Cynthia James - Does My Voice Matter?: A Journey of Self-Discovery, Authenticity, and Empowerment

Praise for Does My Voice Matter?

There are countless times in our lives when were faced with the most fundamental questions: Am I important? Do I make a difference? Do I matter? In Does My Voice Matter?, Cynthia James offers brilliant guidance and powerful inspiration, as she takes us on a personal journey filled with adventure and transformation. What a wonderful opportunity and resource to help you reinvent your life in a way that reflects how important you truly are.

MARCI SHIMOFF, #1 New York Times bestselling author, Happy for No Reason and Chicken Soup for the Womans Soul

I have loved Cynthia James voice for decades, but this profound book transforms that love into pure admiration. Cynthias book helps us to realize that a path to better mental health is understanding that yes, our voices do matter. We all must do everything in our power to listen to other voices, and most importantly, listen to our own. Her moving, important, difficult, and joyous journey inspires us to find that resonant voice within.

CHARLES RANDOLPH-WRIGHT, award-winning writer, director and producer of television, film and theatre

Cynthia James is a wonder. Learn from her. Listen to her. Despite growing up on circumstances that would have flattened most of us, she thrived with a natural born grace and spirituality that awes me. She is a living example of the power of prayer, of truth, of goodness. and with this book, she shows us that it is possible, even in these complex and challenging times, to find our own voices.

GENEEN ROTH, author of multiple New York Times bestsellers including When Food is Love and Women Food and God

I love my colleague and dear friend, Cynthia James! She brings us another landmark book, Does My Voice Matter? It is exceptionalin fact, remarkable! With profound vulnerability and insight, she shares defining moments that led her to the embracing and honoring of her authentic voice. Immerse yourself in Cynthias soul-touching book and share it widely, because were all here to live our lives out loud and to shine our Light into this world.

DR. ROGER TEEL, Spiritual Teacher and author of This Life is Joy

In all her offerings, Cynthia invites the readers to come to their authentic selves, accept the inner guidance offered, and then gives solid, workable tools, to come to a more balanced, peaceful, productive life. Her vehicle this time is her own lifes story filled with all its ups, downs, questions, sidetracks, successes, seeming missteps, triumphs and insights. Her honesty about her many different experiences shines a light for all of us seeking a more authentic life.

KATHLEEN NOONE, Emmy Award winning Actress, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Spiritual Psychology, Labyrinth Facilitator

I was spellbound, I couldnt stop reading Cynthia James book, Does My Voice Matter? You feel as though you are right there with her as she shares the extraordinary highs and lows, sorrows, and joys in every part of her amazing life of poverty, stardom, motherhood, womanhood, success and more, showing us that we each have enormous potential and we each are essential.

DR. ANITA SANCHEZ, Nahua (Aztec) and Latina, author of The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times

Give yourself the gift of Cynthia James and what youll receive is the gift of your Self. I felt seen, heard, and empowered from the first chapter. Cynthias presence on the page and on the stage is like a transmission from a higher realm that leaves you feeling uplifted, inspired, and ready to take on the world. I invite you take this glorious and often humorous adventure of the soul with Cynthia. Youll be the better for it.

SANDRA JOSEPH, author of Unmasking What Matters: 10 Life Lessons from 10 Years on Broadway

Does my Voice Matter? is a deeply passionate tale, a true story how one woman dared to climb her own personal mountain to find her voice and between the lines gives us essential keys to understanding ourselves. Cynthia leaves with us her life lived, as a model for us to climb our own mountain, yell out loud, and listen with joy the sound our own voice.

SHIRLEY JO FINNEY, award-winning international director of theater, television and films

A JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY,AUTHENTICITY, AND EMPOWERMENT

Cynthia James

SHE WRITES PRESS

Copyright 2022 Cynthia James

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, digital scanning, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please address She Writes Press.

Published 2022

Printed in the United States of America

Print ISBN: 978-1-64742-243-1

E-ISBN: 978-1-64742-244-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907469

For information, address:

She Writes Press

1569 Solano Ave #546

Berkeley, CA 94707

Interior design by Tabitha Lahr

She Writes Press is a division of SparkPoint Studio, LLC.

All company and/or product names may be trade names, logos, trademarks, and/or registered trademarks and are the property of their respective owners.

Names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals.

Cynthia James is the real deal. I should know; Ive had the privilege of being her friend for nearly three decades. And I dont mean just a social friend but a true friend. The kind who gets mad at you and picks up the phone to tell it to you straight rather than just cool the connection without giving you the chance to make things right again. The kind you can trust with the truth. The kind to whom youre free to confess your sins, secure in the knowing that you wont be shamedyet who, youre also acutely aware, will hold you accountable to be who you say you are, and in a way that causes you to grow up and get real. The kind that you can belly laugh with and cry with, dripping snot and all. That kind of friend.

Although Im now a therapist and teacher with a couple of best-selling books under my belt myself, when I first met Cynthia I was a shy and insecure aspiring singer-songwriter who was doing temp work to pay the rent. I had a burning desire to help others to heal, and a crazy idea about going down to Skid Row to work with women and men who were in a program to recover from homelessness and all that led to it. I wanted to run songwriting workshops and bring in professional songwriters to help tell their stories through song. I had no idea how to accomplish this crazy dream of mine and, frankly, I was in over my head. Id somehow convinced the Los Angeles Mission to give me a chance, and had scheduled the first creative writing workshop with eighteen women and men from their residential program. Yet having never done this before, I hadnt a clue what to do next, and I was in a panic. Thats when someone had the great idea of introducing me to Cynthia.

I remember feeling intimated as she walked into the restaurant. Stunningly beautiful and elegantly dressed, she made me feel self-conscious in my faded black jeans and baggy shirt. Yet the moment she sat down, her smile and warmth melted me. I began to feel like the most important person in the world as I shared my vision with her. In response, she poured out encouragement, kindness, and wisdom. Already a seasoned teacher, Cynthia freely shared her ideas about what I could do with people with such infectious enthusiasm that I became inspired. I got so excited that I actually forgot to be scared. The workshops went on to become a huge success, culminating in a nationally released CD that featured star artists. Yet most rewarding was that it radically transformed the lives of those once homeless men and women who participated.