Flying on Broken Wings: One Woman's Journey from Poverty to Prominence

For Phyllis Bivins extreme poverty hunger and homelessness were just a part of growing up in 1960s Virginia. Her mother could only afford to raise her on a part-time basis passing Phyllis around to family members and friends while seeking whatever work was fitting for a woman with a sixth-grade education. Some of the impromptu foster homes were nicer than others with indoor plumbing three square meals a day and nice clean clothes for Phyllis to wear. But they didnt quell the revulsions that constantly tormented her from childhood into young adulthood like the unspeakable horrors of repeated sexual abuse and domestic violence. While enduring the devastating traumas of poverty abandonment and abuse Phyllis somehow found solace in her passionate love for education. School was her sanctuary providing a relief that a life of pain and scarcity had stolen from her. The endearing words of her third-grade teacher implanted a seed of hope into Phylliss heart that grew with her even through her stepfathers savage beatings and an unexpected teen pregnancy. Phyllis was special with a spirit too bold to be broken and she was determined to carve out a path for herself that would lead her far away from the only life shed ever known. Despite her traumatic beginnings Phylliss hunger for education coupled with a relentless resolve to escape propelled her on a journey to freedom and unimaginable heights.