Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamara Harvey.
Hi Tamara, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have been married to my husband Jonathan for 14 years, and we have two children. I work full-time for the federal government, and I am a part-time college student. In my spare time, I like to write poetry and non-fiction books. Recently, I discovered Pilates, and I attend classes as often as possible.
I started writing books in 2016. However, I have always kept a personal journal, and that is where my first book, “I Love Hate My Hair” (My Journey with Alopecia) began. I started losing my hair in my late twenties, and I believe the diverse styles I wore, permanent color, and relaxers contributed to that. However, when I finally visited the Dermatologist, she told me that I had androgenetic alopecia (male/female pattern baldness). Then I realized that my hair loss pattern was similar to my father and brother. A few years later, I lost my eyebrows and most of the hair on the rest of my body.
You can imagine how hard this was for me as a young, single woman. As if losing my hair wasn’t enough, maintaining it to cover my baldness was very expensive. Fortunately, I could afford to visit different stylists to find the right one(s) who could style my hair the way I wanted it and make me look as if I hadn’t lost a strand. September is Alopecia Awareness Month, so I encourage you to visit my Amazon author page to purchase a copy for more information on Alopecia.
My second book, “I’ll Have a Martini, Please!” is a more personal look into my life as a wife, mother, full-time worker, and part-time college student. I give the reader a little bit of everything, a day-in-the-life, funny hashtags, and poetry. I love writing haiku poems, which lead to my latest book, “MyKu’ which includes 200 haiku poems.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Dealing with some of my struggles has not been easy. Once I got over the hair loss hurdle, I found myself about to become a blushing bride-finally! In my mid-thirties, I used to feel like I was always the bridesmaid, but never the Bride. Well, here was my chance. Labor Day weekend, 2007, at the thrilling age of 38, I was married, and I had found a man who did not have any children but wanted some. My prayers had been answered.
We planned to start a family immediately, and I thought, how hard could this be, right? Wrong. Because I had struggled in the past with uterine fibroids, I had been unable to conceive naturally. And the one time that I did, I miscarried because the tumors were so large. Within my first year of marriage, I found myself having my second Myomectomy (the first I had when I was 28). My Gynecologist at the time was about to retire, but he told me that before he did, he would find someone to help me have a baby. He referred me to the Johns Hopkins Fertility Center.
Under the care of Dr. Jairo Garcia and his staff, and after three rounds of In Vitro Fertilization, my husband and I had twins, a boy, and a girl. During this period, I was stressed and full of doubt, but I pulled through with support from my loved ones and many prayers. I had hoped that after the birth of my children, and now that I am in the stages of menopause, the fibroids would be a thing of the past. Yet, they are back again, but at this time, I do not have to worry about removing them, thank goodness. I am not sure of the significance of the timeline for the fibroids, but mine was first discovered and removed at 28, then again at 38, and most recently at 48.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I hesitated on selecting which area of my ‘work’ to discuss here, but I am glad I chose the creative side. When deciding which genre of books I wanted to write, I realized that I wanted to start by creating and sharing my real-life issues. And when I had to choose which book to send the publisher first, I chose hair loss because there are so many men, women, and children living with alopecia, and I felt like that story could touch someone, and I discovered that it did. In fact, so far, I have heard from readers that they have walked away with, related to, or learned something from my story. That makes me happy, and I plan to write more books and poetry.
I am most proud that I have been able to self-publish and start my blog, Marriage, Motherhood & Menopause. I started my blog last month, and my posts are from my experience as a wife, mother, and menopausal woman, and I share news and information on the topics. I am also proud to contribute to an anthology titled ‘Straightening Her Crown’ with Cheryl Barton and other women writers. Sometimes, I feel like I do not have enough time with work, my family, and school, but I made time to participate in the project, and I am glad that I did.
What makes you happy?
Happiness… such a simple word, but broad meaning. At this very minute, sipping my cup of coffee makes me happy. Smelling the fresh flowers on the table makes me happy. Looking out the window at the green grass, trees and sunlight make me happy. Not feeling any joint pain this morning, which makes me happy.
Overall, waking up every day makes me happy. Being healthy makes me happy. Having the things that I need to care for myself and my family makes me happy. Seeing my children smile makes me happy. Going through each phase of marriage with my husband makes me happy. Knowing that I have family and friends who love me makes me happy. Looking forward to retirement makes me happy. Being able to express me creatively makes me happy. Counting down to the day I will graduate from Stevenson University makes me happy. Mixing my favorite Martini makes me happy. I cannot forget to say that Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream makes me happy!
Pricing:
- I Love Hate My Hair – $9/99
- I’ll Have a Martini, Please – $9.99
- MyKu – $5.99
Contact Info:
- Email: tamara.harvey@verizon.net
- Website: www.tamaranharvey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/booksbytamaraharvey
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/booksbytamaraharvey
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tscorp1111
Image Credits
Tamera Shannon
Cheryl Barton
