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B. Michelle Horton, a native of the 1200 block of South Ringgold Street, keeps a journal like many people. When her stable family began to unravel, her journal became a lifeline.
“I write poems, I write songs, short stories. I was going though the process of my separation and it would be ending in divorce, which I didn’t know at the time,” Horton said. “I was journaling what was in my heart and my head and I’d go back and read it. And at some point I knew it was going to be a book. It was probably a seven-year process.”
The journey hit a high note in February when the 108-page, self-published book “The Other Side of Threw,” was released. Horton has been selling copies on sites such as Amazon.com and at her church, Church of the Redeemer, 24th and Dickinson streets, where she is an associate minister. The next book-related event will take place July 24, where the author will be selling copies following the 8 and 11 a.m. Masses.
“I would not have been able to get through it without God’s grace and my faith in God,” the 56-year-old said. “There is a power greater than us that will help us with that journey.”
Publishing the text, which is very personal, was a tough decision for Horton, but she felt it necessary to share her version of the true nature of loss.
“My motivating factor was there are so many people that go through loss and hurt and sorrow and they don’t have a voice and I believe everybody has a story, but everybody doesn’t have the opportunity to put it to print,” Horton, who also writes about losing her brother and nephew to cancer, said. “This story, which was true and raw and intimate, would reflect what I don’t see in our culture. [It is often shown] that marriages and families, you can throw them away and you can get something better. I wanted to combat that through showing exactly what it looks like.
“When I watch TV, it looks very spectacular and alluring, but the flip side is that hearts are being ripped out, families being torn apart.”
The book has been well-received, including a few posts on Oprah’s summer reading forum where internet contributors listed “The Other Side of Threw” as their current summer favorite, much to the shock of the author.
“I thought most readers would probably be people just coming out of divorce, but I’m getting a lot of responses from married people,” she said. “I kind of thought that was interesting. I don’t know that I expected that.”
Regardless of her broad audience, there are at least two critics Horton was eager to impress.
“I can tell you both of my children are proud of their mother,” Horton said of daughter, DeAndra, and son, Robert. “I talk more with my daughter about it than my son. When we talk, he’s proud of me.”
Horton attended Landreth, Vare and eventually Bok, where she learned typing, a skill that she would parlay into a lifetime career with the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare.
“I started as a clerk and when I retired I was a manager,” Horton said of the 27 years she spent working for the state department. “I retired on September 22, 2000 at 5 p.m.”
At the time of leaving her job, Horton’s marriage was on solid footing and she felt compelled to answer a calling to the seminary that had started years earlier.
“I’m a Bible teacher and chaplain. I’m working very closely with the singles ministry,” she said of her current roles. “Outside of the church, I’ve been doing this one thing that I’m really thankful for. Since 2003, I did mentoring/inspirational meetings with women in the drug recovery house.”
Spending time with the women has been a blessing for Horton. Even when her own life began to hit bumpy roads, she kept meetings focused on the women and their recovery.
“It’s not just Bible. It’s that, too, but it’s more sharing our stories and listening and when you’re in recovery you have to listen to people and open up to share yourself … I want them to know they’re not alone and not the only ones going through this.”
Throughout life Horton has continued her education at places such as the community school of University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. Of her many full-time and part-time vocations, author is a fairly new addition with “The Other Side of Threw” being the third published title.
“It was a journey for me releasing this book. It took a lot. I was embarrassed but I don’t want to be a victim. I care about this man and I don’t want to vilify him,” Horton said. “When the book was finally released … I actually felt a sense of whatever needed to be closed — the door had been closing all along — and at this point now that door is closed. There is no resentment, no anger, no bitterness.”
On the heel of the cathartic release, Horton takes comfort in the fact that her pain now has a purpose.
“I would really want this book to be placed in the hands of people who have or who are maybe going through separation and it would hopefully help them rethink divorce,” she said. “My prayer is that it reaches the heart of people and brings purpose to anyone and everyone who reads those words.” SPR
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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