Conversations with E. Bruj

Today we’d like to introduce you to E. Bruj.

Hi E. , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’d like to believe that my story started with my mother- yes in the literal sense because she did birth me haha – but also my very wholeness, essence, spirit and being. My mother was born on the beautiful island of Ayiti (Haiti). Unfortunately, due to the economic state of many families, my grandmother could not afford to keep her in school. From about eight years old, she was working with my grann (grandmother) in the fields for money until she came to the United States. My mother didn’t learn to read or write. She held onto what she could with spelling her name, recognizing numbers and simple math skills but essentially that was all. She came to the United States when she was about 16 years old, and she was placed in the foster care system and in high school.

Being placed in the 10th grade with no concepts of reading/writing and being in a foreign country not knowing the language, our free education system was too challenging for her. Therefore, she dropped out of school, left her foster home, and went with some of the others she came to the U.S. with to work the fruit fields in order to send money back home to her mother. My mother did not learn how to cohesively read or write (not even in her own language). By the time I started school, she couldn’t help me. I struggled immensely with my reading skills and writing skills, until one of my teachers took it upon herself to assist me with getting on grade level. By the time I reached third grade, I was at the top of my reading class and above grade-level reading and comprehension. Around that time is when I fell in love with books and aspired to one day become an author. I published “Sonje Sa” , my first book on August 5th, 2022.

Truthfully, I wouldn’t have been able to do this without Spirit (my relationship with God and my Ancestors). I do not know if this would have been possible without Spirit holding me – especially through my trials.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My biggest obstacle has been my journey with trauma and grief. Too often I have felt as if there is no making it to the other side, too often it’s been difficult for me to find the light. Grieving the loss of my early childhood due to sexual abuse. Grieving the loss of a sense of safety in the world around me. My father passed away right before my 11th birthday, which resulted in my very first experience with deep heartbreak. That led to trauma bonding in relationships which poured more salt into my heartspace. Also, losing my older brother in 2021 due to sickle cell anemia disease. I was always flooded with emotions that seemed impossible to name and hold space for. The world was my enemy, I had to fight every day just to survive. I did not allow anyone to come into the small space that kept me safe. I was and sometimes still am uncomfortable with being heard and seen. In the past I would only tend to speak when I felt threatened (which was all of the time haha). Essentially I molded myself into this girl that was “content” with smallness, being guarded,  hiding in the shadows, sitting in the back, and being unnoticeable. I was a girl who loved her smallness yet my spirit craved greatness. My spirit craved depth, for my voice to be heard, for my rawness to be felt, for my pain to be acknowledged, for my vulnerability to be revered and for my fragility to be handled with care. It got to a point where I had no choice but to surrender and let Spirit guide me through the journey of honoring my trauma and grief.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a deeply feeling person, a writer, a storyteller, a keeper of my Haitian Heritage, and officially an independent author. I am so proud of my poetry and prose book titled “Sonje Sa”. A tribute to my mother and how she’s told me stories of her home, of Ayiti; because she knows as her daughter I will have the ability to write them across the universe. I will paint pictures of her stories for all to see, for all to Sonje, this was my mother’s gift to me. My name means poetry. So I believe that on a soul level, I was meant for this. My soul chose writing and speaking my truth to be my gift to this lifetime. My gift to all of you are the truths I’ve been scared to tell. My gift to all of you are the parts of me I’ve been scared to show. My gift to all of you is my heart. “Sonje Sa” is for those who love too deeply, for those who have walked with grief for a while, for those who sometimes can barely breath, for those who just want to be seen. “Sonje Sa” is for those who want to remember their way back home-back to love. I write about the difficulty of heartbreak, grief, and the in-betweens. My words tell my truths about different versions of myself as I navigate through spaces of heartache, grief, loss, spirituality, sanctuary, and love. Incorporating my rediscovered Haitian Heritage, I create a beautiful short prose, which brings inner thoughts, dialogue, affirmations, connection and medicine.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I believe the qualities that have and will continue to keep my successes safe are my humility and humanity. We all hold our truths and sometimes they can be so heavy.I want to be a light for others that are walking into their truths, no matter how scary the path may be. I will never be able to walk in someone’s shoes or walk through life as them. But I can hold someone’s hand and walk next to them and be there to remind them of their own love, softness, and grace.

Pricing:

• Poetry and Prose Book “Sonje Sa” $22.22 through Amazon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ebrujtheauthor.squarespace.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/e.bruj/
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZCYSGDS

Image Credits
Photographer of all photos provided: Love Soulèy