Today we’d like to introduce you to Ja Myung Taylor.
Hi Ja Myung, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Los Angeles: mid-city, west LA, and South Central. My mom has been disabled since I was young, so we never had much money. I grew up around gangs, drug dealers, and everything that comes along with poverty. But I never let anyone persuade me to join their gang. And 0ther than minor run-ins with the law as a kid, I also steered clear of the greater criminal elements and actions. I tried my best to not become a statistic, dead before 21, a dead-beat dad, or incarcerated. Well, 2 out of 3 is not so bad, I guess. I did end up incarcerated and not because I was guilty but because they were trying to give me a life sentence, so I plead to charges I was not guilty of to make sure I would be in my little girl’s life again. I got sentenced to 18 years. It is crazy how much I would reflect on my life and wonder how I got there. I was a great father to my daughter, Jaelin; I had a business; I was a good son and a good human being. I tried so hard to avoid getting caught up in the system but ultimately it was unavoidable. It is crazy how many innocent or overcharged minorities are in prison. The difference between me and a lot of them however, was that I refused to waste my time there. I was determined to do my time and not let the time do me. While I was in there, I earned three Associate degrees, my bachelor’s degree, as well as paralegal and advanced paralegal certification. I also earned my way into the firehouse as an institutional firefighter. But none of that came close to what I was able to do next.
I earned my time down so I was incarcerated for a total of 12 years and four months of my 18-year sentence. I was transferred from prison confinement to a Men’s Correctional Re-Entry Program (MCRP) to serve out my last 12 months just a little over a year ago. An MCRP is community-based living, no more prison bars or concrete slabs. The MRCP was like a halfway house where although you are still in CDCR custody, you live in the community, work in the community, or go to school in your community. For me, that community, my community, is Los Angeles, California.
I was transferred to the MCRP on March 17, 2020, and on March 19 the County was shut down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The program I just arrived at was now also shutting us in, we would no longer be able to work, go to college or trade schools, or even receive visits from family or friends that we were now so much closer to. I guess it was the world’s turn to experience a lockdown as it is called in prison when all programming is temporarily shut down. Luckily here however, by being in the MCRP, we were allowed to have cellphones. This kept me in high spirits, not because cellphones are like little pocket computers now, but because I could finally talk to my daughter, Jaelin. I mean really talk to her. In prison, we only get the occasional 15-minute phone calls that our family must prepay for, and those are not even guaranteed. I was super excited that we would finally be able to talk and see each other through video chat. It had been 12 years since I had last seen my baby, she was only 11 years old when I went away, and I was finally going to be able to see her face and talk to her all the time and about everything just like we use to, or so I thought. It was great hearing her voice, but our conversations did not just flow like I had imagined they would. We had gotten so used to our short 15-minute phone calls in which we only covered surface stuff. It felt forced when I tried to talk to her for any longer than that. Honestly, it felt awkward and like I was making her feel awkward by just wanting to be on the phone but without much more to say but “I love you”. I felt like I had lost my baby, my best friend. I had to think of something that we had in common. Then I decided that if we did not have a common interest then I would have to create one. So, I did.
Remember how I said cellphones were like minicomputers. Well, I decided that since I had one then I just had to come up with a business idea that we could work on together. Something that we could do together over the phone. I threw a couple of ideas at Jaelin and one of them was to write a children’s book. I know Jaelin just said yes because she wanted to be supportive of me and that was fine with me. It was a start. However, when I tossed the idea of the children’s book being about the pandemic, she became genuinely excited at the idea of doing something for children that was so relevant and necessary. We needed a way to reconnect organically, and I knew if we worked together then our conversations and connection would grow naturally so if I could positively impact society, help children understand the chaos all around them, and reconnect with my daughter at the same time, then that is what I would do. That is how we decided to start the Pixie Poochie and the Puppydemic book series and sell through Amazon.
We decided to cover the three most important rules during this Covid-19 pandemic that would help prevent the spread of the Corona Virus, wearing a face mask, proper handwashing, and social distancing. This was still at the beginning of the Pandemic, so I believe our first book was one of the first children’s books out that covered Covid. We just wanted to make things a little less scary for children who are suddenly seeing everyone around them wearing masks, avoiding contact, and in a panic. And help them understand the need to practice good hygiene habits like washing their hands, that will always be relevant as flus and viruses are a constant. We published all three books before I was officially released from CDCR custody on December 2, 2020.
It is amazing what we were able to do together, and I know it is just the beginning. With our connection as strong as ever again now, I could say it is a success story. We went from not having much to say or knowing how to say it to talking ten times a day, comparing notes and tossing ideas back and forth. Each time we talked, I knew the conversation would end with an “I love you, daddy” and know she means it. In between book conversations, we would talk about random things until we were fully back in each other’s lives. Our success is our reconnection and if we can serve as a model to other family members who have grown distant, showing that it is never too late to reconnect, or if I can be an example to other ex-felons that are looking for ways to give back to society and positively utilize their second chances, and if our books have helped just one child, then we are a success!
So here we are now, June 2, 2021. Last month, my daughter and I released our newest book, “Pixie and the Scamp,” the first book in the Pixie Poochie Promotes Positive Mental Health series. We realized that although the pandemic may be coming close to an end, so many children will still be affected by it, especially by the quarantines and loss of loved ones so we decided to address children’s mental health as it relates to the aftermath of the COVID pandemic but also just in general because it is such a major concern with so many children suffering from mental health issues. We have consulted with mental health experts and these books are focused on helping children to better talk about and cope with their feelings and process their emotions. My daughter and I, because of my incarceration, have both had to deal with and continue to deal with mental health issues, so this continues to be a project close to our hearts. We have two more books coming out soon in this series as well.
Today is June 2nd, 2021, and it is exactly six months since my release from prison. It is hard to believe that only six months ago, I was CDCR inmate# AB6746. God is good!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Growing up in the environment that I did, everything that happens in the streets just becomes normalized. In a way, it kind of trains you for survival and how to co-exist in the worst of environments with the worst of people. I say that to say that prison was just more of the same. I didn’t really fit in with most of the guys there but I knew how to function around them and tried to always draw out the best in them. Honestly, what made prison especially hard for me was not being there for my daughter. I was a disappointment to myself and I felt like I was to her as well. I lied to her about being in jail for over a year, that was so hard but I thought it was best to save her from the stigmatism of having a father in jail. Then within days after I told her the truth, suddenly she developed mental health issues. I blamed myself for that throughout my whole sentence. Missing out on all her school activities, not being able to go up to her school and play with her and her friends, missing birthdays and graduations, her prom, her first date, college, sorority house events, everything! That was the hardest thing for me, those are the things that made the road not smooth. Not being able to see her was the worse part of it all.
Oh, so after the launch of the first book in the Pixie Poochie and the Puppydemic series was released, KCAL/CBS news heard of our story and wanted to do an interview with us. Of course, because I was in the MCRP I could not be there. The news did an interview with Jaelin and they called me on Facetime and I talked to my daughter and answered questions over video chat. The MCRP punished me for that by taking away my phone for a week and giving me work duty. They knew how important my phone was to our progress, communication and bonding process, and business. It’s just funny how they, the CDC swears they are doing so much for rehabilitation and to help inmates get ahead upon release but the truth is if their best interest is served by higher recidivism rates and longer sentences, what is their real agenda?
Of course, there have been many obstacles and challenges along the way. Definitely not a smooth road but I learned a long time ago that life truly is what you make of it. That, and that perception is reality. Luckily I have always been overly optimistic and pretty much see everything as either a lesson or a blessin’.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have always been very creative and an inventor or idea “comer upper wither”. So much so that I run people off by throwing idea after idea at them. I also always tended to think outside the box so it was easy for me to come up with new or innovative ideas. my daughter has that gift too. So does my mom. The application aspect is where we fall a little short but I’m trying to change that now. I want to show my daughter that it is possible to dream up your goal and then achieve it. I want her to know that she can be successful at whatever she puts her mind to. This is our brainchild, so to be able to think it up, visualize, and bring it to life, it would be so awesome to see that it becomes a thriving business. By thriving, I mean helpful to children and society and continues to strengthen our bond that it was so instrumental in creating.
I think there is a lot that sets me and us apart from others. We didn’t do any of this for money. It was to get my daughter back, to help children, and to give back to society. I am most proud of the fact that we’ve come so far with so many odds against me and us. We hope that Pixie Poochie because a household name and one day known worldwide for all positive messaging and information that continues to help children and society.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I don’t think this question was meant to be this hard, but I honestly don’t know. I also don’t know if it’s because I have a bad memory or just not a lot of good ones. Sorry! Like I had some before, they didn’t last long. Example: Get a bike on Christmas, it gets stolen later that same day. True story! My greatest childhood memories, I think would all be from my daughter’s childhood, at least up until she was 11 when I went to prison.
Pricing:
- Ebook: $3.99
- Paperback: $14.95
- Hardcover: $23.95
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.PixiePoochie.com
- Instagram: @pixiepoochiebooks
- Facebook: @pixiepoochiebooks
- Twitter: @pixiepoochie
- Other: @pixiepoochie
