Can you imagine leaving a secure job to pursue a dream that's close to your heart? That’s exactly what our guest, Mrs Marletta Mason Dunn, affectionately known as Cajun Cookie, did. Her inspiring transition from higher education to full-time writing has led to the creation of a remarkable book series that touches upon the themes of family, grief, faith and resilience. Listen in as we explore her compelling journey, relive the poignant stories she has crafted, and gain insight into her remarkable life and the influence it has had on her narratives.
Waletta’s book series, including 'More Than Sisters', 'Faithful Father', 'A Family Dilemma', 'Positions of Compromise', and 'Tell Me Your Story: A Family Journal', beautifully weaves her life experiences into relatable characters and storylines. As a listener, you'll be captivated by her candid discussion about her upbringing in Louisiana, and how it significantly shapes her narratives. Beyond just entertainment, these stories serve a higher purpose - to provide comfort and encouragement to young people making tough decisions, and to remind us all about the power of faith in overcoming life's trials.
As we navigate through the riveting episodes, we will also uncover Jacquiline’s ear for musical talents - specifically songs 'Imagine Me' and ‘Worthy of It All'. Our discussion around these songs paints a vivid picture of family bonds and faith, tying in beautifully with the heart-warming theme of Waletta’s book series 'More Than Sisters'. Whether you're an avid reader, an aspiring author, or just looking for an inspiring listen, this episode is a treasure trove of experiences, lessons and sheer storytelling brilliance. So, tune in and let Cajun Cookie's stories inspire, comfort and entertain you.
Can you imagine leaving a secure job to pursue a dream that's close to your heart? That’s exactly what our guest, Mrs Marletta Mason Dunn, affectionately known as Cajun Cookie, did. Her inspiring transition from higher education to full-time writing has led to the creation of a remarkable book series that touches upon the themes of family, grief, faith and resilience. Listen in as we explore her compelling journey, relive the poignant stories she has crafted, and gain insight into her remarkable life and the influence it has had on her narratives.
Waletta’s book series, including 'More Than Sisters', 'Faithful Father', 'A Family Dilemma', 'Positions of Compromise', and 'Tell Me Your Story: A Family Journal', beautifully weaves her life experiences into relatable characters and storylines. As a listener, you'll be captivated by her candid discussion about her upbringing in Louisiana, and how it significantly shapes her narratives. Beyond just entertainment, these stories serve a higher purpose - to provide comfort and encouragement to young people making tough decisions, and to remind us all about the power of faith in overcoming life's trials.
As we navigate through the riveting episodes, we will also uncover Jacquiline’s ear for musical talents - specifically songs 'Imagine Me' and ‘Worthy of It All'. Our discussion around these songs paints a vivid picture of family bonds and faith, tying in beautifully with the heart-warming theme of Waletta’s book series 'More Than Sisters'. Whether you're an avid reader, an aspiring author, or just looking for an inspiring listen, this episode is a treasure trove of experiences, lessons and sheer storytelling brilliance. So, tune in and let Cajun Cookie's stories inspire, comfort and entertain you.
I Sh tubing hello, ooh, oh, right here. I think that can't be. Still, that sounds so telling my world. It's hard to get, I think, just to teach You'll feel so damn real to me you'll take the lead, enjoying with ground. I'm a world by woman. You can love on any way your girl can make it there. World by woman. World by woman. You're my next life girl. I'm a world by woman. World by woman. You can love on any way. Girl can make it there. World by woman. World by woman. You don't wanna type off girl. I'm a world by woman. World by woman. You can love on any way. Your girl can make it there. World by woman. World by woman. You don't wanna type off girl. I'm a world by woman. World by woman. You can love on any way. Your girl can make it there. World by woman. World by woman.
Speaker 2:Yes, that was World Wide Woman and you guys are listening to Listen. Linda on the Station head out. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. Today I have a special guest. Her name is Cajun Cookie, herself Ms Marletta Dunn, and we are here to talk about more than sisters her book that's available now on Amazon. How you doing, cajun Cookie Marletta? Are you there? I am here. How are you? I'm good, ms Cajun Cookie girl that's her new name. Girl, you're the messed up girl.
Speaker 2:You're the messed up, tell everybody how you came up with that name Cajun Cookie and then we're going to get ready and bring in prayer.
Speaker 3:Okay, well, occasion, I'm Cajun Cookie because I am from Louisiana and my nickname is Cookie, so I am the original Cajun Cookie.
Speaker 2:Girl. You need to patent that trade. Marletta, that is the best if I ever heard one child. I'm gonna bring us in with prayer and then we're gonna get ready and jump into questions. How about that? That was great, okay, duller.
Speaker 2:God, we come before you today with heart filled with gratitude for the opportunity to gather here and discuss the book. More than sisters on the Listenlender show here on station head, we thank you for the gift of literature and storytelling which allows us to explore the depths of human emotions, relationships and faith. As we delve into the themes and messages within this book, we ask you for your guidance and wisdom. Help us to approach the discussion with open hearts, open minds and ready to learn from the experiences of the characters and apply those lessons to our own lives. We pray for the author, ms Marletta Mason Dunn, and ask that you consider to inspire her. You continue to inspire her, lord God, with creativity and insight.
Speaker 2:May her words touch the hearts of those who read her book, offering comfort, encouragement and a deeper understanding of the complexities of family, grief and faith. Bless me the host, lord God, as well as the guests and all those involved in this production. May their words be thoughtful and impactful, fostering a meaningful conversation that resonates with the listeners. Lastly, lord God, we ask for your presence throughout this show. May your love and grace shine through the discussions, inspiring hope, healing and a renewed faith in you. In your name Jesus, we pray. Amen, amen, amen, amen. Ms Cajun Cookie, how did your passion for reading influence your decision to become an author?
Speaker 3:First of all, let me say thank you, ms Jackie, for inviting me to listen, linda and giving me the opportunity to speak to um readers and listeners all over the world. I appreciate it and um, I just I, like you said in your prayer, I pray that God is in the midst of all of this, but, um, someone find comfort and encouragement through all of this. To answer your question, I've been a reader since as far back as I can remember and I love reading stories about family, about love, about as a kid, even now, but even as a kid, I love reading stories about God and his love for us and how he's never left us, and all of those things mixed with what I believe with God's purpose for me here on earth, which was to write his. It's a gift that he's given me and um, so, given that and the fact that I was a reader and you put those things together, of course I wanted to write and influence, um, how I write.
Speaker 3:I've also come from a family of writers. I have a sister uh, uh, she's gone home to be with the Lord now, but she was a very successful screenwriter, television writer. And then I had a brother who's also gone home to be with the Lord. But he was also a novelist and, uh, very successful at that.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome, awesome. And you know I did my research on you girls, so you know I got, I got some, I got some questions okay, I got some questions, I'm ready, okay. So, after working in higher education for over 20 years, what inspired you to write full time?
Speaker 3:Uh. Well, let's go back to working. In higher education, I married a marine and because of uh and he worked, he served 20 years in the Marine Corps and throughout those years we've lived all over the country. We lived from Louisiana, we've been. We met in Texas. We lived um all over the country, um when he was in full time service, and I met a lot of different people and I heard a lot of different stories.
Speaker 3:People share a lot of different stories um of their lives and I realized that people none of us grew up the same. None of us have the same story, but we all can learn from each other's story and um from learning and from working. Also with the higher education, I learned that kids that I worked with freshman and sophomore sophomores and they are very young and influence and influence. They can be influenced very easily and I wanted to write something that would show them um, bring them comfort and encouragement, share um things that would help them along the way.
Speaker 3:Those young people, even now, the young people, they are faced with so many different choices. Every year there there's new technology that um they're faced with and and given all of that information, I wanted to share with them some of my background, some of the things that I've faced, and even though the the stories kind of change with the different adversaries that we have to face, the stories are really just the same. We can, um, we still God has. God doesn't change and he can still help us through all of those things amen, amen.
Speaker 2:I truly believe that God can always help us through whatever we are going through and whatever we need, or all we have to do is ask um. So great, great answer um. Can you provide more information about more than sisters? Faithful father, a family dilemma, positions of compromise and tell me your story a family journal. How does all of these relate?
Speaker 3:to one another. You have done your research, uh, well, more than sisters was my first novel and it's based on my life story. When I was, um 18 months old, my mother passed away. When I was nine years old, my father passed away, my sister and I were born. I have two sisters. I had two sisters. My oldest sister and I were born on the same day, 20 years apart, and um more than sisters that's how I came up with the name, because we were more than sisters, um. It's a story of our life together, our trials and tribulations, and she took me and raised me as if I was her daughter, and I was a regular teenager who brought a lot of heartache and pain and um to their parents and um. So this is the story of the things that we went through. It's also there was a deep, dark secret that surfaced in. It almost tore our family apart, made us question our faith in God, for such.
Speaker 3:The next story was faithful father and the girl that's in um. It's the same family, um, but the girl has uh grown up and she's gone off to college, and she meets a young man who um hasn't talked to his father in years. The last time he saw his father. He was, um, a young boy, about seven years old, and the last thing his father said to him was I wish you were never born. So he grew up having, uh, self-esteem issues and, um, he really that's all. But he recognized a father to be. That's what he thought a father was, unless he grew up. He wasn't. He wasn't over. The young girl and his biological father comes back into his life, but it's because he needs something. So the young man Edison is his name he has to decide if he's going to help his father, if he's going to forgive him for all that he's done, or if he's going to, um, pay him back. But you have to read the story to find out what he's going to do. And the next story is for such a.
Speaker 3:The next story is a family dilemma, and that is, uh, the same family again. They're all standalone, but it's the same family, same group of people. And in this story the um secret that was in more than sisters resurfaces and runs havoc in the city, in the um, in the church and all those in that community. And then the next story was is positions of compromise. This is the story of three women in the workplace, and these women have issues that are common to women, and one woman is going through menopause. There's a young girl who wants to have another baby, and then there's a young girl who's facing sexual harassment. But there's someone in the company leaks a very valuable secret to the press and these women have to come together to find out who has leaked the secret, because they're all in jeopardy of losing their job. But what they uncover is more than just a breach of contract, but it's a position of compromise.
Speaker 3:And then the last story for such a time is this is about a young girl who is her mother is military and her father was also military, but he was killed in combat. Now her mother has to go overseas and she is sent back to live with her grandparents at a new school. She just wants to be a regular teenager, she just wants to enjoy her life and have fun. But when she accidentally breaks a school policy which is a zero-tolerance policy, she has to face the consequences, and one of the repercussions of breaking that policy is to be expelled and or sent to juvenile detention. And that's really based upon recent stories and headlines in the news where there are children who are sent to juvenile detention for something very simple and it changes their life because once they're suspended and they get off track and they go to juvenile detention, they fall into this prison pipeline and this is the story that we'll educate some and remind others about this prison pipeline that we have and maybe it will move us to do a little bit more to help our children.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome, awesome. And you know I done, went and got every book. So you'll have to come back and dissect a lot of these books. But we not only are talking about all of them today. We just talking about more than sisters. But we definitely want you to come back. You are a wonderful friend of the show. But we're going to now get into more than sisters.
Speaker 3:Ok, ok, thank you.
Speaker 2:The first question that I have for you, for more than sisters, before we go into song how does Olivia's promise to her dye mother shake the course of this book?
Speaker 3:It changes everything when Olivia is aware that her mother. Olivia has started her life. She is graduating high school and she wants to move away and start her life as a young woman. And so she moves to Arizona and she's so excited about. She actually plans to enroll in nursing school and looks forward to starting school that semester.
Speaker 3:When her mother gets ill, her mother is home in Louisiana with the baby girl who's 18 months old, and there's another daughter who is seven years old.
Speaker 3:And then there's the father, who is a minister, and Olivia finds out that her mother is gravely ill and she makes the heart breaking decision to leave her life and come back to Louisiana and help her father take care of her two sisters. Then, because she does that, that changes the trajectory of her life and then, when her mother passes away, she decides to stay at home and help her father with the two children. But there's a caveat when the father meets and falls in love with this perfect stranger and Olivia does not like that, she doesn't want anyone to take her mother's place and because she made that decision, she also changes the life, the course of her younger sisters. And then, when her father passes away, she actually takes possession of her sisters and permanently changes their life, because they could have been taken up into foster homes or anything could have happened to them. But Olivia gave up her life to make sure her sisters had a life, because their22 is a wonderful know andisktat or a populist activisme on undergroundность.
Speaker 1:I'm missing you. You would've known that you'd have to go so suddenly, so fast. How could it be that our sweet memories Were beyond all that we had left? Now that you're gone, every day I go on and on, but life's just not the same. I'm so empty inside and my tears I can't hide. But I'll try. I'll try to face the pain. Though I'm missing you. I'll find a way to get through Living without you. But you were my sister, my strength and my pride. Only God made no wise. Still, I will give up.
Speaker 1:There were so many things that we could have said that time was on our side. Now that you're gone, I can still feel you. So I'll smile every tear I cry, though I'm missing you. I'll find a way to get through Living without you. But you were my sister, my strength and my pride. Only God made no wise. Still, I will give up. There were so many things that we could have said that time was on our side. Now that you're gone, I can still feel you. So I'll smile every tear I cry, though I'm missing you. I'll find a way to get through Living without you. But you were my sister, my strength and my pride. Only God made no wise, I will give up. There were so many things that we could have said that time was on our side. Now that you're gone, I can still feel you, so I'll smile every tear I cry. Though I'm missing you, I'll find a way to get through Living without you.
Speaker 2:Yes, that was brandy to me. A Gladys Knight and Sharka Khan with Missing you. Tell me about that song and how do you think that that correlates with more than sister's message?
Speaker 3:Correlates in so many many ways Missing you After. I Love. When it's Gone, we think we're doing better. That could be a song or a little aroma. Anything can spark your memories and make you think of them again, hopefully prayerfully. After a while those memories won't be so sad, but you can think about the good times that you had and how God blessed you to have them in your life and how you feel that. Olivia experienced those things after she lost her mother and after she lost her father, and I know that I also experienced those things after the loss of both my parents and my siblings.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for that. I didn't lose both my parents, but I lost my dad and I lost a lot of people that were close to me, my foster sister being one she was just like a sister to me but also my oldest nephew, who I grew up with. He was born I was 13 years old. It was kind of like my little brother's last, first baby. He died of mistaken identity. He was killed on Chicago streets and it was just. You know, it's very, very hard to deal with that. So that song to me is soothing, but again it brings back those memories of those loved ones that you just can't get back. So I appreciate you writing this book more than sisters. It's definitely here home for me in a lot of ways. Now, can you tell me, as well as the listeners, more about the challenges and responsibilities that Reverend Ferguson faces after his wife's hospitalization?
Speaker 3:Just imagine, being a husband, I believe that God has given the mother and father different gifts in the family. Both are needed in the family, but the mother is generally the nurturer and the father he provides, and so they're not generally they're not as nurturing. So can you imagine a young minister who's responsible, all of a sudden responsible for a little baby girl and then another young girl, seven years old, and the challenges he has to go through? Even in my life, with my husband and I, we both have different responsibilities in the family. Whenever I've been ill and he's had to take over everything, I can see he's not quite comfortable with some things, but I'm there to give him guidance and direction. He still wants to get it right and he's trying very hard, because.
Speaker 3:So I can imagine what a Reverend Ferguson was going through trying to handle two little girls. And a father can relate to a son, you can always relate to remember what it felt like to be a little boy. But to deal with two little girls is a different thing. And so he had to manage changing diapers, making sure everybody was fed, making sure the older one got to school and got dressed and decently and decent for school, make sure they went on and went to church and got to their sun school classes and behaved and churched. And what about Sunday dinner? And how about helping me with homework? And I want to do this and can I do that, and what's the bedtime and how do I get you to go to sleep? And things like that. So I can only imagine the things that he went through trying to meet the challenges of being mom and father at the same time while dealing with his wife and caring for his wife who's in the hospital.
Speaker 1:Be a foray. Please believe me when I say come along. I can see it's hurting you. I can feel your pain. It's hard to see the sun shine through the rain. I know sometimes it seems as if it's never going, but you'll get through it. Just don't give in, cause you can't A friendship that I'll never, ever end. When you are weak, I will be strong, helping you to carry on. Call me or I will be there. Don't be afraid. Please believe me when I say come along. You can kill me, but you can't say.
Speaker 1:I know sometimes it seems as if we're standing on the wall, but we'll get through it, cause love won't let us fall. I know sometimes it seems as if a friendship will never end. You will be strong, helping you to carry on. Call me or I will be there. Don't be afraid. Please believe me when I say come along. There's a place inside of all of us where our faith and love begins. You should reach the far and the truth and love the end, cause there will be a love that I can make you feel. It's much harder than it really is, but we'll get through it. Just don't give in. Tell me that we'll get through it. I will be strong. I will be strong. Call me or I will be there. Don't be afraid. Please believe me when I say come along, come along, come along, call on me. Oh, yes, you can. Oh, I can, so well can, come along, come along here More than sisters.
Speaker 2:Call on me, miss Cajun Cookie, tell me what you think about that song and how does it relate to the book more than sisters.
Speaker 3:Call on me, call on me. I remember I'm almost sure that little Danny in the story felt that way about her sister Olivia. She felt like she could count on her. And that's how Olivia wanted her sisters to feel, and even her father before he died. She wanted them to know that they could count on her, and they did. They relied on her for so many things and as she fulfilled the promise she made to her nine mother, olivia was a believer and she knew that when she met her mother again, she could tell her. She said, mom, I told you you could count on me. Thank you, and I'm like mmm, make it, make it what happened. And I'm sure that the Lord also was very pleased with what she had done.
Speaker 2:Yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am. Now as far as Olivia. How does Olivia's fight to keep her promise to her mother impact her relationship with her new stepmother in the book?
Speaker 3:My, my, my Well, olivia wasn't going to let anything get in her way, anything get in her way of taking care of her sisters. And when her father passed away, well before, even before her father passed away, olivia made sure the kids, the girls, or even sometimes she wasn't always welcome into the home with the new stepmother, but Olivia made sure she was there to see her sisters and even had brought them into her very own home to visit her at times. And so she's not going to let anything get in her way. And even after the death of their father and there was a question of if Danny stayed with the stepmother, what would happen with the stepmother Even allow little Danny to see her siblings, would she try to take her away from the city or the state? What would happen? Olivia didn't want that to happen.
Speaker 3:So she did what she needed to do to make sure her, her sister, stayed in the family.
Speaker 3:And and at times it was difficult because she, she herself had married and had another daughter and you know money wasn't money, couldn't go as far as she wanted to at times.
Speaker 3:So they did what they needed to to make sure all the everyone was fed and had what they needed, that they lacked for nothing and they knew that they were loved and cared for. And as as much as possible, as much as she knew how to do, she made sure they were consistently in church and learning about God and knowing that God still loved them and that God was there for them and that there would all be in heaven when the time came, that God would take care of them all their entire lives. And she she cut no quarters, she played, she did not miss her words when she needed to and she even I won't give it away but she even used that cast down skillet when she needed to, and more ways than once she did. She used it not only to cook that dinner, but she used it as a weapon at one time. But of course the readers have to read that book to find out how she did that.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, that was one of my favorite parts of the book that you touched on it After Reverend Ferguson passing. How do the sisters each navigate their own desires and responsibilities?
Speaker 3:Well, of course, olivia, at times she has to come up with creative ways to make sure there's enough money in the household Her and her husband have to come together and agree and to make financial sacrifices so that everyone can have what they need. So she's taken that promise very seriously and she's doing what she needs to do Now. Gail, who has become a teenager now, is dealing with some things and she's not quite sure how to handle love or what love is, and so she deals with that. But God has blessed her with a ministry of her very own and she's trying to navigate how to use the ministry or the gift that God gave her in the ministry.
Speaker 3:And she's also dealing with a man who may or may not be a believer, and she let him in her life. And what does that look like, and is that what love is? And then Danny, as she grows up, she deals with issues of abandonment. She's been. Her mother has lost, left her, her father has left her, the stepmother that she loved left her, and she's just afraid that her sister, olivia, will leave her as well. So she's trying to do whatever she can to make sure she doesn't disappoint her sister and make her want to leave as well.
Speaker 2:Great answer. Can you give us a glimpse into the unexpected occurrences that draw the sisters into adverse situations?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, the Bible tells us that the enemy's job is to still kill and destroy, and this story, this is exactly what he's doing. So there's an enemy that arises in the family, in the story in their church, and he prays on the little Danny and her friend, and so they didn't see this one coming.
Speaker 3:No one saw this one coming. You know, sometimes the wolf is in sheep clothing, so you have to be very careful. Another thing about the enemy is he knows our weaknesses and he knows what our desires are, so he might come in disguise and really look like something special, something he knows how to dress up, exactly like that thing you really want and desire, but it's not the real deal. Well, you have to ask God for his guidance, and the enemy does come into the lives of those sisters. And Danny is just trying to fight to make sure her, her, that Olivia doesn't find out, because if Olivia finds out she's going to, she's afraid she's going to be abandoned again and she will have no one, and she can't let anyone know about this going on, the secret of what's happening.
Speaker 3:And so those are some of the unexpected consequences, and even it goes on to hurt, not only damage the family, but it damages the church with which they grew up and where their father was a pastor, and in that case many lives were affected and changed. So there are, and then there's a friendship that Danny had with her very best friends since they were little girls. The one person that she had that was her aids, that she trusted, and something unexpected happens between them as well. But you know, in the end God is the winner. In the end we win, but you have to go through some things to get there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:Now y'all know Leandra sent me that every time with her rendition of Never Would have Made it. I cannot cut her short, I have to let that whole thing play. Tell me, Ms Violetta, Ms Cajun Cookie, tell me one, how does that song relate, Not just to the book but to your background and your upbringing in Louisiana, and tell how that shaped your writing style that you explore in your books.
Speaker 3:Wow, never would have made it. You know, I've been through some things that have. I've been through some things that I know that we all have, but I never would have made it without the word of my. I just don't know how anybody goes through anything without knowing that this is just something that will. It too has come too past. Things will pass and come too past. There's light on the other side that you're. Even though you're going through something, you're not alone. You're never alone, even though sometimes you feel like you are alone. What you know, a lot of times I have to tell myself what my feelings have nothing to do with it. My feelings have absolutely nothing to do with it. It's what the truth is, and the truth is that I'm never alone.
Speaker 3:Never would have made it through death in the family, through some hardships and through times when you don't know when I mean you don't know where you're going to get, how you're going to pay that bill or how you're going to get through that, even in college, how you're going to get through this test.
Speaker 3:You know Things like that and even living in the South, you know there are a lot of people who still have some old fashion ideas in their heads and they don't know that we have moved beyond some things. And I never would have made it without knowing and then remembering that everybody is God's child, everybody, no matter what you think of the other person or what that other person has done to you or to someone, that's still God's child and he loves them. And you have to be careful and remember that when you're going through life, because with my children, as much as I love them and I know they mess up sometimes those are still my children and I will protect them at all costs and God loves us like that. He loves us, he wants the best for us and he doesn't like to see us hurt and that's not his will for our life and I never would have made it. I never would have made it without him on my side.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome, awesome answer. And it resonated with me and that's why I picked this song, because I reread the book these past couple of days and I was like, oh, the last time she was on I did not play this song, but this is the song that was like in my spirit. So I was like, oh, I definitely got to play this for Ms Walletta when she come on. I got to play this for the occasion cookie girl. I got to play this for the occasion cookie. Now, how do the adverse situations in the book test the sister's faith in God?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, there are times when, a lot of times, as Christians, we believe that if we do this certain thing, then this will happen. And God has told us that in the scriptures. He's given us some. He's told us that if we, in some instances, if we do this, then this will happen. But a lot of times we use those scriptures and we believe that they're like incantations and you just say it and it happens. But God has given us specific steps that we need to take in order to see those blessings.
Speaker 3:You know, and we have a choice in the matter. He's placed life and death before us and we get to choose. We're not puppets. He didn't make us as puppets. He's given us free will and we have to choose whether we want life or death. We choose the words that come out of our mouth. We choose how we're going to treat the next person and we're not responsible for how they have treated us. And when we get to heaven, we're going to have to give an account of every harsh word that we've done every time, every time we have not forgiven someone, every time we have hurt someone, and it's really, really bad to hold that unforgiveness in your heart because, as humans. We're all going to mess up, we're all going to come short and we will continue to come short and there will be a time when we need forgiveness.
Speaker 2:So if you hold that in your heart, Go ahead when you hold that in your heart, miss Waleta.
Speaker 3:Are you there? I am now. Can you hear me? Y'all can hear you Is that when you hold that in your heart, when you hold unforgiveness in your heart, that blocks your blessing, that stops you from being forgiven.
Speaker 3:Because you need to show that forgiveness so that when you mess up, god will be able to forgive you. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. So we have to remember that and sometimes that's hard because you don't feel like forgiving. You don't feel like it.
Speaker 3:But we have to remember that it's not about us, that the forgiveness does not free that person from what they've done, but it opens. It frees you to be forgiven and it's what God has required of us and that's what we ultimately want to do is to please the Father, no matter what it looks like, because sometimes it looks like foolishness. What he's asked us to do, and Noah, when he wanted Noah to build that ark, that was foolishness to Noah and to those people, because they had never even seen rain. And this man is talking about an ark and talking about it's going to rain and we're going to have to get on this ark, and that was foolishness. So sometimes, god, the things that he asks us to do looks like foolishness, but we have to trust him and that's what he wants from us, is our trust, because he's always been faithful to us, always, and we have to remember that and trust him.
Speaker 1:And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. Sometimes I give away too quick and then I can try to try and run away from who I am and who I want to be. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed.
Speaker 1:And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. And I'm a mess up a thousand times and I'm always committed. Every star, every light, you can see it all. You'll see it all. You'll still love me. Oh, you'll find it there. You have a choice and daily you choose me. It's hard to believe you have a choice. You choose me. It's hard to believe. You have a choice. You choose me. You have a choice, and daily you choose me, you choose me. You never gave up. You have a choice and daily you choose me, you have a choice, and daily you choose me, you choose me. You still love me. It's hard to believe. You have a choice. Every star, every star, every light, you can see it all. You'll see it all. You'll still love me. Oh, you'll find me, you'll find me.
Speaker 2:You'll see it all. You'll see it all. You still love me, in spite of me, in spite of me. Tell me what that song means to you and how does it correlate with your overall message? And more than sisters.
Speaker 3:I have messed up in so many ways. Someday I need some forgiveness. So, in spite of myself, even sometimes when I'm trying to do the right thing, I'm like Paul when I try to do the right thing, the evil is always at hand. I always end up sometimes choosing the wrong thing. And even in more than sisters the characters in these stories, in my story, they're all flawed. They're from the pastor to the deacons, to church members, to the three sisters. They're all flawed.
Speaker 3:And in spite of themselves, there's need for forgiveness, for God to forgive us because we're human, and I'm so grateful that God knows that and he knew that when he created us. He knows that we are human and he's given us he continues to give us so many chances for redemption. But you know our time, our days are numbered and our time here will soon wind up. So we need to get it right before we're called on home or before Jesus decides to return, so that we can all be together in heaven. Because we've got to get it right before we get there, so that when we take our last breath that's too late. No praying for us. Then. You've got to get it right for yourself before you die, and in more than sisters. That's what these children, these sisters, are trying to do to try to get it right and try to please God.
Speaker 3:And I want to also say it goes back to even though they didn't have their mother and father in their life for a long time. The mother and father did their job, they planted those seeds, they taught their children, they have they taught, like the Bible tells us to teach our children and to, in our homes, remember those stories and tell them how God has blessed them and those when we tell those stories to our children and we share those stories. You know we remember those things. I remember the stories my father shared with me about how God blessed him in the adversaries that they adversities they had to go through as children, and that's what we're supposed to do. And so, in spite of me and I know that I have messed up a lot I've done some things that I don't even want to write about it and I'm just grateful and glad that God, my father, who knows already where I've messed up, is willing to forgive me and I'm so grateful for it.
Speaker 2:Hey man, I 100% agree. They caught me hot to my knees, baby. I was hot in the fire. Crackle baby. You can tell me nothing. They love me, it's fightin' all of that.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 2:I'm not just talking about like in a fast way, but like I would fight at a drop of a dime. I will read you from Genesis to Revelation. I didn't care who you was, from my second grade teacher, ms Barbara Keller, on up to my writing and rhetoric teacher in college, ms Thompson. It didn't matter who you was, where you came from. If you said something I didn't like and I wasn't always like that I started off shy but I kept getting bullied and picked on so much I had to develop another personality and that other personality, you know, stood up for me in a way that I wasn't able to stand up for myself, if that makes sense. So I built up a wall or a defense mechanism and that just went boo-coo and God said you know what? I'm gonna love you in spite of you, because I know who you are, who I built you to be, and I built you to be that girl who was being picked on, because I needed you to go through these things to build you up to who you are now. And so this book like wow, it really just hit home for me in a lot of ways, you know, because, like you said, in the Bible it states raise a child in a way they should go and they will never depart from it, right, raise them up in a way they should go and they will never depart from it. So, with that being said, I was always, no matter what falls to home, no matter who I stayed with. It was always somebody there that was a woman of God. There was a black woman of God, whether it be my grandmother, whether it be my mom. My mom did a lot of things, but she still stayed true to her faith in God, even though she knew what she was doing was wrong. She still was a woman of God and she knew that Bible. And my grandmother did a lot of things wrong, but she knew that Bible.
Speaker 2:And any foster parent that I went to knew that Bible and they taught me those things, they instilled those things in me that I carry to this day and that's why I'm so strong in my faith, because I'm like, no matter what house I went to, something had to be right with that Bible, because everybody kept one and they knew when they did some foul stuff, they ran right to that Bible to fix their self, to try to sell soles, right to try to self-medicate. But they self-medicated with that word. And so I know that, in spite of everything, one thing stood true. With all of the bad stuff that all these people was doing and all these people was doing to me, I knew one thing stood true and that was that holy Bible it was the same Bible and everybody else they had the exact same Bible. That that black Bible was a black Bible and they all had the same one.
Speaker 2:So I'm like this is just something about this Bible. It's saying everybody's house. So it could be a good thing and it could be a bad thing. And when I started reading it I'm like no, this is the one good thing that they're trying to hold on to. So I kept it in my mind. So I truly believe that and that's why I instill it in my kids, raise them up in a way they should go and they will never depart from it, and in that, with them saying that, can you share any insights into how the sisters' individual struggles with abandonment are portrayed in the story?
Speaker 3:Oh sure I can. I know that they all had to deal with issues of abandonment in one way or the other, but if I believe Olivia, it just made her a stronger advocate for her sisters and not just her sisters, but those that she loved, anyone in her family. She was a strong advocate for them and she often suppressed her own feelings so that she could be there for those that she loved. And with Gail she was a teenager and she acted out and she didn't want to be left alone and she didn't know who to love. And if she did love someone, how long would they be there? And she learned to through her faith in God. She learned to hold on and know that. You know, having faith in God doesn't mean that we want to experience bad things. We want to experience hurt or shame or any of those things, but it means that while we're going through those things, God is with us and there's a purpose in the pain. And if we find that purpose, when we get over, when we get over that particular issue and there will always be something else, but when we get over we'll be able to use what we learned to bless someone else. So Gail did that by with her writing, with her playwriting, and then she went on to do television writing and so she was able to bless a multitude of people. Just think about that, Someone from, a little black girl from Bozer City, Louisiana, a small town right next to Shreveport, Louisiana, who was born in the 50s and she grew up to touch a nation, to become a pioneer in her field.
Speaker 3:Look at God, Look at God, Look at what God has done. And with Danny, her issues of abandonment made her very timid and very shy and, umm, I remember feeling that way as a child, being very timid, but I liked that. Timothy in the Bible was a young man and he was very timid, but God used that. Even that God can use. And so in the story, Danny was timid and shy.
Speaker 3:As she goes through, she finds out that her mother is deceased in a very unconventional way.
Speaker 3:She then loses her father and then she loses. She doesn't really know how to feel about a stepmother that she loved, but she's finding out some things about that stepmother that changes her, the way she looks at her, and then she goes on to even find out. She goes to some things where she doesn't know why people would even want to hear what she has to say and she's dealing with all those issues of abandonment. But in that too, she finds that, as she, every hurdle that she goes through are over, God is always there, always there to help her, and then he's always given her a situation where she can use those hurdles to be a blessing to someone else. Always remember that. I would like for the listeners and all my readers to always remember that, no matter what you're going through, when you get through it, you'll be able to use that as a blessing or even as your ministry to help someone else. Thank you, I'm going to see myself to what you see. Thank you.
Speaker 1:All right, I'm going to sing Just a little bit. There we go, let it go Of all of the ones who hurt me, cause they never did deserve me. Can you imagine me Saying no? Took thoughts that tried to control me, but remember it all? You told me Love. Can you imagine me? Oh, what my mom said, if I'm what my daddy did, I wanna live and not be the age of me.
Speaker 1:Imagine me being free, trusting you Totally, finally. I can't Imagine me how it meant it was hard to see being in love with someone like me, finally. I can't Imagine me being strong and not letting people break me down. You won't get that joy this time around. Can you imagine me In a world? In a world Nobody has to live off me, because if your love is going away, can you imagine me I didn't know I'm a best, that I have another chance and I'm the best, cause I don't have to be the age of me. Imagine me, imagine me being free, trusting you Totally, finally. I can't Imagine me how it meant it was hard to see being in love with someone like me, finally. I can't Imagine me. Imagine me being free, trusting you Totally, finally. I can't Imagine me how it meant it was hard to see being in love with someone like me. Finally, I can't Imagine me. The song is dedicated To people like me. Always the struggle with insecurities.
Speaker 3:Acceptance and even self-esteem. You never felt good enough, you never felt pretty enough. But imagine coming to me and I'm the best Cause. I don't have to be the age of me, but imagine God whispering in your ear, letting you know that everything that is happening Now go.
Speaker 1:Go, go, go. Every sin Go, every mistake Go, every failure Go Go. Depression, go Go, my faith Go Go. So misty Go. Hallelujah, go, go, go, go, go Go. All my scores Go, my faith Go. Just send the past Go. Yesterday, go, go, go, go. But you'll never get down. But you'll probably get down. Hallelujah, go, go, go, go. He's gone, go, go Go.
Speaker 2:Oh, la, la, la, la. Come on, cajun Cookie. Tell me what you think about that one, how it relates to your story.
Speaker 3:I couldn't hear the song. What song was that?
Speaker 2:So that song was Imagine Me by Kirk Franklin. Imagine me being free, trusting you totally. Finally, I can imagine me.
Speaker 3:I think about it. Just think about the words of that song. It's just amazing that God could use someone like me to write books to bless other people. Imagine me me the little timid girl brought up in Louisiana in a family whose father was a Baptist minister and whose mother cleaned houses for rich white people. Imagine me going off to college, getting two degrees and then writing books and hearing from people about how my books bless them.
Speaker 3:Just think, look at how God used my words. He planted a seed in my heart with a purpose when I began. Those seeds were planted with a purpose Then, when I obeyed what he told me to do, and he brought those words to life and they are being read by people across the world. Imagine that that God chose me to do that. He chose me and I'm grateful and I don't take it lightly, because he could have chosen anyone anyone but he chose me. I'm going to do that as long as I can. I'm going to do God's will. I'm going to use my words to be a blessing to others. I'm so grateful.
Speaker 2:Amen, amen. This is definitely a relatable book. You don't know. You go through life and you think you know I'm the only one dealing with this. Nobody understands Until you write it out and you put it on paper.
Speaker 2:After God has blessed you to get through those things, you write those things, you tell the goodness and the glory of God and you write it out and you will never understand how many people live, how many people that actually have went through those things or are going through those things or will go through those things. So, as they're reading your things, they know how to avoid that same thing happening to them, how to get over that hump, to know that there is a way over there. And those people who have gotten over that hump to say you know what. She absolutely right, because he did it for me too. So that is just a blessing in itself and I'm so, so, very grateful for you and for God doing the things that he has done in your life and is continuing to do in your life and will do in your life in the future. One last question how do the characters' experiences and challenges and more than sisters, reflect the broader theme of family bonds and faith?
Speaker 3:You know, I'm so grateful for my family and that was family. That's God's plan. He created family. That's the bond, the attack. That's what the enemy is attacking now.
Speaker 3:And then, more than sisters, I talk about the relationships between siblings. They could be between brother and sister or brother and brother, the relationship between family members, because in my family what you were born as kind of gets all jumbled up. My sister was born as my sister, but she ended up being my mother. My children called when they were first born, my children would call her Annie Granny. Then we dropped the Auntie and it's just Granny. And then now that there are cousins who are really like sisters and brothers and so it's all mixed up, but we share the bloodline and that family. That is unbreakable and it should be the place where you go and you relax. Sure that you have disagreements and sometimes you don't always agree with what Uncle So-and-So did or Auntie So-and-So says that's just the way she is, we're going to just ignore her, that's how she is. But there's a bond there, there's a love there and God puts you in that family for a purpose. I mean he chose the family that you were born into, so he did that for a reason and the life that you lived is there for a reason, and more than sisters, it shows you the strength of a family and those that love you.
Speaker 3:And families. Of course, today they don't look like they did Many years ago. Every family consisted of a mother and father and the children. Now, things a lot of us have raised by someone other than our mother and father could be grandma, could be auntie, uncle, could be a foster family, someone that loves you.
Speaker 3:But that family unit is strong. It should be strong. It should be where you go to relax and where you go to learn about God and His goodness, and then where you remind your children from generation to generation about what God has done for you, so they don't forget, just like the children of Israel. They repeated those stories over and over. They told about how God parted the Red Sea, how God annihilated their enemies, how God blessed them over and over again. He did miracles, and sure they messed up at times, and God still never left them. He wanted them, he hungered for them, he loved them and he does the same with us and our family, and we are to share those stories of God's goodness from generation to generation so that none of us will be headed for eternal damnation.
Speaker 2:Amen. Now, that is a word if I ever heard one. She said we should all be grateful for God's goodness and I truly, truly, truly, I'm a million percent behind that one. I just want to thank you so much. I want to thank you so much, Wailata, for coming out again and just doing this interview. I truly, truly, appreciate you and everything that you do. I love you so much. Cajun Cookie, you know you got a name. Now, baby, it's called it. Don't Stuck it. Don't Stuck with Me, Miss Cajun Cookie. You got any last words you want to say to the audience and tell them how they can find you.
Speaker 3:I just want to thank you all for listening and supporting me and thank you, miss Jack. You're always such, you're so pleasant, such a wonderful person, a sweet spirit, and I enjoy my time with you. Breeders can find me on my website at WMasonDunncom. You can find my books. I write under WMasonDunn. You can find me on Amazon. You can go to my website and that's where you can get autographed books. Also, you can contact me on social media at WALETA, w-a-l-e-t-t-a, masondunn, d-u-n-n. On all my social media. Thank you guys, so much for listening and thank you, miss Jackie, and I pray God's blessing over all that you do and I pray you bless me over this and Linda. God bless you.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. I'm going to end in prayer and then we're going to go out with song. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this time of fellowship and reflection. We come before you with grateful hearts, acknowledging your presence with us throughout this journey and as we conclude our time together, we ask for your continued guidance and strength. Lord God, lord God, we thank you for the things explored in More Than Sisters and the lessons we have learned. We ask that you help us apply these lessons to our own lives, enabling us, lord God, to grow closer to you and to one another.
Speaker 2:Father God, we pray for unity and love to abound among us. May the bonds of sisterhood and brotherhood be strengthened, and may we always uplift each other in prayer and support. Help us to be a source of encouragement and inspiration to one another, just as you are to us. Lord, we ask for your wisdom and discernment as we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. May we always seek your will and follow your path, knowing that you have a purpose for each and every one of us. We pray for your divine protection and provision in our lives. Lord God, cover us with your grace and mercy and surround us with your love, help us to be a light in this world, shining forth your truth and compassion. And finally, lord God, we give you all the glory and honor, for you alone are worthy. We thank you for the gift of salvation through your son, jesus Christ, and for the eternal hope we have in him. In Jesus Christ's name, we pray Amen.
Speaker 2:I want to thank all of you. You're welcome. Amen, amen, amen. And I want to thank all the listeners, everyone who tunes in, who catches the replay, who's listening, and all 10 countries on all 40 platforms. Thank you, guys so much for holding your sister down and coming on over to Station Head and all music platforms. I thank you, guys, so much. God bless you and have a wonderful rest of your day. And I'm gonna end with song, so just hold tight, guys. I got one for y'all. I got one for y'all ical music.
Speaker 1:All the saints and angels. They bow before your throne. All the elders cleanse their crowns before the man above and see You're the of it all. You're the of it all, for from you are all things and to you are all things. You deserve the glory. All the saints and angels bow before your throne. All the elders cleanse their crowns before the man above and see You're the of it all. You're the of it all, for from you are all things and to you are all things. You deserve the glory. You're the of it all. You're the of it all. You're the of it all. You're the of it all, for from you are all things and to you are all things. You deserve the glory, day and night, night and day. Let the sun rise Day and night, night and day. Let the sun rise Day and night, night and day. Let the sun rise Day and night. You're the of it all. You're the of it all, for from you are all things and to you are all things. You deserve the glory. You're the of it all. You're the of it all. I'm running from your heart to your soul, to this heaven, all free.
Speaker 1:That was good. Why didn't you show him that the other day. I'm running from your heart to your soul.