Page 43 - Reader's House Magazine Issue 49

Jessica Ayala’s captivating works, including “My Beautiful Mistakes” and “I Was The Sidechick In My Own Relationship” explore themes of self-discovery and resilience.
Jessica Ayala’s storytelling is both inspiring and empowering, capturing the essence of resilience and creativity with authenticity and grace.
field and another fifteen years in healthcare, my roles always revolved around service to others. My purpose has always been to help others because of the experi- ences I myself have gone through. I have lived my life out loud and learned plenty of lessons the
the future of what I want to write about. I also spend a lot of time during these trips to envision what I want next out of life.
Raising my first two daugh- ters, I realized county assistance was barely going to pay the bills and fast food wasn’t going to
be much better so when I was given a chance to dip my toes
in the corporate world I worked very hard to ensure that I would be seen as more than just a teen mom. Watching my mom struggle to raise me alone was always the driving force that pushed me to want more.
You’ve worked in diverse fields such as legal and healthcare for over two decades. How have these experiences influenced your writing, particularly in terms of understanding and portraying human emotions and relationships?
certain chapters to get those past experiences down on paper. Re- living my childhood traumas was definitely cathartic and my own version of therapy.
Your love for
spontaneous
road trips, like
your memorable
journey from
Utah to Colorado,
is quite unique.
How do these
adventures contribute to your creative process and overall perspective on life?
pecially when you lack self love.
Balancing a demanding career, single motherhood, and a passion for writing is no easy feat. What strategies do you employ to manage these responsibilities, and what advice would you give to others striving to ‘have it all’ while pursuing their dreams?
I grew up with a mother who’s advice to me growing up was to focus on graduating highschool and finding a good job, nothing more and nothing less. My father was absent for the most part with absolutely no life advice for me, but his wife, also known in my book as the “step monster” had only one piece of advice: “learn to cook and clean and then marry rich”.
Spending ten years in the legal
Being on the road alone during one of my road trips really does open up the communication between me and God. I use these trips to not just take in nature in all its beauty, I also use these trips to talk to God and release any pent up emotions I may have at the time. I use these adventures to clear my head and map out
hard way which in return have turned into the tools I use to help others see that they are not alone. Speaking my truth I hope encour- ages others to do the same.
In I Was The Sidechick In My Own Relationship: Author’s Edition, you tackle complex and often painful relationship dynamics. What motivated you to write this story, and what message do you hope readers take away from it?
While writing My Beautiful Mistakes, I was dealing with a man known as Reese, he had orig- inally hid a wife from me while we were together and when we tried a second time around I found out there was another woman who later became his fiance, then his second wife. After speaking with both the wife in 2018 and this new woman in 2019, I realized that this man uses women to get his own selfish needs met and once I had both those conver- sations staring back at me in Facebook Messenger I realized I had a great story to tell that would serve as a cautionary tale of what to watch out for in the world es-
I had no one to push me to want more, I had to learn that on my own. That is one thing that I have done differently with my children. I have told them that college is
In My Beautiful Mistakes: Author’s Edition, you explore themes of self-love and personal growth. Can you delve into the process of writing this book and how your own experiences and challenges informed the narrative?
Through the years, I have joked around about how my life could be a series of afterschool specials or even a lifetime movie. I have had a story to tell since I was a little girl and My Beautiful Mis- takes was me finding my voice and speaking my truth. This book was definitely a challenge for
a great accolade to have on the resume, if college is in fact for them but whatever they want to do in life they should put everything they have towards making those dreams come true.
me to write, especially reliving
If I had to give advice to others who strive to have it all while chasing their dreams, I would
tell them to surround themselves with like minded people and don’t let anyone else put value on the dreams that they have.
I would also remind them that life is short so they should live
it for themselves and not worry about whether or not their dreams are socially acceptable.
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