Owens' Grandfather

Owens' grandparents played a fundamental role in her life, as she believes that they made her into the woman she is today. Owens' grandfather was born in 1941 on a sharecropping farm in North Carolina. He grew up during the era of Jim Crow, and witnessed the mistreatment of his family by his father. As a result, he decided to "prioritize his family above all else" (15). As a result of his outlook, he brought up his family, including Owens, with "everything centered on the concept of respect" (20). While Owens did experience a period of rebellion from these rules, describing her "grandparents' teachings as illustrations of my prior bondage," these rules helped Owens to learn the necessity of personal responsibility (23).

Owens' Grandmother

Owens' grandmother provided the "wake-up" experience that she needed to reject the chaos of victimhood. In 2013, she received a call that her grandmother was sick, so...