Manisha Holiday grew up on the SouthSide of Chicago. She was raised by a single mother and was only 15 years old when she had her first baby. The biggest challenges for her were providing for her child, juggling school, and growing up too soon. “I wanted to make my mom proud, so I did what I had to do,” says Manisha.

Having a newborn is life-changing for any parent, but being a single mom with a newborn is nerve-wrecking and exhausting. The hardest part of that phase of single motherhood was learning to do ALL of it alone and managing the emotions along the way.

“I read all the books, went to all my doctor appointments, prepared the hospital bag, and created a birth plan by myself, for the most part. I wanted my baby’s father there for the entire birth but it didn’t work out that way.

During labor I felt excitement and disappointment, anticipation and frustration, along with joy and pain. My baby was beautiful. The birth should have been a moment to be celebrated but it was overshadowed by deflated hopes.”

Despite starting a family at such an early age and being a single mom, Manisha finished school and went on to build a life for her three children.

“One promise I made to myself being a teenage mother was to never give up on myself or my children. I had to be a woman before my time, I learned a lot of things along the way. I made a lot of sacrifices and I couldn’t let my family and most of all my mother down who was also a single parent at the time. There were hardship and lot’s of sacrifices, but I provided a good life to my children. In August of 2014, my oldest daughter moved into the college dorm at Northern Illinois University and decided I wanted to start a new life. I gave up everything. I boarded a Greyhound bus with two suitcases and my son who was eight at the time headed for Atlanta, Georgia. My middle child stayed in Chicago with her father to finish her last year of high school. It was time for me to walk in my purpose and put all the horror stories of my life and past behind me. I was ready to give my children everything I wanted as a child and more. The only way for me to do that was to step out in faith, trust my gifts and talent, and use things that I was good at and loved to do. I put it all into creating my own business.”

And the gamble paid off for Manisha. Both of her daughters (a social service professional and a makeup artist) are successful women, and she’s raising her 14-year-old son to be an amazing young man. On top of that, Manisha runs her own public relations firm, The Holiday Firm. Founded in 2015, The Holiday Firm is an award-winning strategic, integrated communications and public relations firm, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, with offices in California and Illinois. Manisha has worked with many entertainers, entrepreneurs, and women in business in Atlanta, Georgia. including Syleena Johnson, Sister Circle, TV One and Lisa Nicole Cloud, “Married to Medicine” Bravo TV while public relations director at ADlanta Magazine. The firm connects brands, messages, and people through data-driven insights, cross-channel communications, and a brilliant customer experience. Find out more by visiting https://theholidayfirm.com. Manisha also is a co-owner of a hemp farm in Georgia and is a co-author of the book “The Protector, The Provider, My Husband, My King… I,ll Wait!”

How you became a single mom does not matter;

it’s what you do with the experience that does.

At 40, Manisha wants to tell her story and share it with others in her new book: Victorious: A Journey to 40. In the book, she details how does a girl who started life with the short end of the stick grow into a woman who is filled with favor? How does a victim of abuse and trauma turn the hopeless situation into victory. Journey with me through the hills and valleys (mostly valleys) of life to discover how the trajectory of my life changed when I changed three things. You will be able to change your life and life story too!

The journey to 40 wasn’t paved in gold but it is filled with golden nuggets that took Manisha from victimhood to living a victorious life! Get inspired. Get uplifted. Get ready to change your story too. Pre-Order Victorious: A Journey to 40 on her website by clicking here!