In this episode of the Empower You Podcast Authorship Series, host Kenston Henderson interviews Shalitha Sanders, a community leader, motivational coach, and author of two self‑published books, including Shine Like a Masterpiece. Sanders shares the inspiration behind the book, describing how it addresses the disconnect between personal character and public reputation, low self‑esteem, depression, and the metaphorical “mask” many people wear. She explains key chapters such as “God Chose You” and “Bounce Back Baby,” which focus on divine purpose, self‑worth, and resilience after suicidal ideation. The conversation covers the book’s universal target audience—spanning teens to baby boomers—her writing process (including a rapid one‑week drafting session in Aruba prompted by the Holy Spirit), and the emotional barriers of revisiting painful memories. Sanders offers advice to aspiring writers: persist through writer’s block, stay authentic, and maintain a positive mindset. Finally, she provides purchasing information, directing listeners to her website (shalithasanders.org) and Amazon. The interview underscores her commitment to empowering youth and families through faith‑based initiatives and philanthropy.
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Hello and welcome to the Empower You Podcast Authorship Series brought to you by Live With Life. In each episode, we interview a self-published author to talk about their journey to becoming an author and to reveal tips to help future authors release their story to the world. I'm your host Kenston Henderson, founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of Live With Life. In today's episode, we have as our featured author, Shalitha Sanders. Shalitha Sanders is uniquely gifted and I have known her to be a woman of good character, loyalty, and consistency. She exemplifies excellence and has high ethical and moral standards. She is the leading lady of Faith Empowerment Center, where she serves alongside her husband, Bishop Joel Sanders, since 2008. Through Faith Empowerment Center, she has facilitated FEC's free toy giveaway, free backpack giveaway, God's Girl mentoring group, and the Esther Sanders Scholarship Award for young scholars. She is a public and global speaker, motivational coach, philanthropist, and author. She is the author of two books titled It's Time for an Upgrade and Shine Like a Masterpiece. For two years, she had— she was a host of her own show on Trinity Broadcast Network. She is a prominent role model in the community. She has a passion for youth and families, and she has extended a lending hand while collaborating with organizations within our community to attempt to decrease outstanding issues and concerns affecting society. Shalitha is the author again of Shine Like a Masterpiece. Shalitha, welcome, welcome, welcome.
Thank you, Kenston Henderson CSP EPIC Experiences Galactic, for having me. It's an honor and a privilege to be on your show. God bless you.
Thank you. I'm so excited to, to interview you today and highlight your book Shine Like a Masterpiece. So tell our audience what, what's that all about?
Yes, yes, thanks for letting me, um, be on your show again. Um, Shine Like a Masterpiece, this manuscript is absolutely amazing, if I can say for myself. Amen. Um, well, with Shine Like a Masterpiece, it's about how sometimes our character does not line up with our reputation. And I was a victim of low self-esteem. My character was all shot up. Everything. Hold on, I'm back. OK, I don't know what happened, but so my character was not great, right? I was— you know, I struggled with insecurity, low self-esteem, self-identity issues. I was depressed but not clinically diagnosed, right? You know, I had the signs and the symptoms, and I was basically hiding behind the lipstick, right? I had this mask on. And in Shine Like a Masterpiece, I talk about when God created us, he created his best. He created a showpiece, he created a masterpiece, and he just want to show us off even with all of our imperfections. So even in the book, I just don't talk about issues, but I also offer solutions. Um, there's one chapter where it says God chose you. A lot of times we feel like we're not worthy to walk in the assignments that God has given us, if it's in the ministry place, the marketplace, or even on cyberspace. Sometimes we feel like we are not worthy of it, and that was me. I was like, man, I just don't look like people, I don't fit in. But it's like God had to remind me, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am Shalitha Sanders. I am unique to this earth. I am a seed that he put into this earth, and I am supposed to shine the way that he has created me. So in the book, I talk about that. And then another one, um, another chapter was, um, Bounce Back Baby, right? You know, I talk about resiliency and how, you know, I went through some difficult times. And even during those difficult times, I was crying, I was, you know, depressed. I gave up even almost on life. I, you know, I talk about having suicide ideations, just all of that. And I was still in the church, right? You know, but I was wearing this mask. But I was able to bounce back after a difficult situation. I was able to persevere. And in this, um, season of my life when I was writing this— and I'm gonna tell you, I wrote this book in one week, right? Me and my husband, we were in Aruba, and the Holy Spirit said, get up, take your laptop out, and start writing. And that's what I started doing. So I was able to put my lifetime story in a manuscript. And, you know, but God was just giving me that reassurance that you're able to bounce back. So this book, this manuscript, is very dear to me because I was like some of the women and men walking around with masks on. And I'm not talking about the mask that we have to wear, you know, due to coronavirus, but I'm talking about this mask, metaphorically speaking, that some of us wear. And we present ourselves because we're leaders, and we present ourselves as such, but we're still kind of torqued. Our characters at home, it's who we are, behind closed doors. Mine was messed up, right? But this book is supposed to help individuals come out of lodabar, come out of a place of nothing, right? So yeah, Shine Like a Masterpiece, it's about me.
That's awesome, that's awesome. Listen, um, what, uh, is there a specific audience that your book, uh, targets?
Yeah, sure. So yeah, I say for my, my book, we've given it to teens, we've been— it's Millennials, Generation X, even the baby boomers, right? So it's not just for one specific audience, it's for everybody. Just like God, he loves everybody. So when I create— when I developed the book, it was not just for one audience, it's for everybody, every generation, right?
Cool, cool. Wow, I know, I know it's impacting lives, so that's a great thing. So what— tell me, what barriers did you face while going through the book writing process that you had to push forward through?
Good, yes. So when I was in Aruba and I was, you know, because I talk about some of— I'm very transparent, right? So during that transparency period, there were times where I was talking about how I was depressed and I felt alone. And it was difficult because, you know, just reflecting and reliving all of that was difficult for me. Um, so there were spells of, you know, feeling sad. And, um, I kind of went back into like, not per se like down, but just like thanking God that he brought me through it, right? I'm still a work in progress. I'm not perfect, right? We're imperfect people striving for progress. However, it was a, it was a barrier for me because I had to stop and think about, like, this was really my story, you know. Um, when I was, you know, insecure about myself, I was full with so much pride, right? You know, I feel like pride is so— it encompasses, um, insecurity, low self-esteem, all of that. And that was me, that was my story. So I had to, you know, stop and think, like, Lord, this was really me. So, you know, just the tears of joy begin to come down, but it was like I had to just pause for a moment and just think, do I really want the world to know my story? That was another thing, because it's like, when you put it out there, the world is going to know you. But it's like, it's okay, it's okay, it's all for God's glory.
Yeah, that's good, that's good. So, you know, uh, we have, uh, some of our audience, they're, they're in the process of writing a book themselves, and, and they, they come to some moments of where they, they've hit a roadblock. And, you know, similar to yours is, is do I share this or do I not share this? So what advice would you give to them as they're in the process now?
I would say don't quit, don't quit. A lot of times writers, they have that writer's block and they just give up. And for me, I was working on Shine Like a Masterpiece when I was in the States, right? And I just put it on hold, like I'll do it some other time. But it was like, No, do it now. So don't give up and, um, just be real. Just be real, you know, be real with, um, yourself. And if you want it out there, put it in the book. If you don't want it out there, don't put it in the book, right? Um, but just to keep going and, um, and, you know, just know, just think positive too while you're doing it and just get it out there is what I would say. But don't quit.
That's good, that's good. Audience, you heard it straight from the mouth of Shalitha Sanders. So don't quit, get it done, uh, you gotta do it, you gotta release that story to the world, and, and whatever you need to do, just make it happen, make it happen. So where, uh, Shalitha, where can people purchase your book at?
Sure, yeah, you can go to my website, um, www.shalithasanders.com. Shaleethasanders.org, and I'm gonna spell my first name S-H-A-L-E-T-H-A-S-A-N-D-E-R-S, because sometimes people put the U in Sanders and there's no U, um, dot org. Or you can go to amazon.com.
Awesome, awesome. Well, Shaletha, thank you for being on this episode. Listen, I understand and know, uh, because I know you personally, that you're going to continue to keep impacting lives globally, um, and not just locally but globally. And so keep doing what you're doing, and I'm cheering you on.
