Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine November Edition | Page 58

Tribute to
Tanishia Pearson-Jones
own path to God and did not have an issue sharing
the life lessons she’s learned.
We always speak well of people who know how to live,
but what of those who know how to die? Everyone is
different, yes. But faced with the knowledge that her
spirit was raring to go, but her body wasn’t able to
hold to that notion, she chose to meet things head on
as though there was no other way to be but blessed
and well-favored. No pitying or lamenting the fact
that her body was being ravaged by the disease.
I went to visit her last year at the Cancer Treatment
Center of America. When she walked out of testing
and saw us (I brought sister scribe Janice Pernell
along), Tanishia looked like a billion bucks—not
million—billion. Beautiful, and did not look
anything like what she was going through. Hair was
laid. Face was slayed. Attitude was all about winning
and overcoming. No hint that it was taking more of
a toll than she wanted anyone to know.
If I had to sum up a woman who cannot truly be explained
in one word, I’d have to say it is “Unshakable faith. On a
personal level, I’ve struggled with how to believe in God
nearly all my adult life. I’ve done the spiritual chit’lin
circuit of Baptist, Methodist, Apostolic (for one day if that
counts), Muslim, Ausar Auset, New Age/New Thought
and Bahai’s. I’ve seen many examples of people who
embrace different religions and belief systems, but only a
few have left an impact on my life the way that Tanishia
Pearson-Jones has.
Through personal struggles that did not have anything to
do with the health challenges she experienced over the
last two years, I bear witness to a woman who knew and
held fast to a God that was her all and everything. As a
daughter of a mother and a father who were pastors and
ministers of the Christian faith, she had a foundation that
was steadfast, but what I admired is that she found her
58 | NKLC Magazine
Tanishia kept that “overcomers” attitude all
throughout. So much so, that I didn’t realize she was
slipping away. If Tee was a death’s door, she certainly
didn’t look or seem ready for someone to open it so
she could walk into God’s eternal light.
That’s the main reason her passing was a shock.
Treatment was winding down, and I had in my mind,
“She’s kicked Cancer’s behind.” She did, but then right
before she was set to come to my 2017 Cavalcade,
she called and said she was having an issue with her
legs that rendered them numb at times and painful
at others. Well, no big deal, right? She’d kick that too,
right? I’d see her at next year’s Cavalcade, right? One
of the last messages she sent me was, “Hey would you
invoice me for your new book. I was supposed to be
there. I wouldn’t want to miss your latest work.” She
sent this while she was in a great deal of pain and