For many everyday people, writing serves as a way to vent after a long day and take notes. For Mount Vernon resident and licensed esthetician LaToya Thompson, it became an outlet to process trauma, abandonment, and the complex journey of navigating new blessings.
Now, her powerful memoirs serve a purpose: to be a voice for hurting children, young mothers, and anyone striving to heal wounds through her books.
Born and raised in Jamaica, she had a childhood shaped by hardship. Without parents, she was raised by a woman she affectionately calls her grandmother.
“My time growing up in Jamaica was difficult,” Thompson, 43, recalled during a recent interview. “My parents were too young to take care of a child. I met my father at five years old, and my mom and I still have an estranged relationship. And that’s where I began journaling. I turned my journals into writing.”
At age 13, Thompson immigrated to the United States and grew up in the middle of the Bronx. The transition brought a wave of cultural and emotional adjustments, from adapting to the “fast-paced conversation and slang” of New York teenagers to her heavy Jamaican Patois accent.
With home instability and no guidance — a recurring theme in Thompson’s life –– her journey throughout school wasn’t always easy. She attended Harry S Truman High School and Christopher Columbus High School, but was expelled. She eventually graduated from Evander High School. After choosing not to attend college and with a passion for beauty and wellness, Thompson decided to go the esthetician route and get her license.
Throughout her journey, Thompson kept her journal by her side.
“Coming to America was not just changing countries; it was learning a new way of living while still trying to survive emotionally,” she shared. “Journaling stayed with me because it was one of the main ways I processed what I was going through.”
Over time, she realized her personal entries held a deeper message that could be shared, offering common experiences alongside guidance for others.
Her debut book, “Unchosen,” details her childhood from birth to age 13, exploring her journey with abandonment and her desire for stability, protection, and love. Her second book, “Unprotected,” picks up from ages 13 through 21, diving deeper into her experience as an immigrant child, foster care, relationships, violence, early motherhood, and the fight to survive before learning how to heal. Together, the two books trace her path toward healing.
“Writing those books has been a way of understanding my own life and giving my younger self a voice,” she reflected. “I wanted parents, educators, social workers, and other adults to understand that sometimes what looks like a ‘difficult child’ is actually a child who’s hurting. I hope that it creates understanding, compassion, and conversation that can help someone else.”
The responses to her two-part series, she tells me, thus far from her readers have all been moving. Thompson shares that readers were “deeply emotional,” with many reaching out on social media to share how her story mirrored their own untold struggles.
“The meaningful part of it is that people tell me they’ve cried while reading that certain part of my story reminded them of their own life, that they felt like they were seen, or were experiencing some of what I’ve been through and never knew how to put it into words for themselves. That reminds me that the book is doing what it’s supposed to do. For me, that means more than just selling a book.”
Both “Unchosen” and “Unprotected” are available on Amazon in paperback and hardcover, with signed copies available directly from her. A free chapter of “Unchosen” is available on her stan store.
As she shares her plans for the future, Thompson isn’t stopping at two books. She is currently planning to turn this into a four-part memoir series, covering her life from 21 to 35, and a last book from 35 to the current day.
In addition to adult memoirs, she is working on expanding her stories into children’s literature with an upcoming title, “Chosen,” designed to deliver age-appropriate stories to younger readers. Moving forward, Thompson also plans to host workshops and community-facilitated gatherings on topics surrounding trauma recovery, motherhood, storytelling, and helping adults and children find their voice.
“Writing these books has healed me in ways I didn’t expect,” she said. “The advice I would give to anyone going through something difficult is not to let what happened to you become the only definition of who you are. Permit yourself to heal.”
