Conroy Thompson unveils ‘The Courage of a Dreamer’

WESTERN BUREAU:

YOUTH ADVOCATE Conroy D. Thompson is an educator and author who is working tirelessly to better the lives of young people, by using his life stories to inspire their dreams to overcome life’s obstacles.

As an educator and author, Thompson has written three books that are now considered part of the country’s literary canonical works. The third book, The Courage of a Dreamer: Finding Peace, Knowing You Deserve to Be Here, was officially released last Saturday evening in Montego Bay.

This book is profoundly personal and bears inspiring narrative that aims to empower readers to overcome adversity by examining and overcoming the weight of their own personal challenges, whether they relate to neglect, abandonment, or abuse.

Thompson’s book launch at The University of the West Indies’ Western Campus was attended by his close friends and family, as well as current and former students, lecturers, and administrators.

“This was not supposed to be the book; it was supposed to be a leadership book. In fact, that was what I was writing,” said Thompson, recounting a conversation he had with an unidentified woman who had enquired when he would write about his inner-child experiences.

“This woman from New York reached out to me on Facebook. We spoke for more than two hours during a conversation that was supposed to last 20 minutes, and low and behold, The Courage of A Dreamer was born,” explained Thompson, who was raised by his grandmother.

His two other books are titled Rejected For Purpose: Uncovering The Hidden Gems of Life; and Believe Made For More: Discovering The Power of An International Mindset.

RESCUED BY GRANDMOTHER

According to Thompson, who was abandoned by his mother at nine months and subsequently endured several bouts of abuse and resentment before being rescued by his grandmother at the age of four out of fear he would die, people are frequently shut out and the truth is concealed out of fear.

“While living with my grandmother, I had this dream that there is hope somewhere, and I have been living my life like that every day,” said Thompson, an I Believe Initiative Ambassador who is now using what is right to fix what went wrong in his childhood and inspiring others to live their dreams.

“We rob people of our truest experience when we are not happy and prevent them from becoming or being a part of something special when we hide bits and pieces of ourselves because of things that we have gone through,” said Thompson, an international motivational speaker.

“We deprive others of our most authentic experience when we are unhappy, and we prevent them from becoming or being a part of something special when we hide parts of ourselves due to our past experiences.”

Rochelle Simpson is the editor and publisher for Thompson’s books, but she has set The Courage of A Dreamer on the top shelf and marketed it as an absolute must-read.

“This one is probably my favourite of the three, it speaks to not only your story but all of us because it does not matter how small or big our dream is, I know that we all have a dream,” she said.

In order to encourage those inclined to write, the young editor advised guests at the book launch to first consider the audience with whom they wish to connect when telling their tale, as well as their preferred writing styles, before putting pen to paper in their own voice.

At the launch, director of The UWI Mona Western Jamaica Campus, Dr Patrick Prendergast, said Thompson has a dedication to passion, commitment to purpose, and has an attitude of gratitude, including the courage to dream.

According to Prendergast, Thompson’s writings are not merely a recounting of his journey. Rather, “they are designed in such a way as to bring added value to others”.

He stated: “I cannot help but be inspired by the constant positive energy of inspiration and motivation, Conroy, to me, he is the personification of hope in so many ways, but I’m even more inspired by this commitment to purpose.

“As a university, the reason for supporting this book launch and the two previous ones is very simple. These kinds of events actually align with our mandate to develop human capital. It aligns with our mission to transform our community,” Prendergast outlined. “Therefore, it’s very easy to say yes because you’re really connecting with the core values that we take pride in at WJC.”

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com