Honor Your Growth By Owning Your Purpose
Sabrina Anthony always wanted to write a book.
“I didn’t know if it was gonna be a novel, a fantasy, a mystery — I always wanted to explore my storytelling in any way possible within the shape of being an author. I just didn’t know it was gonna be my life on the front line.”
Sabrina, better known as S.E. Anthony, is an author, mental health advocate, and spoken-word poet based in Washington D.C., and the voice behind Manipulated Memories, a poetic memoir that gives readers a non-linear and personal look at love, loss, heartbreak, and healing.
“My book is really a love letter to those in lonely places, searching for any type of affirmation.”
Writing — specifically, journaling — served as an outlet for a young Sabrina. “I started writing out of need. I needed someone to talk to.” As an introvert, S.E. admitted her journals became that person for her. “Growing up, I didn’t trust a lot of people with my feelings or in my household, [where] your feelings were used against you. Writing was a thing that I used to feel safe.”
Home life was indeed chaotic for S.E. “I was in and out of juvenile detention, believe it or not. It wasn’t anything crazy — I was just leaving home. I was running away.” But at the age of 16, an overnight staff member at the detention center pointed out S.E. was about to turn 18, and if this happened again, it wouldn’t be juvenile detention she’d return to.
“I think that was a pivotal point. Life keeps moving whether you move with it or not.” S.E. took the moment to heart and began asking herself important questions. “‘How do you wanna feel? How do you wanna live? Even if it’s not the family that you grew up with, what does family look like to you? What does love look like to you?’ I started writing moving forward from that.”
Compiled of journal entries going as far back as middle school, Manipulated Memories came into being when S.E. rediscovered some of her older journals. “I just found them at the right time. You know how they say history repeats sometimes? I wrote those years ago, but I was still reliving some of [those experiences]. In a lot of ways, I needed to write [this book] to close those chapters of my life so I could move forward.”
Going through her past work took time — journals were scattered about, and some were dirty or ripped apart — but S.E. prevailed and worked hard to bring them together into an engaging and compelling personal narrative. As far as the title, Manipulated Memories is directly inspired by the non-linear approach to the book itself.
“My book is diving into the distortions of what I remembered, what I tried to block out, what I didn’t heal from — like literally everything all in one. One page, you might be crying. One page, you might be laughing — that’s just how distorted and manipulated my memories are. I feel different things on different pages, on different days, in different seconds.”
Ready to give Manipulated Memories a read? S.E. wants her readers to feel safe, welcomed, and prepared to confront their own memories — and be empowered by doing so. “Through traumatic experiences, your mind really blocks out [so much]. I blocked out so many years of my childhood and my life, and when you confront your memories, you can fully embrace them and fully move on.”
Manipulated Memories was published in late 2021, and since then, S.E. has found new ways to share her words with the world. Through her online storefront, the 444 Shop, she not only sells signed copies of her book but bookmarks, prints, and stickers featuring her poetry. Shoppers might even notice a pattern with the pricing in S.E.’s shop. That’s intentional.
“They’re angel numbers. 444 means you’re protected, you’re in alignment and you’re going exactly where you need to be. Every repetitive three [digit] number means something.” S.E. may be a poet, but she is also a savvy entrepreneur, one with a fantastic grasp on potential hurdles that may stop someone from purchasing — like pricy shipping.
“One of my customers DM’d me and they were like, ‘Free shipping queen! You’re just too nice!’ And I’m like, ‘yes!’ I don’t want people to pay for shipping. I want people to feel [as if they are] doing something good with their money, like they’re investing it back into themselves.”
Despite being a published author, S.E. admitted the favorite product she carries in her shop is her stickers. “They come with every book purchase.”
After working with a designer to bring her vision to life in the form of a sticker, S.E. did a lot of research before choosing MakeStickers. “I ordered a lot of proofs, I went through the whole process — MakeStickers was just my favorite one, honestly.” S.E. wanted stickers that would fit nicely on laptops and was impressed by the proofing process and overall sticker quality. “I got exactly what I designed. It was just perfect.”
The MakeStickers’ customer spotlight sticker for the month of April (also National Poetry Month) is, fittingly, a line of poetry from S.E.’s book, featuring the phrase “honor your growth.”
“Every day you’re growing, so every day you should be honoring where you are in that moment, [because] it’s some type of progress. You’re never backtracking, you’re never falling off — you just grow, no matter if you can see it or not, if it’s visible or not, every day, you’re in a different space of growth.”
Honoring one’s growth is something that has definitely resonated with others. S.E. has seen her sticker on laptops, trains, personal journals, notebooks, and planners.
“My words are just everywhere and I think that’s beautiful.”
The immortality of words is S.E.’s favorite part about telling stories.
“I say this in my forward: my grandma always says she’s still alive because people still think of her. And being a storyteller in that way, your words linger.” S.E.’s personal favorite storytelling inspirations include the late James Baldwin and bell hooks.
“Storytelling is an expression of love and truth. You’re literally telling your whole truth and holding nothing back. And storytelling can come in all forms: books, films, podcasts — literally anything. I just love how versatile it is.”
S.E.’s storytelling is certainly versatile — not only is S.E. a published poet, but also a filmmaker. One of S.E.’s next creative film projects involves a documentary focused on the topic of arranged marriages. “My family is from Guyana, South America and they have a history of arranged marriages. I want to like dive into that. ‘Can you grow in love?’ [That] is my question.”
But writing is still top of mind, with a second book already in the works.
As far as where S.E. sees herself in the next few years?
“One year from now, I see myself stable. I see myself really walking in my purpose. Five years from now, I see myself owning my purpose, and I just see a lot of abundance surrounding my storytelling.”
