Pockets of My Heart is
a book of poetry and personal narratives by
Collis Sherman Bel, which allows readers to
peak into the author's family life and share in events and experiences common to
most families and individuals. The book
celebrates family, friends and faith in a very simple, humorous and
honest way. "It is my hope that
Pockets of My Heart
will make readers reflect positively on their own lives," said the author who was born in Bailey Town, Bimini, in The Bahamas "My
inspiration for the book came from turning fifty and evaluating my life.
I wanted to have a legacy to leave, extolling the joys of family,
friends and faith and my journey through fifty years of life and
twenty-five years of marriage," she added.
Collis Sherman Bell is the eldest of
nine children born to Edison and Mildred Sherman of Alice Town, Bimini.
Collis grew up with her paternal grandmother in Nassau, where she graduated
from Saint Anne’s High School in 1972. She received both her
B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics from Prairie View A&M University
of Texas.
Upon graduation, Collis returned
to The Bahamas and worked as a teacher at C. C. Sweeting Senior High
School. A few years later she joined the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries working in the Department of Cooperative Development.
In 1982, Collis married Willie J. Bell, III of Prairie View, Texas and
relocated to the USA. Collis loves to travel and has embraced
the challenges and opportunities unfolded before her over the years.
Collis and her family have resided in Istanbul, Turkey and in several
American states; New York, Virginia, Texas and Illinois. She and
her husband of thirty years currently live in Weston, Florida and are
the proud parents of two college graduates, Candice and Willie lV.
Currently,
Collis is employed by the Broward County School Board.Having a passion for her community, she shares her free time and talents
through her membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an international
sisterhood dedicated to public service. Collis is also a member
of the National Association of the Bahamas (NAB). The Association
provides charitable contributions, educational scholarships, community
and economic development assistance to Bahamians in The Bahamas as well
as in South Florida.
Because of her family’s many re-locations throughout the USA, Collis found herself writing stories
and poetry about family events and experiences. In 2005, she realized
that she was beginning to accumulate a large number of poems.
Her children encouraged her to put her collection into a book to share
with other. In December 2007, Collis self published her
first book of poetry,
Pockets of My Heart. She used humor, wit and
strong emotions to paint vivid and colorful pictures of herself, her
family, special friends and relationships. To learn more about
Collis Sherman Bell and her poetry, visit www.cbelltells.com. On this website you can
read excerpts from Pockets of My Heart and purchase copies of the book.
Send Collis a request through the website if you wish to purchase an
autographed copy of her book. Copies of
Pockets of My Heart can also be ordered through iUniverse.com,
Barnes and Nobles.com and Amazon.com.
Collis continues to write and
looks forward to presenting her second book of poetry and personal narratives, Sweet Island Breezes, early 2013.