17-Year-Old Author Publishes 'Dear Black Girl, You Are IT'

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Entrepreneurship runs in her family. When Tamera Elyse Trimuel was 9 years old she started her own business called Tamera's Treasures to inspire other young girls to treasure their virtues, embrace self-love and value. As she got older, Trimuel began writing a book to continue spreading the same message.

At just 17, Trimuel is the published author of her first book titled "Dear Black Girl, You are IT," all about her journey to self-love, inspiring other young Black girls to do the same. The Marian Catholic High School senior said she wanted to write a book to continue to spread her message that she'd been sharing since she was a little kid.

The book challenges stereotypes of young Black girls, waging war against feeling ordinary, and realizing Black girls have the power to "transcend the barriers that are positioned to limit" them, according to the novel's description.

The Harvey native credits her 2018 selection to the Disney Dreams Academy with Steve Harvey and Essence Magazine as the moment she knew she wanted to write her first book. The academy's website says it's a four-day event that brings together 100 exceptional young people with ambition, excitement and hopes for the future. The program gives attendees the motivation, guidance and skills to help make those dreams come true, according to the website.

"It just really changed my life," Trimuel said. "It made my purpose more clear. ... They told us 'We can't just sit on [our] purpose anymore. You have a message.' What better way to get that out there than to write a book, inspiring girls and letting them know that they are intelligent and triumphant?"

The "IT" in the book title stands for intelligent and triumphant, according to Trimuel. The book was published in 2020. After graduating, she hopes to study journalism and prelaw, and aspires to become a civil rights attorney. The author said a goal of hers is to create her very own talk show to continue encouraging young Black girls to follow their dreams.

"I want to be a talk show host of my own show to inspire young girls and everybody who watches me," Trimuel said.

The senior graduates in May 2021 and has been accepted into her dream school, Elon University in North Carolina. She is currently working on her next book , a fiction novel.

"It is totally different from writing an inspirational book. It's actually harder," Trimuel said. "I read a lot and I love reading. I'm learning from the different authors that I read from, and it's helping. It's hard to take your imagination and put it on paper. "

Trimuel turns 18 in February and says her biggest supporters are her parents. She hopes to continue to writing and inspiring young girls to do anything, implying the sky is the limit.

Learn more about Trimuel and "Dear Black Girl, You are IT," here.