Books That Begin Within—and Reach Beyond Us
A book can help us understand ourselves, strengthen a family, lead with greater purpose or give someone else the courage to keep going. Explore two works by Dr. James C. Rodríguez that bring lived experience, professional knowledge and reflection into the hands of readers.
Unlocking Unlimited Potential
An Evidence-Informed Reference Manual and Activity Guide for Personal Growth, Family Systems, and Professional Development
Your potential is unlimited. Somewhere within you is an unburied treasure chest of time, talent, wisdom, possibility and purpose. Come with me. Let us unlock it together.
This is more than a workbook or collection of reflections. It is a guided invitation to understand yourself more deeply, strengthen relationships, explore your values and turn personal insight into meaningful action.
Across four progressive modules and 15 signature activities, readers explore self-discovery, emotional intelligence, purpose, family relationships, leadership, healing-centered reflection and lifelong growth.
Whether you are a parent, caregiver, veteran, educator, practitioner, coach, manager, executive or someone simply ready for a new chapter, the journey begins in the same place: within.
Not Just Activities to Complete. Experiences to Carry Forward.
Visual models, guided exercises, reflective journals, storytelling, relationship activities, future visioning and action-planning tools help readers move from learning to application.
Discover What Matters
Explore identity, values, life satisfaction and purpose through activities such as the Wheel of Life Satisfaction, Ikigai: Meaning Compass and The Inner Mirror.
Strengthen Relationships
Reflect on how you show up for the people around you through the Value of Relationships Guide, Mirroring Our Best and healing-centered boundary work.
Turn Insight Into Action
Envision what comes next through A New Story: Meet Me in 10 Years, Creating Your Vision and the Be the Difference Growth Blueprint.
Bring the Learning Beyond the Book
FFCA connects the manual to facilitator-guided learning and professional development. Explore how its activities can support individuals, families, practitioners, leadership teams and organizations.
Purpose Within
Rise Out of the Ashes Like the Phoenix
What if the experiences that changed your life could also help you discover how you want to live the rest of it?
Some wounds are visible. Others are carried quietly for years. Purpose Within brings together memoir, military service, fatherhood, faith, cultural identity, leadership and healing-centered reflection in an invitation to keep moving forward with dignity and purpose.
Written across the seasons of life, the book explores identity and ambition, responsibility and service, loss and reinvention, forgiveness and legacy. It speaks to veterans, parents, leaders, helping professionals and readers navigating their own difficult transitions.
James does not ask readers to erase what happened to them. He invites them to reflect on what they have carried, what they have learned and what they still want to build for themselves and others.
The Fire Does Not Have the Final Word.
Through personal testimony and professional reflection, the book invites readers to consider how resilience, relationships, service and purpose can shape the chapters still ahead.
Lead Through Adversity
Explore responsibility, emotional truth, humility and service when leadership is tested by difficult circumstances.
Make Room for Healing
Reflect on grief, trauma, forgiveness, mental wellness and the importance of connection without reducing healing to a single path or timetable.
Build a Living Legacy
Consider the family relationships, values, choices and acts of service that shape what we build into others while we are still here.
Continue the Conversation With the Author
The reflections in Purpose Within connect to James’s broader work in leadership, coaching, family strengthening and professional learning. Explore the ideas behind the book and the work they continue to inspire.
Every Author Brings a Different Voice. Every Story Matters.
These two books are part of a growing community of authors sharing knowledge, lived experience, faith, creativity and purpose. Next, meet Dr. Alicia L. Jackson and discover the message behind Let Me Catch the Fire While I Can. And if you have a story of your own, there is a place for you in this community.
A First Book. A Lasting Partnership. A Voice Worth Hearing.
Every publishing house has a first author who helps turn a vision into something real. For Borinquen Within Press, that author is Min. Dr. Alicia L. Jackson, PhD. She entrusted us with a message shaped by faith, experience, ministry and a deep concern for people who have been wounded but have not stopped believing. Her publication marks an important chapter in our story—and we are honored to help bring her voice to readers.
Let Me Catch the Fire While I Can
What happens when you still love God, but the fire of faith has begun to fade?
What happens when worship becomes routine, church wounds remain unhealed, and the appearance of faith begins to replace a genuine relationship with God?
In Let Me Catch the Fire While I Can, Dr. Jackson offers a compassionate, deeply personal invitation to believers who are weary, disappointed or searching for renewed spiritual connection.
Drawing from Scripture, lived experience, spiritual reflection and more than three decades of ministry leadership, she addresses church hurt, spiritual complacency, wounded leadership, accountability, authentic worship and the courage to return to the heart of faith.
This is not a book written to condemn the Church. It is written because she loves it. Her message makes room for honest reflection while pointing readers toward humility, grace, healing and spiritual renewal.
For the Believer Who Is Weary—but Has Not Lost Hope
Dr. Jackson writes for people who want something deeper than religious routine: an honest relationship with God, the courage to examine their hearts and the possibility of renewal after disappointment.
Faith Beyond Performance
Reflect on the difference between outward religious activity and an authentic spiritual life rooted in humility, prayer and relationship.
Healing From Church Hurt
Make room to acknowledge painful experiences, consider healthy accountability and explore what renewed faith can look like.
Leadership With Integrity
Consider why character, compassion and responsibility matter more than titles, appearances or applause in Christian leadership.
“The question is not whether the fire is still burning. The question is: Will you catch it while you still can?”
Your Voice Could Be Part of Our Next Chapter.
Alicia’s journey reflects what Borinquen Within Press was created to do: collaborate with authors, honor their authentic voices and help bring meaningful work into the world. Whether your manuscript is finished or your book is still an idea, we welcome a conversation about what you want to create.
Your Voice. Your Story. Your Next Step.
Whether you are already published, looking for a community of authors, ready to meet readers, or carrying an idea that has not yet become a book, we would love to hear from you.
Meet the Authors • HOPE FIL 2027 • Author & Exhibitor Opportunities
Meet Our Authors of Impact
Published voices. Emerging voices. Different journeys. One growing community of people with something meaningful to share.
Second Edition
Bishop Henry Hearns
How Odds Even Through Grace, 2nd Edition
What can one life teach us about faith, perseverance, leadership and the power of continuing forward when the odds say otherwise?
How Odds Even Through Grace is Bishop Henry Hearns' autobiographical account of a life shaped by adversity, perseverance and unwavering faith. Born in Mississippi in 1933 during an era of segregation, economic hardship and limited opportunity, his story travels from working in the cotton fields to a life of pastoral leadership, engineering, public service and becoming the first African American mayor of Lancaster.
His journey is more than a record of accomplishments. It is a testimony to what can happen when faith, purpose, perseverance and service continue across the seasons of a person's life.
A Life of Faith, Perseverance, Service & Legacy
Bishop Hearns is the Presiding Bishop of Living Stone Cathedral of Worship and a former mayor of Lancaster. After more than five decades of pastoral leadership, he continues to mentor, encourage and uplift leaders, families and communities through wisdom, hope and spiritual conviction.
Authors of Impact celebrates books that carry more than words. They carry experience, wisdom, purpose and something worth passing forward.
Bishop Hearns' story is a legacy of grace, faith and leadership that continues to speak across generations.
Have a published story of your own—or a story still waiting to become a book? Authors of Impact is a growing community of voices, readers and authors.
Connect with Borinquen Within PressDr. Rosina McAlpine
Inspired Children: Life Skills eBook Series
What if preparing children for the future meant teaching them not only what they need to know—but the life skills they need to flourish?
Dr. Rosina McAlpine's Inspired Children: Life Skills eBook Series translates research and professional knowledge into practical ways parents, educators and professionals can help children develop the capabilities they need for everyday life.
Across seven focused eBooks, the series explores Personal Power; Health and Wellbeing; Communication and Relationships; Education, Careers and Money; Environmental and Social Understanding; Relaxation and Play; and Inspired Creativity.
Together, these resources encourage a broader view of preparing children for life—strengthening confidence, relationships, communication, independence, creativity, resilience and wellbeing alongside learning and achievement.
Practical life-skills resources for parents, educators and professionals.
Knowledge Becomes Powerful When Families Can Use It
Dr. Rosina McAlpine is the CEO and creator of the Win Win Parenting Program. She holds a Master of Higher Education and a PhD from the University of New South Wales and has spent decades translating child-development research into practical tools designed to help parents, children and families flourish.
Authors of Impact celebrates people who transform knowledge, lived experience and professional wisdom into resources that can strengthen the lives of others.
When we teach life skills intentionally, we prepare children not just for school, but for life.
Have professional knowledge, a lived experience or an idea that could become a resource for families and communities? Your voice may be the beginning of your own Authors of Impact journey.
Connect with Borinquen Within Press
Exploring the lived realities of Black professionals and the difference between good intentions and meaningful impact.
Dr. Wendy Talley, LCSW
Triumph in the Trenches: The Green Book for Black Professionals
What happens when what we intended is not what another person experienced?
Dr. Wendy Talley is a psychotherapist, leadership consultant, and corporate wellness expert whose work helps professionals and organizations build healthier, more sustainable workplace cultures. 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.
In Triumph in the Trenches, Dr. Talley's chapter, “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 practical reflection, she explores how workplace language, assumptions, and behavior can affect identity, opportunity, and psychological well-being.
Her contribution invites readers to better understand the lived realities of Black professionals while considering practical pathways toward greater awareness and accountability. The message is both simple and consequential: good intentions do not erase harmful impact.
Moving Leadership Toward Awareness, Accountability and Meaningful Impact
Dr. Wendy Talley is a psychotherapist, leadership consultant, corporate wellness expert, and founder of Thelese Consulting Group and the Mastery Elite Leadership Academy. Her work bridges behavioral health, organizational wellness, leadership development, and the lived realities professionals carry into the workplace.
Authors of Impact creates space for professional knowledge and lived experience to become conversation, reflection and a resource for others. Dr. Talley's contribution brings an important workplace and leadership voice into that community.
Leadership must move beyond intention and toward awareness, accountability, and meaningful impact.
Do you have professional knowledge, research, lived experience, or a story that could contribute to a larger conversation? Your expertise may become a book—and your book may become part of someone else's growth.
Explore Publishing with Borinquen Within Press • Join the Meet the Authors CommunityDr. Ovett Chapman, Ph.D.
School Psychologist | Principal Consultant | Speaker | Author
Special Education Superheroes: Rethinking Conventional Practices to Best Serve All Students
Dr. Ovett Chapman Jr. is a school psychologist, consultant, speaker, and author committed to creating more inclusive and equitable educational systems. Through Wellspring Education Solutions, he provides professional development and consulting focused on reimagining special education and strengthening student belonging.
In Special Education Superheroes, Dr. Chapman challenges educators, families, and school leaders to move beyond conventional practices and create environments that recognize potential rather than define children by disability. Drawing from professional experience, evidence-based strategies, and case studies, he translates inclusion into practical action.
Special education itself is not the superhero—the adults who advocate, connect, and respond with purpose are.
About Dr. Chapman: He holds a Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Arizona, teaches graduate students in school psychology, remains active with the Arizona Association of School Psychologists, and is a recipient of the Champion of Equity recognition from the American Consortium for Equity in Education.
Purchase on AmazonInclusive systems recognize potential, cultivate belonging, and help every child thrive.
Every Voice Has a Story. Every Story Can Leave a Legacy.
The authors featured in the next collection are actively connected with Borinquen Within Press. Some works are already published. Others are moving through editorial, design, illustration, production, or pre-publication development. Together, they represent what BWP was created to nurture: voices, ideas, lived experiences, professional knowledge, and stories worth carrying forward.
Publishing the book is only one part of the journey. Through the wider Fathers & Families Coalition of America community, Meet the Authors and HOPE FIL 2027, we are creating pathways for authors to be discovered, share their work, meet readers and professionals, build relationships, and explore opportunities that can extend beyond publication.
PUBLISH • CONNECT • BE DISCOVERED • BUILD COMMUNITY • EXTEND YOUR IMPACT
Tracey McMillan
Divorce Is F*cked: A No-Bullshit Survival Guide for Men
Divorce can leave people overwhelmed by conflict, uncertainty, financial pressure, parenting concerns, and decisions that may shape the next chapter of their lives. In Divorce Is F*cked, Tracey McMillan meets that reality head-on with a direct, practical guide for men navigating separation, divorce, and the family law system.
Rather than offering empty reassurance, Tracey focuses on what readers can actually control: their decisions, emotional responses, preparation, credibility, and ability to remain focused on what matters most. The result is a candid roadmap for protecting children, finances, future stability, and a sense of self while moving through an extraordinarily difficult transition.
About Tracey: Based in Queensland, Australia, Tracey McMillan is CEO of Queensland Family Law Practice and an experienced barrister focused on family law. Her work combines legal strategy with behavioural insight to help people navigate separation with greater clarity, reduced conflict, and stronger direction.
“Separation may feel like detonation, but clarity and strategy can change the outcome.”
Sunshine Flores
Sunshine from Ashes
Some stories begin with what was lost. Others begin with what somehow remained. Sunshine from Ashes: Beauty Born of Burnt Ground is being developed as a story of overcoming—an exploration of what it can mean to move through difficult seasons and still discover that something meaningful can grow from ground that once appeared burned beyond recognition.
The striking black-and-gold rose at the center of the cover captures the spirit of the work: the fire is part of the story, but it does not have to be the final chapter. Ashes can become soil. Pain can give way to perspective. What survives can become the beginning of something new.
Sunshine Flores is a forthcoming author with Borinquen Within Press. Her manuscript is moving through the publishing and production process with a forecast publication date of October 31, 2026. Upon release, the book is planned for availability through Amazon and Barnes & Noble distribution channels.
“Sometimes what looks like the end of the landscape becomes the ground where something beautiful begins again.”
THE BWP AUTHOR JOURNEY • MANUSCRIPT → EDITORIAL DEVELOPMENT → DESIGN → PRODUCTION → PUBLICATION → AUTHOR PLATFORM
Sometimes Children Carry Feelings
They Don't Yet Have Words For.
A forthcoming children's story created for families navigating separation, divorce, family conflict, changing homes, and the emotions that can accompany a family in transition.
Tracey McMillan
The Crocodile in My Chest
What happens inside a child when the family they know begins to change?
Separation and divorce may involve legal decisions between adults, but their emotional impact can reach an entire family. Children may experience changes in homes, routines, relationships, expectations, and their sense of what comes next—sometimes carrying emotions they feel deeply before they know how to explain them.
In The Crocodile in My Chest, Tracey McMillan introduces young readers to Noah and the “crocodile” inside his chest—a memorable, child-friendly metaphor for recognizing powerful emotions that can otherwise seem confusing, frightening, or simply too big for words.
Through Noah's experience of family change, two homes, changing routines, and uncertainty, the story creates space for something every child deserves: the opportunity to be heard, reassured, connected, and reminded that they remain loved even when the world around them feels different.
A Children's Story That Can Open
A Much Bigger Family Conversation.
The Crocodile in My Chest is not limited to one parent, one gender, or one side of a separation. Its message reaches children, mothers, fathers, caregivers, grandparents, extended family members, and professionals supporting families through divorce, separation, and family conflict.
Name the Feeling
Give children a relatable way to recognize and begin communicating emotions that may otherwise feel overwhelming.
Create Safety
Reinforce the importance of reassurance, consistency, listening, and emotional safety when familiar routines change.
Preserve Connection
Remind families that relationships and routines may change, but children continue to need belonging, connection, reassurance, and love.
Start the Conversation
Use storytelling as a bridge between children and the parents, caregivers, family members, and professionals seeking to understand what they are experiencing.
Tracey McMillan
Based in Brisbane, Australia, Tracey McMillan is a Family Law expert and attorney whose professional work places her alongside individuals and families navigating separation, divorce, family conflict, parenting arrangements, and major family transitions.
As CEO of Queensland Family Law Practice, Tracey brings the perspective of a professional who understands that family law is never only about documents, proceedings, or legal decisions. Behind every case are people, relationships, children, uncertainty, emotion, and lives being reorganized.
Her writing reflects that broader human perspective. The Crocodile in My Chest turns attention toward the emotional experience of children and gives families a creative tool for beginning conversations that can sometimes be difficult to start.
Tracey is also a member of the Fathers & Families Coalition of America international faculty and will contribute to HOPE 2027 — the 28th International Families & Fathers Conference through a Partner Pavilion. Her connection across family law, education, family relationships, and family-strengthening conversations extends the message of this book far beyond its pages.
Because Children Deserve to Be Heard
Even Before They Know How to Explain.
Borinquen Within Press celebrates authors who transform lived experience, professional expertise, imagination, and purpose into books that can strengthen others. Tracey's forthcoming children's book brings that mission directly into the family—using story and emotional language to help children and the people who love them navigate difficult change with greater understanding.
When big feelings need a voice, a story can become the first safe place for a child and family to begin talking.
Andrea García Martínez
Freedom in Forgiveness
Healing Today for a Brighter Tomorrow
Some journeys begin on rocky ground. Andrea García Martínez chose another path—one shaped by healing, faith, courage, and the decision not to allow yesterday to possess tomorrow.
Freedom in Forgiveness grows from lived experience and an understanding that forgiveness does not require denying what happened. It can become a pathway toward releasing what was never ours to carry forever and discovering the freedom to move forward.
Walking the Publishing Path Together: Borinquen Within Press is honored that Andrea has entrusted our team with helping bring her story from manuscript to publication—protecting her voice while supporting the editorial, design, production, and publishing journey ahead.
Regardless of the rocky roads behind us, there can still be a beautiful pathway forward.
Publishing Across Languages and Cultures
One example of how collaborative editorial, design, production, and publishing talent can help carry an author's manuscript from development to publication.
Crecimiento Postraumático: De las Cenizas a la Belleza
Alex Rodríguez • Spanish Language • 171 Pages • ISBN-13: 979-8997559427
Published by Borinquen Within Press, this Spanish-language publication demonstrates the depth of talent available through our international collaborative team. The project moved through manuscript development, editorial collaboration, visual design, interior production, graphics, metadata, and publication preparation while preserving the author's individual voice and story.
Every manuscript requires something different. BWP brings together editors, designers, artists, production specialists, multimedia professionals, and publishing support to build the right team around each project.
Your story may begin in any language. Whether you publish with BWP or arrive with a book already completed, HOPE FIL and Meet the Authors are being built to help authors connect, share their work, and become part of a broader literary community.
BORINQUEN WITHIN PRESS | WHERE VOICE BECOMES LEGACY
