Charisse Broome turns job loss into passion for writing

Charisse Janine Broome was among the many people who lost their jobs as a result of the covid19 pandemic, but she isn’t unhappy about it. In fact, she said, when she was sent home from the private school at which she taught, it freed up her time to do so many other things she loved, including writing. Earlier this month Broome launched her first children’s book, Awesome Father, at the Tunapuna Library.

“This is not the first book I’ve written, but it’s the first to be published. It has been the number one new release (in Christian poetry) on Amazon.com for the past two weeks in a row,” Broome excitedly told WMN.

She said writing is now her full-time job and she has added "creator" to her long list of skills.

“If I’m not writing I’m creating from my writing by using my work to create worksheets for primary schools students…I remember one time I wanted to write a poem about mangoes and I got a soap opera instead,” she said with a laugh. “Eventually I did write my poem called Mango Mouth Marlon, and from that I created English Language worksheets and Mangomathics, a math worksheet.”

Awesome Father, she said, is a Christian poem that celebrates the wonder of nature in general and, of the beautiful Caribbean landscape in particular – indicative of her great appreciation for nature.

“I like to read a lot and spend as much time as possible in nature. I have a garden of Eden in my backyard in Arouca…Awesome Father expresses awe and wonder at the awesomeness of nature’s creator and invites children and adults everywhere to accept and appreciate the awesomeness that they are themselves.”

The self-published book is set in TT and Broome describes it as an good resource for home-schooling parents, primary school teachers, Sunday school teachers, parents and grandparents.

She said it is a “heart-warming, fun-loving” book that can open the door to many discussions, and offers teaching and learning opportunities for young children between the ages of five and seven.

“It’s inspiring, entertaining, colourful and cultural and I hope that the story will touch the souls and lives of children in TT and those around the world, encouraging them to honour, enjoy and take pride in the awesome beauty that surrounds them, and to love and take pride in the awesome people they are themselves.”

Broome, also known as Señora Broome, is a narrator, former part-time UWI lecturer and International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) co-ordinator. CIES is the academic arm of the International Football Federation.

“I started lecturing part time at UWI in 2003, and I left in 2016. I worked at the Sport and Physical Education Centre and then moved to Department of Management Studies to co-ordinate two new sport management programmes.”

The 42-year-old also teaches Spanish and English as a foreign language to both children and adults on a private basis.

“Once people contact me, we work out the details from there. I’ve had churches ask me to teach Spanish to the adults in the church so they can properly welcome and communicate with Venezuelans when they attend services. I was also asked to teach the children in the church…After I lost my job and before the lockdown I was homeschooling children three and up, teaching Spanish and English. I advertised as The Good Governess and prepared students for primary school and taught them life skills – climbing trees, planting – things they wouldn’t learn from books.”

She said in as much as she loved teaching full-time, it was extremely time-consuming. So when her services were no longer required at the school, she was able to channel her energy into other projects, among them the long-overdue publication of Awesome Father.

“So something good came out of my job loss,” she said.

The book was first written in 2016, but was shelved after it encountered a small hiccup. Broome said in 2021 it resurfaced when she had to do a sign language assignment.

“I love languages, so when the diploma in Caribbean sign language interpretation was being offered at UWI, St Augustine campus I jumped at the opportunity.”

She said when she got an assignment to choose a medium and sign it, she rummaged through her work and found the poem. She sought the assistance of a member of Deaf Pioneer Life Centre, an NGO located in D’Abadie, and he coached her in signing it.

“He asked me who had written the poem and when I told him I had, he encouraged me to do more with it and that is where the book came from.”

Broome said she has some other works waiting to be published, and she hopes to get it done soon, once finances allow. She also plans to use her Spanish-speaking and sign language skills to “praise God” and to incorporate into her poetry and storytelling.

Awesome Father is available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and paperback formats.

More about Charisse Janine Broome and her writing can be found on https://srabroome.gumroad.com. Follow Sra Broome on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram