Shirley "Beauty" Houston was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, but grew up in New York City. She is a licensed minister and holds a Bachelor of Arts in government and public administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. She also holds an MBA in finance from Long Island University Graduate School of Business Administration in Brooklyn, New York. The author has six children and four grandchildren. The author invites readers to experience her debut poetry collection "Beauty, Poetry & Flow: Birthed in Travail" in which she writes of courage and the ability to overcome. Ms. Houston underwent two traumatic experiences, the first at age 6 and the second at 16. She says the experiences and having suffered a heart attack at the age of 48 propelled her to write her debut poetry collection "Beauty, Poetry & Flow: Birthed in Travail" in which she writes of courage and the ability to overcome. The author has been writing since the age of 11, using poetry as a release for the things that burdened her soul. Houston chronicles the many events of her life in "Beauty, Poetry & Flow", from the trauma she experienced as a child to her rebirth in adulthood. While many of the poems reflect on moments of sorrow or distress, they ultimately point to larger themes of overcoming suffering and experiencing triumph. An excerpt from the poem "Travails Gift", taken from "Beauty, Poetry & Flow" reads: "She blooms in sacred soil/ her travail, predestined...an anointing oil/ to renew dejected gardens/ that believed they could not grow" Her second book, Poetic Love Notes in Erratic tones is scheduled to be released within the next three months. Watch for it!