We were lucky to catch up with Tavetta Patterson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tavetta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

I serve underserved communities by leading grief recovery support groups online, by telephone, in person, on college campuses, with families, school groups and corporate groups. After my mother passed, Monday August 5, 2013, I faced debilitating grief and I needed to understand how to get through grief. It was something that I did not have the proper language to express, but I knew it was trying to hinder me from living my purpose. I searched for support, but I had to travel outside my community for support. I signed up for a grief support group, family counseling and marriage counseling. Each time that I went to receive help, it required me to travel to other communities.

Since I was eight years old, I have loved writing. Therefore, I choose to use my words to make the world a better place. I used my words to process grief. Now I use my words as an instructor to help people process grief. It brings me great joy to offer grief recovery services, especially to serve underserved communities. I firmly believe that people who live in underserved communities deserve the opportunity to be heard, seen, supported and guided through the grief recovery process, just like everyone else.

I documented my journey through grief and the grief recovery process in a book entitled, “From Mourning to the Morning.” Then I wrote a program entitled, “Write Through grief.” I called corporations, colleges and even reached out to online schools to provide instruction that would guide people through the grief recovery process. Friday January 5, 2018, I was given an opportunity to present, “Write Through grief.” I asked for feedback through a survey because I was told that I only had one day. As a result of the feedback, I was hired as an instructor, and I have been leading people in underserved communities through the grief recovery process for the last five years. This year marked 10 years since my mother passed, but I get to keep her name alive each time I write and/or speak about my grief recovery journey.

During the pandemic, people in underserved communities experienced grief, but this time I was able to guide some of the people through the grief recovery process by providing support by telephone and online. Although grief is something that everyone experiences at some point in life, it is not always talked about, and I am on a mission to have the necessary conversations.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was able to do that because my teachers in elementary school believed in me and my talents. My teacher Mrs. Hopkins provided a stage and a microphone for me to speak on a consistent basis. She also provided me with an abundant supply of pencils to write. My teacher Mrs. Thomas provided me encouragement to take my talents out into the community. Then during high school, I enjoyed the gift of sponsored travel as a result of writing and prize winnings from speech contests. Those opportunities allowed me to take my mother with me. That mattered because I knew very early in life that she struggled as a single parent who protected my purpose. The teachers and school administrators who encouraged me to continue writing and speaking during high school include Mrs. Knox, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Siggers, Ms. Harris and Ms. Smith. During my senior year of high school, I was published for the first time because my teacher Mrs. Barnes entered my written work into a contest.

When I was eight years old, I made the decision to continue to live my dreams and continue to share my talents to make the world a better place. Since I was given the gift of clarity of purpose at such an early age, I invested the time to write programs and provide educational enrichment programs for the benefit of 21,000 children attending schools and community centers in underserved communities throughout the United States. That was my way of making the conscious decision to be the change that I want to see in the world. I am most proud of the fact that I remained true to my purpose, while helping 21,000 children discover and live their purpose. I am living my life to honor the fact that God gave me clarity of purpose at such a young age. I am living my life to honor the time that my mother invested to protect my purpose. I am living my life to honor all the time that my teachers invested cultivating my purpose. I am living my life to inspire other people to discover and live their purpose with the time they have been given.

I have written 18 books and 10 of those books were written in 2020 during a global pandemic. While the world was in lock down, I was determined not to put my creativity in lock down. I currently have nine books published, five that I wrote individually and four as a contributing writer. Writing books inspired me to write college courses, digital downloads, magazine articles, newsletter articles, online courses, professional development programs for leaders, television program treatments and training manuals. I believe that written and spoken words have the power to reach people in places where they need help the most.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was in the hospital room when my mother took her last breath on earth at 7a.m. Monday August 5, 2013. That was the most painful experience of my life. However, my resilience and faith would not allow the pain to stop me from living. The experience was such a pivotal moment in my life that I remember thinking there has to be more to life. As a result, I set out on a mission to discover how to live more, love more, give more, fulfill my purpose more and use my creativity to make a positive difference in life for more people.

In essence, the pain point was transformed into a purpose point and my purpose led me to multiple platforms to help more people. I once heard a person say, “I am tired of being resilient.” However, what I have learned is that life will keep life…ing. However, I get to make the consistent choice to remain resilient. I decide daily to roll with living my purpose, instead of allowing life to roll over me. Each bounce back is an opportunity to overcome each setback and make the greatest comeback of my life.

In the moment that I heard my mother’s last heartbeat, I learned that everything that was not done would not get done. In that moment I learned that time is valuable and that is why I don’t allow anyone to waste my time. Resilience propelled me into action at an accelerated pace. At the time, I had my first novel sitting in a file cabinet that I had written ten years prior, but it had not been published. One year later, to celebrate my mother’s birthday, I released my novel and my third book. The second year after my mother passed, to celebrate her birthday, I released two more books. In 2018, I began offering the grief recovery program, “Write Through grief.” Every day that I see, I intentionally live to fulfill more of my purpose. I also live to motivate people to discover and live their purpose.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the immediate, positive impact of my words because words have the power to transcend time. For the last five years I have been given the opportunity to read five-star reviews at the end of each series when I present, “Write Through grief.” The testimonials from the people who have experienced each session is so rewarding because it is a reminder that purpose discovery and purpose fulfillment can help someone else. I am very thankful that my words will transcend time through books, college courses, digital downloads, interviews, magazine articles, newsletter articles, online courses, professional development programs for leaders, television programs and training manuals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abundantlp1.com/tavetta
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tspeakerauthor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook/tspeakerauthor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tavettapatterson
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tavettapatterson