Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Tolliver.
Hi Jamie, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I know it sounds beyond cliche (to even say it sounds cliche is a cliche…but I digress), but I have always done all of the things I do now: writing, speaking, singing, advocating, education, and turning ideas into tangibles. I remember being in first grade at a small Christian private school on the Southside of St Louis, Gateway Christian, with grand ideas of how I wanted my world to look. It was there where I wrote my first song and developed my love of writing and books (I was a HUGE Francine Pascal Sweet Valley fan). Fast forward through a move to Atlanta, GA in 2001, a degree, a move to New York in 2005 to pursue a career in music, a move back to Atlanta in 2007, a car accident and ICU wedding in Mississippi in 2008, another degree, The Newlywed game show, 2 babies, a divorce, another degree, and another failed reconnect with an ex-boyfriend later and you will find me back in St Louis at the top of 2016. After 2 years here and several encouraging friends later, I decided to finally pen my first book. Not only did I decide to write a book, I decided to open my own publishing company. In 2018, Patchwork Theory Publishing was born and 3 Simple Words: Solving Life’s Greatest Problems in 3 Words or Less was the first publication. I have also since release the companion journal workbook to 3 Simple words both of which are available on Amazon. If you live here locally in St Louis you can find 3 simple words at Subterranean Books in the Loop, Eye See Me Bookstore on Olive, The Novel Neighbor on Big Bend Blvd, or check out a copy at the University City Public Library. I am currently working to get my book and in both Walmart and Barnes & Noble. The next book, to be release later this year, will be a children and adult teach and learn book entitled, The Day Mommy Got Sick. It will tell the story of how my journey with Multiple Sclerosis has affected my 2 children and how I learned to educate them about what was happening to me. I think this is a really important book for children and families to read because far too often children are left out of the big discussions about health because we assume they are too young. My doctors agree with me on this opinion and they have agreed to contribute their wisdom to the book. In addition to writing and publishing, since my historic run for St Louis County Executive in 2020, I have begun a speaking career discussing topics ranging from Listening to One’s Inner Voice to Making Room at the Table: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. If you know me or if you follow me, you know that this is merely the tip of the iceberg for the ideas and developments to come. From Starting a podcast to developing a Life Coaching app to creating (with a business partner) a new strategy platform to help singles find love, I am never at a loss for creative ways to express myself and do what I can to help uplift others along the way!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think the biggest struggles for me had been time and money. I use the past tense very intentionally, not because my circumstances have changed so much that I suddenly have an abundance of either resource but rather, my perspectives changed. I realized that I DID have time once I took inventory of how much time I wasted doing things that did not contribute to my growth as a person, as a mother, or as an entrepreneur. Likewise, I recognized how often I spent money on things and services I didn’t need and/ or rarely used and I began to budget differently. Basic necessities first: rent, bills, groceries, gas, kid’s needs etcetera . Then, business needs-websites, copyrights, merchandise, renewals, editors, etcetera. THEN, and only then, did I have ” money to spend on personal treats and luxuries (manicure, pedicure, massages anyone?). In short, I took my own advice, much of which you will read in 3 Simple Words, and decided to just Get it Done, Keep Moving Forward, Do It Anyway, Ask for Help and Choose Happy. It still isn’t always easy. Looking at the news and social media will surely make one begin to doubt where they are going in life, but I have a strong faith in God and feel that I am truly walking in my purpose to use my voice in whatever ways I can help others.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I am not being a creative, I am using my gifts and talents to help heal the sick. I am a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and have most recently begun working as a Memory Support Coordinator for an assisted living facility’s residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. I believe that my love of words and communication has helped me tremendously, not only in my career as a healthcare worker, but in life in general. My children honestly believe I have never met a stranger because I can and will talk to any and everyone- young, old, black, white, male, female, it does not matter. We as people have far more in common than we have different, one need only to possess the desire to find out. Having my patients tell me that they feel blessed to have crossed paths with me is one of the best feelings. As a thirty-something female to have an 80-year-old woman tell you that you inspire her and that she admires you is… beyond words. While many know of my back story, and some know of my many creative efforts. EVERYONE knows of my love for people and communication.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I think what I love about the city of St Louis is the same thing I like least: the deep history. St Louis, the ” Gateway to the West”, home of the World’s Fair in 1904, Ozzie and the Cards, Gretzky and the Blues, The Rams playing in the Superbowl, famous for the Arch, casinos, Imo’s pizza, the best Chinese take-out is also the same St Louis always ranking top of the list for crime, known around the world for the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, and the same St Louis often described as one of the most racially divided cities in the country. I used to hate when people would say St Louis was country or call us a “small town”. How many small country towns do you know that house or have housed at some point every major sport? I would stand in shock when people would ask where St Louis was (like duh, AGAIN, the sports teams!). But after reading The Heartbreak of America by Walter Johnson, I was ashamed of the deep corruption that St Louis hides in its history and then I was ok with being the small country town whose location on the map some people could not pinpoint. Right now, I reside in University City, or U City as it is affectionately nicknamed, made infamous by rapper Nelly and the St Lunatics and I am reminded of the musical history of St. Louis- Ike and Tina, Chuck Berry, Scott Joplin. Miles Davis, Josephine Baker to name a few and I fall in love with St Louis all over again. From Jackie Joyner Kersee to Maya Angelou to the first African American self-made millionaire Annie Malone (Madam CJ Walker), St Louis was an is home to so many legends it is hard not to walk around with my head held high and say proudly THIS IS MY CITY!!! I walk in the footsteps of some of the greatest and it is my hope to make them proud of me and the work that I do.
Contact Info:
- Email: patchworktheory.llc@gmail.com
- Website: patchworktheorypublishing.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/patchworktheory/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatchworkPublishing/?msclkid=0af5d169a58811ecb5706217576d3dd9
Image Credits
Jon Christopher
