Chat with us, powered by LiveChat
Image
Image
Meet the Authors 2026 • Official FFCA Feature

The Purpose Within

Rise Out of the Ashes Like the Phoenix

This is more than a book. It is a journey through resilience, memory, fatherhood, leadership, culture, faith, healing, and the sacred work of becoming. Written with truth, tenderness, and fire, The Purpose Within invites readers into the lived experiences of a man who has served in uniform, led across communities, taught across institutions, and never stopped believing that purpose is something we rise to live.

Rooted in Caribbean soul and shaped by a lifetime of service, this work speaks to those who have fought through pain, carried responsibility, loved deeply, and still chosen to rise. It is a book for leaders, fathers, veterans, helpers, healers, and anyone searching for meaning in the middle of life’s storms.

A story born from service, shaped by struggle, anchored in love, and written for every soul still learning how to rise with meaning.

What Readers Can Expect

Resilience

Honest reflections on pain, perseverance, and the power of rising again when life leaves scars.

Purpose

A call to live intentionally, lead with conviction, and discover that purpose is not passive—it is practiced.

Family & Legacy

Deeply personal storytelling about fatherhood, identity, memory, love, and what we leave behind for those we cherish.

Healing & Reflection

Spiritual insight, emotional truth, and reflections that invite readers to look inward and move forward with courage.

Meet the Author

Dr. James C. Rodríguez, MSW, CADC is an internationally respected leader, veteran, educator, clinical social worker, curriculum developer, and President & CEO of Fathers & Families Coalition of America. Through decades of work in fatherhood engagement, behavioral health, leadership development, family systems transformation, and public policy, he has dedicated his life to strengthening families and elevating communities.

A proud Boricua and lifelong servant leader, Dr. Rodríguez brings together the wisdom of military service, academic scholarship, real-world practice, and deeply personal reflection. As founder of Borinquen Within Press, he extends that mission into publishing—uplifting stories rooted in resilience, identity, service, and meaning.

The Purpose Within stands as the literary expression of that life’s work: a book born not only from achievement, but from faith, memory, heartbreak, fatherhood, healing, and the unwavering belief that even after fire, the human spirit can still rise.

“Purpose is not something you wait to discover—it is something you rise to live.”

First Official Book Signing

Join Dr. James C. Rodríguez for the first official signing of The Purpose Within: Rise Out of the Ashes Like the Phoenix at the 27th International Families and Fathers Conference during Meet the Authors 2026.

April 16, 2026

Learn More
Image
Meet the Author

Dr. Wendy Talley, LCSW

Triumph in the Trenches: Navigating Success for Black Professionals

Dr. Wendy Talley is a psychotherapist, leadership consultant, and corporate wellness expert with over 15 years of experience helping professionals and organizations build mentally healthy workplaces. As founder of Thelese Consulting Group and the Mastery Elite Leadership Academy, she equips executives, organizations, and emerging leaders to strengthen leadership effectiveness while protecting their whole selves.

Dr. Talley is a contributing author of Triumph in the Trenches, where her Chapter 16, Intent vs. Impact: Unmasking Microaggressions in Corporate America, examines the subtle yet powerful ways racism continues to operate in professional spaces. Through personal experience, cultural insight, and scholarly research, she reveals how workplace language, assumptions, and behavior can deeply affect identity, opportunity, and psychological well-being.

Readers will gain deeper understanding of the lived realities of Black professionals, practical strategies for navigating workplace barriers, and a compelling call for accountability, inclusion, and leadership growth. Her chapter highlights issues such as name mispronunciation, stereotyping, and the minimizing of Black excellence—reminding us that good intentions do not erase harmful impact.

Leadership must move beyond intention and toward awareness, accountability, and meaningful impact.

Image
Meet the Author

Finding Everland

When Religion Wounds, A Psalm Journey to Healing and Wholeness

Finding Everland is a trauma-informed journey for people recovering from religious harm and rebuilding a life that is sustainable, authentic, and resilient. Anchored in Psalms 1–41, the book follows a recovery arc that mirrors lived experience: foundations, crisis and lament, trust rebuilt, and integration.

Each chapter pairs Hebrew wisdom with salutogenic practice, helping readers name what was stolen, grieve without rushing, and reclaim agency, dignity, and spiritual coherence. This is not a book of escapism or spiritual bypass. It offers language for what has long been unspeakable and a path toward chayyim—a life rooted in truth, steadiness, and wholeness, step by step, in the world as it is.

About the Author

Dr. Roderick Logan, DPTh, DAAETS, founder of Making Space to Heal, provides trauma and resiliency life coaching with a special focus on sacred path renewal. He holds a doctorate in Practical Theology, a master’s degree in counseling, and is a Diplomate with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress.

With more than 40 years of experience in trauma-informed care and resilience building, Dr. Logan has helped countless individuals reclaim stability, meaning, and hope. He has been recognized with the Arizona Aging Services Star Award for Innovation by the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

He is also the author of I Was Loved: 10 Statements I Hope My Child Can Say About Their Childhood. Dr. Logan and his wife, Melody, have been married for 46 years and share a family legacy of three children and eight grandchildren, alongside a lifelong commitment to helping others heal and grow with resilience.