charita
Charita Hughley Cadenhead

What is the one word you live by or strive to be?

That’s the question Charita Hughley Cadenhead posed to readers of her blog, Refresh Renew Reset Your Life, when she decided to curate the collaborative book project, 1 Word.

Now her dream has come to fruition and her project is complete: , a compilation of essays by 14 authors all exploring the impact a single word has had on their lives,  is on sale now. Cadenhead and her co-authors will celebrate 1 Word on Saturday, Nov. 12 at a special book launch event that will include a book signing and inspiring talks from four of the book’s authors. The 1 Word book launch event is set for noon to 4 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Hampton Inn & Suites,  4520 Galleria Blvd. in Hoover. Get tickets and more information here. (Ticket sales end Monday, Oct. 31.)

Cadenhead was inspired to create the 1 Word book two years ago.

“In 2014, Yakinea Marie (of the I Am Woman Network) put a call out on Facebook for 40 women to make a one-minute video about one word,” Charita explains. “My video was about the word ‘persistence.'” 

Charita would go on to become a co-author for a book project organized by the I Am Woman Network. While working on her essay for this book, Charita realized another word had had a significant impact on her life.

“I talked about my experience with depression and thoughts of suicide and it was only after I wrote that chapter that I realized how hope had played a role in my recovery from depression,” Charita says. “Even though I was not consciously thinking about hope, I’m 100 percent positive that I had some hope that I would overcome it.”

The word “hope” came up again when Charita took a spiritual analysis at church.

“I almost became obsessed with this word, but in a good way,” Charita says. “I thought of the word and then it dawned on me that there was a possibility of a book collaboration on the impact of words in our lives — but more specifically, one word that significantly impacts our lives.”

1-word-authors
1 Word co-authors (from left) Donna T. Brown, G. Michelle Hale, D. Green Joseph and Aimee Lanier-Camper pictured with Charita Hughley Cadenhead

Words explored in the book include resilience, impact, brave, listen, curves, stillness, impact, faith, trust, destiny, intentional, believe, home, and imagine. And the book includes stories of women surviving cancer and domestic abuse and much more.

Minister Patricia Campbell, whose word is “destiny” writes about realizing that ministry, service, and teaching are her destiny. G. Michelle Hale, whose word is “impact,” discusses her determination to leave an impact on others and the world.  Aimee Lanier-Camper tackles the word “curves,” writing about curves of the body and handling the curve balls life often throws at us.

Hermione Alease Carnes writes about the word “listen.”

“Hermione says people call her such words as “reserved” because she’s a woman of few words, but being a woman of few words ultimately heightened her ability to really listen and hear what’s being said as well as not being said,” Charita explains.

Author D. Green Joseph writes about learning the value and necessity of “resilience” when she lost her husband and was left to raise their daughter alone.

And this is just a small sample of what readers can expect.

At the book launch event, a few of the co-authors will give inspiring talks for attendees.  Dr. Sreelatha Meleth, whose word is “trust,” will discuss how she learned to trust herself. G. Michelle Hale will give a talk called “Singing to Your Own Song.” Minister and comedian Donna T. Brown will also speak.

The 1 Word book launch event, set for noon to 4 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Hampton Inn & Suites,  4520 Galleria Blvd. in Hoover. Get tickets and more information here. (Ticket sales end Monday, Oct. 31.)