, and they all worked together to create the most opportune moment for my mind to whisper, “You’re not good enough.” And the second it did, I believed it and felt the need to punish myself with a beating. So, I did. I thought I deserved it since others found it necessary to punish me, too. That secret self-harm continued and only intensified in high school after two more bullying incidents, despite the fact that I appeared to “have it all” on the outside. We should never make the mistake of presuming to know someone based on appearances or what we think we know. Just because someone’s life appears one way on the outside doesn’t mean their internal life reflects the same. Most, if not all, of us hide our shadows and darkness and suppress our innermost thoughts and feelings, and that’s usually a result of being taught to do so or from having been bullied and humiliated. You never truly know who someone is or what’s going on below the surface until you ask and listen.
Before I knew it, I was using drugs to cope. I overdosed three times and survived, and I attempted suicide twice and survived. For all intents and purposes, I really shouldn’t be here talking to you right now, but I am. And the fact that I am means I walked straight into hell and fought my way out, emerging as a stronger, better, more enlightened, and empathetically aware spirit. I feel it’s my moral duty and obligation to share what I’ve lived and learned in hopes of reaching others struggling similarly or reaching someone trying to help someone who’s struggling similarly. I write to let others know they aren’t alone, there is hope, and there’s no cause for shame, and because I’ve experienced the depths of what it’s like behind the curtain. If I don’t spread awareness of the dangers that lurk in the effects of mental health and trauma, especially when they’re ignored, brushed over, buried, or not acknowledged, who else will? So, if my experiences can serve as a warning to others or offer help in awareness, then baring my soul in the raw way I do is absolutely worth it.
I earned the person I am today by going nose to nose with my beasts and discovering how to control them so they don’t control me. In that process, I found myself and rediscovered my gift of writing. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll never stop sharing my personal experiences in the world or my opinions about the art I consume. I’ll also never again allow my wildness to be extinguished by the lure of likability.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Sure. My name is Keeley Brooks, and I’m a creative non-fiction author, an entertainment journalist, a health and lifestyle writer, and a content and copy editor. I’m also co-owner and managing editor of online, independent music, arts, and entertainment publication Mixed Alternative Magazine. To sum it up, you could say I’m a big mouth, wordsmith, grammar snob, and movie enthusiast.
I’ve been a writer since childhood (mostly of poetry and prose), and after college in 2004, I fell into entertainment writing, where I stayed for about a decade before venturing into the business world, which bored me to death. I’ve worked as an assistant editor, entertainment editor, copy editor, managing editor, staff writer, and freelance writer for various college and city entertainment publications in the South. In 2021, my first creative non-fiction story published in a women’s support book called “My Labor Pains Were Worse Than Yours”, and in Fall 2022, my first creative non-fiction book on trauma and mental health called “I’ll Never See It” published and was met with very warm reception and reviews. The same month my book published, a friend and fellow author contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in a joint entertainment publication venture where I served as co-owner, managing editor, and a lead entertainment writer. Of course, I said yes, and Mixed Alternative Magazine became official. We focus on providing a non-discriminatory platform for independent talent of all kinds to introduce themselves and showcase their mad skills to the world without getting lost in the noise of corporate advertising. Our sights are on the art, not the sales. Additionally, I’m also a health and lifestyle writer for Modern Grace Magazineand a staff writer at Loud and Clear Reviews, where I write film and streaming reviews, recommendations, recaps, and features. In 2023, three more of my stories published in a sequel women’s support book called “Banana Pudding and Other Sticky Situations”, and in the upcoming third book of the series, I will be a headlining author sharing five personal stories. I’m also currently working on several literary projects, including a fiction thriller novel in collaboration with five other authors. I couldn’t be happier with or feel more at home in my work. I’m very proud of these accomplishments.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Wow, there are so many! I think so much of my story encompasses resilience. Somehow, I found the strength and courage at a very young age to keep going the best I could in hard, dark times and to try and find some fun in life despite my traumatic experiences and personal struggles. I’ve been talked about, teased, bullied, abused, ignored, degraded, and discarded, often by people very close to me, and each time I got knocked down, I stood right back up, even when I didn’t want to go on and thought I couldn’t go on, and, in some instances, even when I tried not to go on. I have always been resilient.
In the early 2000s after being diagnosed with depression, anxiety, panic, and trauma, I was told by a medical professional I was “not mentally fit” to be a contributing member of society and should “rethink my decision” to continue my college education because I’d always struggle, “especially at a four-year institution like [Louisiana State University].” Being labeled mentally unfit really stripped me naked of any identity I thought I had and made me feel ashamed. Still, I did my best not to let it dictate who I was, and with the support of family, I went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Composition with a 3.5 gpa. Not only did I graduate, but I went on to become the regional editor for a national college entertainment magazine out of California, where I ran markets in three South Louisiana cities: Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Lafayette. Moreover, my markets were the most profitable in ad sales and had the largest amount of written content. But things were not perfect, as at the same time, I was struggling in my private life with paternal abandonment, suicide attempts, drug use, and self-harm. Then in the 2010s, I experienced another sexual assault and again became the target of bullying, only this time it was from family members who considered me trash because I was different and lived a different lifestyle than they were used to, and because they “couldn’t see where [I] had anything to show for [myself].”
I could’ve let all that consume me, and on some level, a lot of those things did consume me for a long time. But, astrologically speaking, I’m a Taurus, and it’s pretty hard to knock and keep a bull down. We’ll always get back up as gracefully as possible and usually with sharpened horns. I know that no matter what kind of mud life or other people fling at me, I’ll be okay and am equipped to handle it. I’ve worked hard to heal from my trauma and because I’ve healed myself and am in continuous healing every day, I know my strength and how resilient I am. I know my worth and capability. And that’s something that cannot ever be taken away from me.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I met Nicole (Brice), editor-in-chief of Mixed Alternative Magazine, when we were both authors with the same publisher. She’d read my story in the same women’s book she wrote for, and she reached out in response. We hit it off after expressing similar personalities and stayed in touch for months until we finally met face to face at a book launch party. Nicole has had her fair share of struggles and traumas, so we really connected on that level. As business partners, we balance each other out creatively and we complement each other very well. In areas where I lack, she is strong, and vice versa. Her thing is music entertainment and marketing, and mine is film, streaming, and television entertainment and editing. We both roll with the tide whether it’s ebbing or flowing, and we’re very supportive of each other’s separate creative endeavors. We allow each other to be who we are and allow our writers to be who they are. We do what we do because we love the art and hopefully that shows in our work!
Contact Info:
- Website:www.TheKeeleyBrooks.
com and www.MixedAltMag.com - Instagram: @thekeeleybrooks
- Facebook: @thekeeleybrooks
- Linkedin: @thekeeleybrooks
- Twitter: @thekeeleybrooks
Image Credits
Personal photos credit: Amanda Chapman Photography