Quacking Up | Felicia Brown

Deana Brown Mitchell: Good morning, everybody. This is Deana Mitchell. And we are here with Felicia Brown today to talk about our book launch. And she is one of the authors. And she's gonna tell us about her chapter and how the ducks saved her sanity. So for Lisa, take it away.

We'll will Thanks, Deana. Thank you for having me here today. And also just to be a part of this project, I'm really honored to be able to be a part of it. And yes, my story is about how racing rubberducks saved my sanity. And I will admit fully on that I am not a comedian, but I am sort of the comic relief, I think in this book, or at least one part of it. But you know, I have a story just like everyone else in there, of overcoming some difficulties and adversity. My story focuses on my adventures with these guys, not all of them. It's really, these five right here, the Dream Team, I'll introduce you, just so you know who they are. And you can be excited about meeting them. We have a uni. Let's see, quickie. MC killer. I know he's not a duck, but the ducks accept him as a duck. He's an honorary duck, I don't know quacky. He has black tail feathers. That's how I can tell them apart. And little red, one of our fastest racers. So these guys, yeah, they pretty much pulled me out of a dark depression that jumped right on top of my shoulders around the beginning of the pandemic. And I probably don't have to say much more about my story, you can just I could just stop there and say pandemic depression, ducks. The end? No. I think enough people have gone through stuff to say, Oh, the pandemic happened. And you were to press okay, I get it. But in all honesty, there's a bit more history and background to my story dealing with depression and anxiety, and suicide. And obviously, I'm still here so that we know the story didn't go that way. But suicide definitely made a big impact on my life. And it's one of the reasons why I'm so excited to be a part of this project. Because I feel like it it really is something that can help people.

Deana Brown Mitchell: Yes, I love your story. Because it's it's not only that you found the coping mechanism, but it's a fun coping mechanism that everybody can participate in. And I was listening to one of your blogs a couple of weeks ago, where you were, you were the commentator at your race. And it was, it was so awesome. But yeah, like one.

It's funny, I feel like I have this alter ego, but yet, it's also really me. It's like the real meat coming out. I don't know, it's hard to say. But one of the unexpected things that happened with these ducks, I mean, you know, they, they were sitting on my bathtub for a really long time, those five, and we started doing races with them in the creek in my backyard. And one of the unexpected things, not just the Duck Race. I mean, that was unexpected. I had no plans of that. But the unexpected thing was me immediately leaping into this commentator role. And being a sportscaster like calling the races, you know, move by move as far as the progress and who's in first and then sharing history about the ducks as they're going by, like, I know the waste you're talking about the other day out, was talking about clicky and quacky, the yellow brothers here, and being the founders of the impromptu rubber duck Regatta. And you know, there what happened over time with with the ducks is that they started, they started really revealing their stories to me, they started telling me who they were. And sometimes it revealed itself in a race and sometimes it was after the race, but their personality started coming through. And so I had to talk about them when they were racing, you know, I had to share that with people. And that's part of what's in the in the story in your book.

Deana Brown Mitchell: And you You are very good at that you should be a professional announcer because it was very, it was very fun and upbeat and interesting and fast paced, and, you know, you feel like you're listening to like an Olympic ski race or something. It was it was kind of funny, but it was a good, you did a good job. And we're all glad you're here. And we're all glad to hear your story. And there's a lot more to Felicia story than the Docs but it's the fun part that you get to participate in. So I hope you will join in with us and read our chapter. The book is called scars to stars. I'll put it up at the end of this video. It's called scars to stars and it is 20 people telling their very personal stories about overcoming adversity in very different ways, anything from, you know, abuse to suicide to many things. And also, to know that all the proceeds from this book are going to fund the realized Foundation, which is all about suicide prevention. So those are the key points. And thank you Felicia so much for having the live chat with me today. And we hope to see you all soon.

My pleasure. Thanks for having me. Thanks, everybody, by the book.

Deana Brown Mitchell: I'm gonna put that book graphic up for everybody so you can get the information. Have a wonderful day.