Today we’d like to introduce you to Reginald Antonio Forest.
Hi Reginald Antonio, 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’m Reginald Antonio Forest, a poet, author, and creative living in McKinney, Texas. My poetry books were each born out of hidden pain and secrets I carried for years, but it didn’t end there. Writing became my outlet, my healing space, and the place where I began turning silence into truth and pain into purpose.
My truth is that I had a troubled childhood, especially my teenage years. For seven years I endured abuse at the hands of an uncle that no child should have to deal with , all in silence and in isolation. After building up the courage to end the abuse, I then lived with the secret for another 23 years. But even in the middle of that, I held on to the part of me that wanted to grow, to heal, and to help others. After years of silence, I found the strength to speak out, and that choice changed everything.
My most recent work “Pieces of Me: Love’s Battle Scars Survivor’s Edition” emerged from the wounds, the silence, and the moment when I finally chose healing over hiding my hurt. Through my writing, I’ve tried to turn my pain into something that is brutally raw, honest, and and relatable. Something that hopefully helps someone else feel less alone in their own situations.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road from there to here has been anything but smooth. One of the hardest struggles was carrying the weight of the abuse and pain in silence for so many years while trying to move through life as if everything was okay. A big part of the journey has been learning how to heal, speak honestly about my experiences, and turning a deeply painful experience into something tangible and meaningful through my work.
Then there is the struggle of dealing with the emotional weight that comes from telling the truth publicly. Opening up about abuse requires a vulnerability that is terrifying, but it is a necessary part of my healing and purpose. I have had to learn how to keep going when every part of me wanted only to stop the pain. I’ve had to face the past and maintain my own identity in light of what occurred. I have also learned how to use my writing as a tool to transform pain into something that can help others.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a poet, author, and creative storyteller who specializes in writings that come from lived experience, emotional honesty, and healing. I am known for writing poetry that is raw, vulnerable, and relatable. In my work I often explore pain, survival, love, loss, and the long process of learning how to live with the truth of what you have been through.
What I am most proud of is my ability to turn my experiences into something meaningful and helpful for others. My most recent book, “Pieces of Me: Love’s Battle Scars Survivor’s Edition,” is especially important to me because it represents not just my writing, but my journey through healing. It is me baring all, no longer hiding in silence, but speaking truthfully in life and on the page in hopes of helping someone else feel less alone.
What sets me apart is that I do not just write poetry for personal expression; I write from survival, reflection, and purpose. My work is rooted in real life, real pain, and real growth. More than anything, I want readers to feel honesty in every line, but also hope, strength, and the reminder that healing is possible.
What were you like growing up?
As a child I remember being a bit shy and hesitant to open up initially, but boisterous, energetic, and full of life once I felt comfortable. I loved to laugh then and still do now, with corny dad jokes always being a favorite of mine. I adored reading and learning new things, especially in biology, astronomy, and chemistry. I had an insatiable thirst for understanding how things worked, and that thirst often branched out from researching one subject to another. My favorite reading for years was the “Encyclopedia Britannica,” just to give you an idea of how deeply I thirsted for knowledge and understanding. I often dreamed of becoming a doctor at an early age and I definitely had the thirst for knowledge to do so. I always was empathetic and wanted to help others who were in pain. I always had a kind and giving heart, even if it meant giving the last of what I had. I was never hesitant to share with others.
Pricing:
- Pieces of Me: Love’s Battle Scars Survivor’s Edition hardcover S19.99
- Pieces of Me: Love’s Battle Scars Survivor’s Edition paperback $12.99
- Love’s Lost and Found: Poetry by Reginald Antonio Forest paperback $10.99
- Love’s Lost and Found: Poetry by Reginald Antonio Forest audiobook $7.99
- Pieces of Me: Love’s Battle Scars Survivor’s Edition audiobook $7.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.reginaldaforest.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moda_poet
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18q47fYvSq/
