Your Gift Can't Stay on the Shelf

What happens when grief uncovers the very gift you were meant to share with the world?

In this episode of Success in Doses: Becoming on Purpose, I sit down with pharmacist, author, and storyteller Dr. June for a deeply personal conversation about loss, healing, creativity, and having the courage to pursue the dreams you've been carrying for years.

After the sudden loss of her younger brother, writing became more than a hobby. It became a lifeline. More than two decades later, that same creative outlet led her to publish her novels and finally share her voice with the world.

Together we discuss:

•  How grief can uncover purpose 
•  The courage it takes to finally publish your work 
•  Balancing motherhood, pharmacy, and creative passions 
•  Why representation matters in storytelling 
•  Preserving culture through literature 
•  The importance of taking small, intentional steps toward your dreams 
•  Why waiting for the "perfect time" often means waiting forever 

Whether you're an aspiring author, healthcare professional, entrepreneur, or someone who has put a dream on hold, this conversation will remind you that your gifts deserve to be shared.

Sometimes the first step toward your purpose is simply deciding to begin.

Connect with Dr. June at www.drjunebooks.com 

Thank you for supporting the show. Follow @successindosespod

career advancement, negotiation skills, pharmacists, personal development, confidence, asking for what you want, mindset shifts, professional growth, self-advocacy, boldness

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Success in Doses. I'm your host, Saleh. This podcast is about the real journeys behind meaningful careers, the pivots, the risks, the moments of doubt, and the lessons that shape who we become. Each episode, I sit down with people who are building impactful lives and careers, and we break down the experiences that help them get there. Because success rarely happens overnight, it happens in doses. Let's dive in on becoming on purpose. Hello everybody. Welcome back to another amazing episode of Success and Doses Podcast. I am extremely excited for today's conversation. The theme for season two is all about becoming on purpose. And what that really means is the power of intentionality and purposeful steps in our journeys of wanting to do things that we either may have strayed from or have been derailed by life through. I am extremely excited to introduce everybody to Dr. Ava June Poco. Dr. June was born in Ghana and spent her formative years in Cameroon. She's a proud graduate of Archbishop Porter Girls Secondary School in Tokarati, Ghana, and holds a pharmd from University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy. She currently works as a full-time pharmacist and is working on her cybersecurity certification with the hope of combining healthcare and IT. She resides in Baltimore, Maryland with her family, beautiful daughters. Every time I see them, I'm just like, they're so gorgeous. Composing literature is Dr. June's first love, besides her family, and she has been doing so as a hobby since primary school. Soon after her kid brother's death, over two decades ago, she took on creative expression as an outlet to escape her grief. Her poems and short writings later would be what she sought consolation in. She was inspired by two great men, Bill Okiri Marshall, a fellow artist and former director of the National Film and Television Institute, and Professor Atukwe Okai, former Secretary General of the Pan African Writers Association, both of blessed memory. Both men had faith in her and encouraged her to pursue her passion. She acknowledges that their deep trust and guidance has shaped her into the author she is today. Her second book, The Bat, which she launched in summer 2025, along with her book, Men Don't Cry, Boys Do, most of her poetry and short writings were written over 20 years ago. Dr. June enjoys volunteering and participating in charitable activities. Everyone, please welcome to the pod. Dr. June. Hi, June. Hi, Sally. How are you? I am blessed and highly favored. How are you? I'm doing really well. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for having me. Oh my God. The pleasure really and truly is mine. I think when you published the bet, that's when I found out that you had a creative outlet. We need to start from the beginning. I am so sorry to hear about your loss. How old were you when your brother passed away? I was 22 going on 23, was just about a month shy of my 23rd birthday when he passed. Wow. And what I guess like I've lost my mom, so I know the burden and weight of grief, but I also am learning that it has this really interesting way of unlocking and opening your eyes to other things that you may not have ever paid attention to. Talk to us a little bit about what is going on when you discover that writing could be something that helps you through this incredibly difficult period.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

So for me, since primary school, I loved to write. And what had happened was his death was sudden. I guess it does not matter whether the person passes away suddenly or the person is sick for a while or it's an accident. It's all the same feeling that you feel. So the night before, he was walking around the house, he was fine. And next day we came home, he was already in a coma and then he was gone. I just could not bring myself to process it because I mean I was I was sandwiched between two boys. My big brother was in school at the time. So it was just me and my younger brother at home. And he and I were pretty close. You know, even when he's fighting with my parents, it's me he wants to talk to, he's fighting with anyone, it's me he'll talk to. So it kind of like was so sudden, and I had I really had no one. I did have my parents, yes. I did have my best friend at the time living in the house, but then it was like this emptiness. Yeah. I really could not do anything but just write. That's the only thing I knew how to do because I mean, I don't, I don't drink, I don't party, I don't have a whole lot of friends to go hang out. Like that's the only thing I could do. And I think I did not actually start writing a whole lot until after he was buried. Because no matter what happens when someone passes away, it's when you see the person being lowered to the ground. This person is truly, truly, truly gone. Yeah. Because yes, oh, they tell you the person is in the morgue and all this, but when you see the person lowered into the ground is when it really hits you that the person is coming back no more. So when he died and when he was buried, I found myself almost every day going to the graveside. Yeah. And like I could not, I I I just go to go talk to him. And so my mom, I guess they were all worried because I'd always go for the key and all that. So the only other thing I could do was just sit and write. And at the time for me, it was just, you know, saying or voicing my feelings, it would sort of calm me down or make me feel better for that moment, you know. Just write it like I'd come from the cemetery. This is how I'm feeling, and I just pen it down and that kind of stuff. So I don't know, it just started like that. All my writings are not about grief, though. I have other writings, but yeah, but that's how I started because of love and other things, but that's how you know it started for me.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Yeah, and and that's powerful, I think, um, because for a hobby you had before something traumatic like that happened, and for that something you probably that was just a hobby to be the thing that ends up holding you and pulling you through a really difficult period, it makes me kind of get into the part I find very fascinating about your story is the pharmacist today that is also an author. You describe yourself that, you know, you're a pharmacist by profession, but writing by a calling. Can you explain that to us? Like how what does that mean to you, or what what makes you feel and categorize your profession versus your creative outlet that way? Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast. It helps more people find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

I know they're all like on the opposite sides. When I came into this country, pharmacy was not what I was looking into doing. You know, when I uh because just before I came, I was into IT. So when I came in here and I loved law. When I came in here, I was thinking of doing IT or maybe law. But then I talked to a few people who had been here for a while longer. They said, You want to be in the medical field. Math was my strongest part. I do love the scientists, but I do love math. I knew that I would not be a medical doctor because I'd pass out before my patient even does. I would not have the strength, I would not have, I just could not do that. So, and the thing about pharmacy too was because I came from a place, I came from a country where you know our medical system is all messed up. So for me, I felt like if I could not, the only thing closest to medicine or closest to being a medical doctor for me was pharmacy, where in the beginning I had plans of going back home eventually to go help our people back home. And there's this part about pharmacy, which is also healing and satisfying, you know, when you have someone call you. Sometimes even at a store here, you know, you just see someone who is struggling with something, just counseling the person or helping the person through what they are. Like even this, was it this morning or yesterday after work? My sister reached out to me that my nephew had been given some drugs and she wanted to know what they were and that kind of stuff. No, that is very fulfilling for me. Yeah. And able to help, you know, like to help people heal or to help people know what they're taking. Because most people in Ghana do not even ask, why am I taking this medication? They just take the medication. So I've become that kind of person that my family and friends, and like even right now, because I've been sending my blocks out and all that, some people do not know that I was a pharmacist. So now that, oh, you're a pharmacist. So um I'm taking this, this, this. What can I do? You know, it's just it's just fulfilling, you know, and the story part, you know, like I said, it is it is just a way for me to um to express myself no matter what mood I am in. Like when I write, after writing, I go back to it. It just it has the student feeling. I can't really.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

It's so I am an avid journaler. Like I journal, I have I wish I could do that.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

I have a journal that has almost nothing inside.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

I've had it for like two or three years. I I journaled a lot, and I have journals that go back years and years and years, and now with the iPhone, it kind of has turned me into an oral journal where I would maybe just record and talk to myself, right? But writing continues to be for me one of the single most effective ways to unload. Like definitely, if I'm feeling angry, sad, overwhelmed, even happy, like even when I'm overwhelmed by joy and good news, I want to memorialize that feeling somewhere. And I think the kinesthetic part, because some people type, but for me, pen and paper, it has this really powerful effect on kind of just reducing the adrenaline or the endorphin release I'm getting from whatever the emotion is. So I completely relate to it. But as a person that has wanted to publish and write a book for a very long time, I am so incredibly proud of you for having the courage. Yeah, like I think it's very brave. And I really want to, I want you to share with us a little bit about how your journey really began to say, I'm going to write a book. It started as a competition, but I'm very particularly interested in the bet because it sounds like that's been like some years in the making. Like how, what is going through your mind when you sit up and say, you know what? I'm going to write a book.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

I've thought I wrote that because I went to college. I started college. I'll not I'll not say I went to I started college back home in Ghana. I was only there for a year. So when I came home, and I still sometimes cannot tell whether I stayed with the Men Don't Cry before the bet or not, but the bet was inspired by college life. Gotcha. I went into school all naive. My you know, I I had no idea what was going on. Then I see all these people, you know, crazy things and all that kind of stuff. So I just for the book, I put a bunch of friends together and imagined what they would do. I imagined my own people that I created. And it's funny you mentioned that you like to actually put pen to paper because when I decided to publish my books, I actually saw my initial manuscripts I had written before I typed them out, and I still have the original ones. So the back came together um over 20 years ago still. Um I could not even remember what I had written. But what made me decide to publish, I don't know, for some reason, in 2022, 2023, I looked up these two men, Bill Autry and um uh Prof. And I realized that they had passed away, and that made me very sad. And then for some reason, and it blighted and came kept coming into my head. She's one person who did not publish her stuff until after, well, it was after she was gone that people published her stuff. And I said to myself, you know, life is too short. So sure. You never know how long you're gonna be here. And I don't want to be gone for someone to imagine, oh, what would June have wanted to write? So let's publish it. So one what one day I just went online and I Googled self-publishing. I looked at all the work that comes in. I'm like, uh-uh, this is not for me. I cannot do self-publishing. I need someone to publish for me. So I look for the most economical way to put it nicely. I sent the information. Yeah, it was not going at the way I wanted it to. So I had to find someone. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, you know, I can't do two at a time. Let's do one first, and then we'll do the other. And that's how, and it took over two years for me to even get this because you know how it is like being a friend. I get to this point, and the editorial was back and forth and back and forth, and all that. They wanted to change the way I had written stuff because I write, or most of my writings, because I wrote in Ghana, my some words were the English way, and then my editors are here. So they're like, no, it has to be this. I'm like, no, you leave things as they are. Say whilst and I say whilst I want to have color c or l or r and I have or you r, I want it like because there's gonna be things to change, so it was quite a process, but then the joy of holding the book in my hand because you know, it makes it all worth it.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

I'm so happy for you. I I think every year, as part of my resolution, like or as part of my plan, because I don't believe in resolutions, but I do game plan every year, and I always think, is this the year where I'm gonna put the book? And I'm overwhelmed, like I'm so overwhelmed, and I become so anxious, and I'm like, no one really knows the creative writing side of me, and I don't know if I'm ready to unveil that, and I'm so nervous about it. Uh, so you're inspiring. That's that's really what I'm trying to say. In that thank you, you sharing your story and why I hope my listeners would be really intrigued and want to support, first of all, and want to go out and learn more about you, is that what you're doing is no small feat. It's really brave. And I hope that everybody listening kind of feels inspired and encouraged by your story. As a person who's lived, I'm hearing you went to Cameroon, then you came back and you kept relationship. How has living, you know, going from Ghana, Cameroon, now in the US, all of these cultural experiences, how does that influence the characters you build and the stories and the way you tell them? How does that influence the way you see your characters and bring them to life?

SPEAKER_02 16:30

I think they make my characters. Because see, I went we went to Cameroon when I was only gotcha. We left Cameroon when I was nine. Because when I came back to Ghana, my school in Ghana was day and boreding, and there were lots of boarders from Côte d'Ivoire that are Francophone friends. When we we were in Jamaica last week, and I had some of my books. Someone looks at my book, someone looks at the bed and reads the back, and it's like, why is the person in your book called Chinadu and not Kwame or Kojo or someone? I'm like, the person has that name. I have Cameroonians in my book, I have Nigerians in my book, I have Ghanaians in my book. My book has everyone. So you see, so like I don't want my book to just be like because I'm from Ghana, because I live here, it's just here. It has everyone. And actually, in the bet, I had to do a whole lot of research. Yeah. So when I first wrote the bet, like I said, over 20 years ago, that time I just used, I don't even think Google was available. It was probably Spider Web. I don't remember how I translated my stuff. Because I was reworking it, I reached out to some Igbo friends of mine because I have Igbo in there. I reached out to some Housa friends, but Housa is so different depending on where the person is coming from. Because I have I do have a little bit of French, so that's how you know, those are the things that influence my right, just you know, by knowing people of different cultures. Because I didn't want that someone would read and feel like I said something that offended them culturally. That's true. But that's make sure that I'm doing my research and doing my research properly, and I think that's very important too when you're writing. It doesn't matter that it's fictional, it's so it's important that you actually represent people and represent them properly. And what was also important to me as I was writing the bet, I also wanted people to know about my culture too. So, like my halls or the what do they even call them here? Like the different uh colleges that the people were in my daughter's school, it's called colleges, I think it's halls in most other places. They all had names of significant people who played a role in our history. All the places I name them after people, then I talk about them. So if you've never even heard of Yasantua, when you read my book, you'll be prompted to, oh, who is this Yasantua that she's talking about? You see, I've been dependent, you want to go look the person that you see to take questions. That was important for me that people also know about my culture and also know about other cultures as well. So you read something like, Oh, there's Igbo here, you want to go. I mean, it does translate, but you if you are if you are an actual Igbo, you'll be like, Oh, she actually writes Igbo. No, I don't. I just have friends who help me with my translations and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

How cool is that? That's so cool. Now, you dropped a name that I know because I'm a soccer fan. If you say, if you say Abedipele, I may not know any of those other people. But you know Abedipele. I definitely know who that is because I am a soccer fan from day one and know exactly who that king is. I know, I know who that king is. I I I think like you touched on something that's really important in um like appropriate cultural representation and things like literary works. I think people underestimate the power. I I say this, I probably have said this on so many episodes on this podcast that to me, representation is not let's put everybody everywhere as many places as we need, but the power of representation is accuracy. When you decide to include people, it is very important that when you are talking about a fulani person, another fulani person reading that story is like, yes, that's my sister, that's my mom, that's my aunt. That representation, it's important because books are forever. You don't want someone to pick up your book and then be like, that is absolutely not how that happens in that culture. And I think it goes, it speaks volume about your level of commitment and the fact that you took that time and energy to really do the research. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

And even with my other one, with Men Don't Cry, Men Don't Cry is centered mainly in the western region of Ghana. I made up fictional places, but when I was talking about the festivals and stuff, I had to communicate with people who are from that area to find out how their festivals are celebrated, you know, because I mean I I never went to any village in Ghana. So I but I've only seen most of them in um you know on TV and stuff. So I had to make sure, you know, because at the time when I wrote it, there was all this then going around, or you know, they they claim that when chiefs die, they have to be buried with heads and all that. So when you read, you can relive that time. Yeah, and you know all the things that were going on and the the cultural things they do and that kind of stuff. So I think that is important that no matter how fictional the story is, should be something that you want to carry with you. So it's not just that, oh, this and this and this happened, but you learn a little bit, you know, and then you can go in depth if you want to.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast, it helps more people. Find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation. It's really amazing. As a pharmacist and a creator, I'm very curious about how you keep these two worlds. Like there's Dr. June, the pharmacist, and then there's Dr. June, the creative, that is so worldly and very open-minded and wanting. How has balancing that been?

SPEAKER_02 22:28

This it is hard, especially if you're working extra hours and all that sometimes, you know. But it's interesting. Um, so on the um a few days ago was uh was the anniversary of my brother's passing, right? And I woke up, well, I didn't wake up that day because I was already at work. So the night before, I was thinking, you know what, I want to write a blog and post on my brother's birthday. But then of course I was at work, and I knew when I get off work, I'm gonna be too tired, so I'm just gonna come home and sleep. So I just, like you were saying that you usually do, I just dictated to my phone. And of course, the phone made its mistakes. I went on my break, then I corrected it. And then when I went on my lunch break, I recorrected it some more, and then I sent it to the person to post. So sometimes it's hard to find that time. So if something just comes to my mind, I just write. And when I started this whole process of wanting to publish, I went because you remember back then when we had floppy disk and stuff. Girl. When I came into this country, I had all my stories on the floppy drive. Oh my gosh! Right? So I later on transferred them to a pen drive, which people do not even use now. Yeah, it's very interesting. I was looking at the folder and I realized I had like four other stories I had started but never finished. I was reading some of them, I'm like, I cannot remember what the thought process was when I was writing. So it's obviously gonna be a whole totally new story, but I had already started it. I was looking at all that, I'm like, you know what? There's so many stories that I can, you know, I can build on here. So every now and then I go to one of them, then I try to add, and I'm like trying to, so I have multiple stories going on at the same time. And of course, I have my poems and stuff that I've been done forever. All that's left is like most of them just have no titles. Okay. They'll probably have no titles when I publish them, they'll just be called untitled. Untitled, yeah. So balancing them right now, it's uh I think it's just a matter of sacrifice, yeah. Because it's not just the work, you know how it is, yeah, and everything else, you know. So you come home, you're tired, but you you actually have good intentions. You do, and then we end up doing it in our heads. And wake up, I wake up with plans. I wake up, I put stuff in my plan. I really, really intend to do them. As to it happening, it doesn't happen.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

So let's talk a little bit about that because I think that when people see you moving, all they're all they see is the outwardly component, which is oh my god, June has the most beautiful girls. I love their hair, they have so much hair, they're so pretty, they're so beautiful. And I'm like, oh my God, she does that, she works, and she's creating. How does she do it all? Can we talk a little bit about some of the things that fall through and the guilt associated with wanting to show up for everybody in your life, but still, some days, like you feel like you're not cutting it. Like, am I alone and feeling that way?

SPEAKER_02 25:53

No, you're not. No, you're not. You know, we have the tendency of always wanting to be everywhere all the time, right? So even not to go too far, just like yesterday. I got off my rotation yesterday. I worked seven on, seven off, and I worked overnight. So I got off my rotation yesterday at 7 a.m. But I had some training to go do for my retail store, which was scheduled for 10 to 2 p.m. And there was no way I was gonna come home and drive to Rockville. So I stayed in my car and slept for a bit, drove over there, went to do my training, but then the day or two before, my middle daughter had told me that she has a uh a track meet, which is gonna be the last one for the season. So she felt bad. I'm like, I'm tired, yeah, but that that's her last meet, too. Yeah. So if I don't go, I don't get to see her running again. So I got home at about three something, I slept for an hour, and then I still had to go there. Sure, I've been okay if I had not gone. But then I would have felt bad. And so there are many times like that, you know, like I'm tired, but I'm like, okay, I'm tired, but I'm still mummy. Yes, yes, and I have to do that. Yeah, but sometimes, like they say in PJ, it could not be firewood, you know. So sometimes when I'm truly, truly tired, I can't I cannot begin to tell you the books I've written in my head. In my head, my books are complete. I have all these stories. So since I wrote my blog a few nights ago and realized that, you know, it's fun to just dictate, I think that's what I'm gonna be doing mostly. Just dictate and then because if not, I'll probably never end. And one thing I like to do also, because on my website I put that coming soon, my point in this, because I've put it out there, I must make sure that that is exactly that that um that promise.

SPEAKER_00 27:49

Because I always tell people, it's like I couldn't care less if the if the following is not tens and thousands of people. I literally do it with the one person in mind that is looking for me to show up for them. Like if I say that I'm going to post an episode every Monday, I'm not posting it every Monday because this is gonna be the Monday I'm gonna get 10,000 downloads. I'm posting it every Monday because this is somebody's Monday morning routine. And I I want to be counted on and I want to be dependable for that person as a show of appreciation. But I completely relate to that. The moment you toss it out there and say, coming soon, you're done. You gotta you have to do it. No, I I appreciate your candor and your honesty. And my listeners, they know like we don't sugarcoat anything here. It's about the real conversations and learning from people that are in the trenches with their development so that everybody can be moving forward with a better version of who we are, right? So I ask every guest this question: what is one advice that you have for a creating person that's feeling stuck? Or they're feeling like their life is kind of moving in a direction that makes resuming becoming a painter, a writing, a playwright, a dancer, another creative outlet that they've had for a long time. Life is kind of getting in the way of them flourishing in that way right now. What's some advice? What is a good dose of advice you have for that person? Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast. It helps more people find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Life would always, always get in the way. But remember, tomorrow is not promised. So, so long as we know tomorrow is not promised and we know for a fact that we're not here forever, how do we or what do we want to be remembered by? May take a while to do what you want to do, but how about if you start in little, like you said, doses, right? Little tiny doses. Because if you're waiting for that big moment, it's never gonna come. Right? If you're waiting and waiting, it's just not gonna show up. So, what you want to do is to start now in little pieces. When I when uh the the person working on my on my website first told me I had to write a blog, I'm like, what? I don't write blogs, I write and I write books. I don't know what a blog is. Yeah, I went to Google, I'm like, Google was not showing me anything. I'm like, what am I supposed to write? I'm like, okay, it took me a while. Yeah, I have a book, but I couldn't write a blog. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a discount. My second one, which I've not given him to publish. But I tell you, when I decided to write a blog on my brother's anniversary, look, it took me less than 24 hours to complete that. So it is it is a matter of determination, yeah, and also the fact that, like for me, like I said, I didn't want to leave this world and have someone else come and think and say, what would you have, especially with those two books that were already done? Like, what would she have done with this? What would she have done? I didn't want that. That was something that propelled me to want to have my books published. And I feel like it's it's life would always, always, always be in the way. There's nothing we can do about that. But even if it's a few minutes, and especially now with technology, you dictate, you go back to look. Because I mean, after my dictation, I saw that many of the stuff, that's not what I meant. But then I I knew what I was trying to say, so I could correct. Because if you're looking for that right time, like especially if you're driving around, some people drive long distances too. Absolutely. You don't even have the time to sit because you're commuting, you get home, you're you're you're doing mummy stuff, you're doing wife stuff, you're doing all kinds of stuff, you can't do anything. So the little time you have, maybe your break or whatever, dictate some notes. I mean, for writing, for instance, for me, I first write whatever I want, the summaries for each chapter. You have to have the skeleton. Then nothing's gonna happen. You have to have some, you have to have a draft, you have to have the skeleton know what you want your story to develop. Of course, it can change. It will change, no, it can change. Because what I wrote 20 years ago, when I was looking back at it, when I was reading, I mean, when I was reading the bit, trust me, when I got to the end, my own eyes teared up. I read the book. I don't even remember what happened in the end, but when I was reading some part, I teared up. I changed a few things because I didn't have names for everyone in there yet on my halls and all that in there yet. But that's the thing, you do it in pieces. Yeah. Sometimes some people even start writing from the end. I sometimes know the end of what I want. I have poems I've written, I've left gaps, and I've completed, or I've written and I'm like CBC, and I've still got something that they'll probably end up just like that. Because at that moment, what I felt is what I wrote, and I may never go back to it. Or I will, I do not know. So start in small, small doses, you know, and then you will get there.

SPEAKER_00 33:11

That is such a powerful high note because that's what this platform is all about. Like incremental changes, intentional little steps that we're taking towards a big, big picture. It doesn't matter how insurmountable it seems, it really does start with a simple step. And that step usually is the conviction and decision that I'm going to do this. I appreciate you sharing that insight. I want my listeners to be able to find you. I want you to share with them how they can find you, how they can support you, ways they can partner with you. Definitely.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

So for now, I have my website, drjunebooks.com. I have any events that I have planned. I have my blogs there, I have my link to my Instagram, I have a link, I have everything on my website. So I just give the one link, drjunebooks.com. You go there, you can find me anywhere else.

SPEAKER_00 34:09

Support, support, support, support creatives anywhere. I think it takes a lot of courage to create anything. I am passionate about supporting other black creatives. I'm even more passionate about those that have the guts to be a pharmacist and create. So you're just checking all the boxes of somebody that I am overly honored and excited to introduce to my audience. And I wish you the best. I appreciate your time and thank you for stopping by for a good old conversation with me today. Thank you for having me. You're welcome. Okay, guys. So now that it's just us, I am so absolutely happy and thrilled that if this was the very first time that you met and had an opportunity to hear from June that that would happen here today. I'm always really fascinated by people and their resiliency, right? Like, I think that something as difficult as the loss of a sibling, a sudden loss of a sibling, has to be one of the most difficult things for anyone to go through. But in the middle of that, if you read June's story and you listen to the way she talks about it, it unlocked something that has existed for her for a really long time. That became the tool, the go-to to help her get through her grief. Right? I've talked to you guys so many times about safe and healthy coping mechanisms. Today was a real life example of how that has happened for one person. It is proof that it is a real thing to lean into your creativity and other outlets when life really gets difficult. The other thing I think that was really fascinating about Dr. June today and what we learned is representation and the importance of that. I love black creators, I love creators in general, I love black women authors. June's creativity continues to be something that I admire. Her courage is something I admire. That choice and decision that she's made, that she's going to contribute in this way, is something that should be supported, celebrated, and definitely deserves to be spotlighted. We also learn today, I think, from June is none of this is easy, right? Like she's working and being a mom and being a friend, a wife, a daughter, while still holding true to making her dreams come true. I don't think that the importance of that can be overstated. I loved her candor and talking about the fact that, yeah, sometimes she's exhausted, but you decide on the things that are important to you and you show up for those things no matter what, right? Like her daughters track me. I'm always grateful and will continue to look for special, unique voices like June and her positivity and her light to bring you voices like that and bring you people like that so that you know that sometimes in our journey, shame tries to come in and you try to feel like you're not where you should be in life. What's really important, as she shared with us in her advice, is we're not going to be here forever. And we do not have forever to sit on our skills, our talents, our gifts. We should really be making and taking small, intentional steps towards making every one of our dreams come true because they deserve to see the light of day. Thank you again, June, for coming through and for sharing with such openness and such candor. I really appreciate you, respect you, and admire all of what you're building. As always, I'm grateful that you're deciding to start your Monday with me with this conversation. I hope you heard something here today that moved you towards a goal that you've put on a shelf for a really long time, because that's what June taught all of us today to go after it because we don't have forever. Thank you and have a wonderful rest of your week. All right, bye. If this episode gave you something to think about, something to hold on to, or even something to act on, I want to ask you for one more thing. Take a moment to write and review the podcast. It feels really small, but it's actually one of the biggest ways you can support this show. It helps more people find these conversations and become part of this community we're building right here on Success and Doses.