About
For over 30 years Quelyn has served youth and families of diverse backgrounds through teaching in New York City and Atlanta public schools, casework, consultation and advocacy at children and family agencies, and coaching group leaders at an afterschool program.
Her childhood experiences and professional background in family services informed her first book, Validation Denied, Grace Bestowed: somewhere between the ghetto and God was something called foster care… (iUniverse Inc., 2004).
Validation Denied, Grace Bestowed portrays a young teenager who struggles with identity and the stigma of living in foster care. However, through a process of awakening and realizing self-worth as a young woman, she learns to forgive her past and love herself.
Her new music memoir, A Movement of Grace: My Soundtrack of Liberation and the Role of Music Today offers new insight and perspectives into Purdie’s original piece.
Written during the COVID-19 pandemic - the worst pandemic in modern history - A Movement of Grace explores the intersection of music and healing by highlighting the impact of music on Purdie’s own life from back in the day, through today’s post-pandemic time of human and environmental dissonance.
Through a unique creative style that blends poetry, songs (titles) that illuminate the narrative in every chapter, and personal experience watching and meeting some of today's music icons, you are engaged on a journey of reflection, resilience, and love and gratitude for the art form of music.
Purdie holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and a minor in Theatre from SUNY at Oswego. In 2017 she earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling from New York Theological Seminary, where she learned how to integrate spirituality and clinical approaches to ministry toward a holistic process of healing people in need. Her capstone project, Song of The Human Heart: How To Integrate Music in Pastoral Counseling, demonstrates the importance and successful integration of the art form in clinical settings, and life in general. She is also a certified mental health first responder and will continue studies toward licensure in alcohol and substance misuse counseling.
A Movement of Grace: My Soundtrack of Liberation and the Role of Music Today will be released in 2024.
IG: Pen2paypuh
Tik Tok: Mysoundtrackofliberation
Authors Guild: https://go.authorsguild.org/members/6112
©Copyright 2020-2024 Quelyn Purdie
Featured Work
Validation Denied Grace Bestowed: somewhere between the ghetto and God was something called foster care...
Validation Denied, Grace Bestowed: somewhere between the ghetto and God was something called foster care… portrays a teenager who struggled with identity and the stereotypes and stigma of living in foster care. However, through a process towards awakening and realization of self-worth as a young woman, she learns to forgive her past and love herself.
