In-Print: Self Published Must Reads Over the course of the next few months I intend on interviewing and sharing ONLY self-published authors and their books. Writing and publishing a book is a huge deal and should be celebrated. Over the course of the next few months we're going to talk about real stories, their origins, and teachable moments along the way.
Carl Willis wrote Me And Your Momma: A Long Story Short You can click the link to buy if you're interested. I met Carl on Clubhouse, the social app, and his book information was in his Instagram bio (also linked) and as soon as I read the description below I knew I had to interview him for this series! In this episode, Carl and I go deeper on all of the issues he touches on in his book and his personal experiences.
Me and Your Mama: A Long Story Shortis the result of 5 years of reflection, therapy, and personal accountability from the author. It dispels the myth of black men's unwillingness to do either therefore passing down trauma to their kids. This book wrestles with the importance of healing from childhood trauma, police misconduct, and forgiveness. This journey to healing begins in the small town of Thomaston, Georgia, and leads him through several cities throughout the east coast where he learned valuable lessons. By combining his own story with wisdom given through various sources, Carl Willis hopes Me and Your Mama: A Long Story Short will empower you to seek your own healing.
More about the author: Carl Willis is an author and aspiring screenplay writer from Thomaston Ga. He is a father and a lover of all things music and art. His latest book called Me & Your Mama: A Long Story Short discusses the importance of fatherhood, co parenting do’s and don’ts, and the importance of healing from childhood trauma and forgiveness. It’s available now on Amazon with the audiobook soon coming to streaming platforms.
In-Print: Self Published Must Reads Over the course of the next few months I intend on interviewing and sharing ONLY self-published authors and their books. Writing and publishing a book is a huge deal and should be celebrated. Over the course of the next few months we're going to talk about real stories, their origins, and teachable moments along the way.
Carl Willis wrote Me And Your Momma: A Long Story Short You can click the link to buy if you're interested. I met Carl on Clubhouse, the social app, and his book information was in his Instagram bio (also linked) and as soon as I read the description below I knew I had to interview him for this series! In this episode, Carl and I go deeper on all of the issues he touches on in his book and his personal experiences.
Me and Your Mama: A Long Story Shortis the result of 5 years of reflection, therapy, and personal accountability from the author. It dispels the myth of black men's unwillingness to do either therefore passing down trauma to their kids. This book wrestles with the importance of healing from childhood trauma, police misconduct, and forgiveness. This journey to healing begins in the small town of Thomaston, Georgia, and leads him through several cities throughout the east coast where he learned valuable lessons. By combining his own story with wisdom given through various sources, Carl Willis hopes Me and Your Mama: A Long Story Short will empower you to seek your own healing.
More about the author: Carl Willis is an author and aspiring screenplay writer from Thomaston Ga. He is a father and a lover of all things music and art. His latest book called Me & Your Mama: A Long Story Short discusses the importance of fatherhood, co parenting do’s and don’ts, and the importance of healing from childhood trauma and forgiveness. It’s available now on Amazon with the audiobook soon coming to streaming platforms.
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Intro:
This is the teachable soul podcast. Because we cannot on the journey to success. here's your host, Kat Daniels.
Kat Daniels:
Welcome to the teachable soul podcast. I'm your And if you all haven't been on clubhouse yet, I'm sorry, if you anything. But I mean, as a podcaster, obviously, I just you today. And his name is Carl Willis. Thank you for joining
Carl Willis:
What drove me to write it, it was what I start you know, the situation ended. And, you know, at the time, she that period, a woman that I was dating at the time, she, you cool for it. But I started and I loved it. You know, I love like, make this into a book. And I think maybe after a couple of with my trauma head from, you know, my childhood and how I nutshell, the story is a story of like a fatherless Boy, that's have with my son. Regarding, you know, some of my life lessons, learn from earlier than I did. So. that's it in a nutshell.
Kat Daniels:
Yeah. That's, I mean, there's so many things happened?
Carl Willis:
This was about he was four, actually. Four, he had
Kat Daniels:
Okay, and then so how long was it before you were
Carl Willis:
18 months, 13 days,
Kat Daniels:
not that you counted. So, so he was like
Carl Willis:
Man, it was bringing back memories. And I spent that hole. Because Initially, it was just a couple raised around and just wanted to give him like a introduction
Kat Daniels:
yeah, but so I have questions about how you decided
Carl Willis:
I don't know, I just I just, it was just like public consumption, I really wanted just to have this to communicate and just different stuff and transparency kept putting it down, I kept getting messages to keep it up. way through. So
Kat Daniels:
right. So the themes of the book and the talked about generational curses. So what were some of the
Carl Willis:
So one of the main things is something that I attention to it until, you know, years ago when I was in therapy. father. I was probably about 2627 at the time. And we kind of certain point, I stepped back and notice that oh, this is myself. I'm working to become just better in general. So
Kat Daniels:
Wow, that's amazing that you were able to have that some of the things that your father had told you? Had he been
Carl Willis:
No, just a lot of the. So I blame. I think that know, I was around and more, and I started learning a little bit the house, and which kind of drove him to get into the childhood in general, I was going out to my son. So I had to
Kat Daniels:
So you didn't grow up with your dad either?
Carl Willis:
No, no, I didn't grow up around him. I told a or $20 a piece from him. Me and my older sister knew we would
Kat Daniels:
Okay, so did your parents split up when you were
Carl Willis:
Were you split up when I was about I think had a, he had a kid about three years after I was born. And so years. My father wanted to resolve. I remember, vaguely,
Kat Daniels:
Wow. So your dad left around the same time? Or
Carl Willis:
I didn't. You know, I didn't because that became I you must have liked it. And became like, they kind of that's just you know, he is fresh or that's that's a Georgia whatever is taking that oh, you know, I know a lot of men that until you know recently last Maybe two years or so. Wow.
Kat Daniels:
I know. I mean, I think that a really good example the little boy or or even publicly, were saying, like, Oh,
Carl Willis:
And I feel like we don't we don't, just in this really know who's there. I don't know. He's just real cautious our parents really did keep tabs on us as much as I do with my bit more. But what I what I do see is that the same boys, that
Kat Daniels:
Yep, absolutely, I am. I found myself doing similar to know them for a while before. Like, I'll let them I'll let her my son and like, let go a little bit more with my daughter. But I aware that there are people out there who want to take advantage
Carl Willis:
Sometimes there's no Handbook, there's no existence, I definitely want to, I don't want to give the same different, you know, you have to allow for a little, you know, years. So I can see a lot of things going to change. So pray
Kat Daniels:
Yeah, mine will be entering into high school next before. Like, not for 100 years. So I'm just, I don't know, I'm
Carl Willis:
That's all you can do.
Kat Daniels:
Right? For sure. So what are some of the teachable
Carl Willis:
Yes, yes.
Kat Daniels:
yeah. So now it's been like you've had some years
Carl Willis:
I think initially, because at the time, you know, seriously. And having an ex, that you have a kid by that, you discipline, a lot of chatter, I remember one thing in you know. And so, I remember one episode, we got into the conversation with him afterwards. And he's in the telling him some things to kind of turn him against me. But she, where I said, Hey, he's not a seven, eight year old kid that I think that he doesn't know some things already. So I had to lot of things. And definitely, you know, had been working in bad texts. Right? There's a lot of debt, but we're on the right.
Kat Daniels:
So I mean, talking about, you know, parents, father personally, did that happen with you and your son or
Carl Willis:
Definitely, you know, he think that he... she he definitely would make certain comments that I didn't feel good felt like he was young, but he was too young. But some of the discuss in the book. Like I grew up. I grew up in a was as a man years, I realized that oh, I need to really do work on and that's what I've done. I've tried to do more and more each
Kat Daniels:
Well I think you're doing a good job so far. So I mean, I grew up, I feel like I grew up in told, I don't know if I was ever told this, but it was definitely
Carl Willis:
That's funny. I th nk we have a bunch of similariti is that, you know, we h ve responsibilities that we had ve responsibilities that are in life. And so they helped me i le school, they're trying to go ee the guy, you know, differ me somewhat of a class clown I think personally. And so I en a girl that stayed near me. An I was super horny at the time. I don't remember exactly w at happened that morning, I w id no, they took me down to he preci
Kat Daniels:
in sixth grade. Yes, you know, parents,
Carl Willis:
yes, or no parents. And so they took me down to the think situation. You remember, have you ever sorted. Now, this you know, harassing their parents to it. They just really, my situation was on a smaller scale. What happened was the we know you did if you made to get called Maybe only six you know, Judy corn and different things. And my mother your house, she said, as a TV star sit as a dresser with a TV probation, because it is my mother felt that I was becoming trajectory of my life, I guess you could say, I found out years didn't want to get them in trouble. So she painted on me.
Kat Daniels:
which brings up like, so many other issues, like are somehow on her side, just automatically and say, yeah, you
Carl Willis:
Yeah, yeah, that was that was a that was just
Kat Daniels:
Right. Have you? Had you ever been? Like, what
Carl Willis:
When we you know, we grew up in neighborhoods anxiety, you wander around or, you know, when the lights come didn't know what it was, but didn't take out, you know, of, a lot of times they prey on the, you know, an educated and,
Kat Daniels:
yeah, I always grew up afraid of the police too. But usually call toxic masculinity, which I want to clarify that
Carl Willis:
Okay, good.
Kat Daniels:
So,
Carl Willis:
can you talk about some of the toxicity that you that I grew from when I started writing the book was that I'm that, just being a nerd, everything, science, you know, environment, right. So getting in high school and being, you to get at me, and how that affected my ego, and how it do now, prior to going into relationships, for the wrong because of physical reasons. You know, I mean, so having to learn the same situation? I remember, one of my, I call him Oh, gee, know, that I want in my life. So that's been, I
Kat Daniels:
think, the biggest thing for me this year, I find a the time, or that they don't want it ever. And I don't know, between being introduced to something physical like that at
Carl Willis:
Yes. And that was a dark period. Because my past, I supposed to be drinking once you die, but she was just living her house. And it came in and his mother was drinking a little so And his little sister was probably about 10. And they were other's back and I swear, maybe like 1015 minutes later, she know, and they give her this and he did his routine where we necessary to put in a car and drive it to the hospital. So, it just, it just weighed on me all at once, right? So from that the next couple of years that I really questioned my faith. I into my senior year in college, and I had just met my son's know, to my hometown, as a college dropout. I was like an that, like my father called me hadn't spoke to him in a while
Kat Daniels:
hung up the phone and exchanged words. They're
Carl Willis:
Yeah, definitely did. You know, and I was down this mother, maybe my father's right. And I was just down. And someone told me answer the phone. And I answered anyway. She said if you if you pray, why worry. And if you worry, why stuff, just put it in the hands of God. And you know, if you if to lead my life and stop trying to direct it myself as much. And
Kat Daniels:
Awesome. Yeah, I have been on a spiritual journey but it was still very, it was the very same themes, you know, was ever told was a lie. And so yeah, which I mean, it's not
Carl Willis:
Is it? So that's another topic for another.
Kat Daniels:
Plenty, but I don't know how much time you've got.
Carl Willis:
So definitely a long discussion about that. But things were going, Well, you know, I didn't speak to him at know, trying to in my late last relationship, you know, she was small town, I know, things have changed. Now. It's become big where they were selling like, you know, the state, they had a were giving special shout out shout outs to the people that, gotten closer to God without even stepping foot in a church.
Kat Daniels:
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I am. I went the was, and I had a bad experience with like the people who are they're like, Oh, we do background checks. And I'm like, Mom, you do the same thing over here. Alright, so one more thing, before we close up here, I
Carl Willis:
Yeah. So music is one of my passions, like, I sunlight? How was that it became that period became easier with yearning for the is because, you know, I was trying to I was just my Instagram, by the way. The first one that came on was a gap chapter after that particular song, every song, every chapter we talked about it, but he's the type of kid that wants to know, helps us bridge that gap and understand each other better, as
Kat Daniels:
I remember growing up in our family, like, my one corner of Kansas to Missouri, which was like an where the majority of my good memories surround his music. So
Carl Willis:
Remember, like, different time periods. In my playing. So there's a lot of that in my life. I remember
Kat Daniels:
my not to ramble, but like when my sister was in, what she was doing not even like attempting to copy her just to music because she added up so loud, I could hear it. And I is so dumb but she turned me on to the Spice Girls at that time,
Carl Willis:
snaps back.
Kat Daniels:
They did they did. They were banging. Alright,
Carl Willis:
My next book? I want to give it I haven't said Definitely. Definitely discourteous, a lot of you know, and two now trying to date that today. No. Trying to date after have to figure out a way to divert from Have a familiar just started writing last couple of days, so I got inspired. I'm
Kat Daniels:
would love that. That's a fantastic topic too. anybody wants to reach out to you about your book or anything?
Carl Willis:
My Instagram. Is that the one of my favorite
Kat Daniels:
Perfect. All right, and I'll put those down in the
Carl Willis:
Thank you so much again. Oh, no,
Kat Daniels:
thank you. It has been my pleasure. You have been slash the teachable soul. You can also visit our website for