The first part of this book breaks your heart; the heartaches and hardship the family had endured growing up in the toughest neighborhood in Los Angeles seem to indicate a foreseeable pattern for young Hazel and her sisters. Hazel is so brave to confront her past, to realize that it ain't so and that it does not have to be so set her free. The kind boss she met encouraged her to go to school, to change her way of being, and the transformative self discovery she embarked upon enriched her life. I cried reading her story; I cried when she casually mentioned that at one point both of her parents were in jail; I cried when she was alone, with a child, and with bills to pay, a mouth to feed, and her life on the line. The writing is so beautiful because it is so authentic; the lessons she shared generously as a business woman all came from her courage to continuously transform herself. There is no stopping of Hazel; I am waiting for the movie to come out, the chain restaurants under her name, and the good that she will be doing to transform her old neighborhood. I could not put it down; had to read it on the plane, with tears streaming down my face. Hazel: you are truly beautiful inside and out and courageous. Thank you for the gift of sharing yourself with us.

 - SOPHIA J PARKER

WOW!  Hazel's truth is so powerful!  Her story is captivating, inspiring and deeply moving.  What a journey she had been on... wait I don't think she is done - I can't wait to see what's next.  Watch out for this to become an Oscar winning movie.  A MUST read.

- MARIANNE EMMA JEFF

“My first read of the book changed my relationship with my mother and sister. It forced me to look at where I could do more. Where was my responsibility in any lack of relationship or closeness to them? So I took action and delved into my history with my mother. I looked at my actions towards her since I was a baby. The way I reacted to her and how awful that must have felt as a mother. I looked at things from the opposite angle. I realized that I had resented my mother for rejecting me but it was really me who had rejected her. The closeness I yearned for, to tell my mom I loved her and mean it, to rest in her lap. I was finally able to feel it and do it. By looking into my part in the rift I was able to have unlimited compassion for my mother and in turn open up to unconditional love. This was an essential step into the next phase of my life which was truly opening up to and finding my partner and father of my future babies.

Before I read the book I had been doing a lot of work around my issues with my father. Specifically how my relationship with him, as a child, was impacting my choices and actions in my romantic relationships. Once I had a clear understanding around this, I found that I was still not finding a meaningful connection romantically, even though that is what I yearned for the most; finding my life partner and starting a family. They key to unlocking what was missing or what was blocking me, was looking into my mother relationship, because after all, I wanted to be a mother. So I had to look at it from the perspective of a mother and see the relationship through the lens of unconditional love. Looking into this was key for me and Hazel’s story shook me to my core and forced me to look at this in my life.

As such, the most significant improvement to my life from the first read of the book was in my family relationships and in turn my relationship to myself and eventually being able to open up to and find my life partner.

If there is anything in your life telling you that there is something more for you out there, this is the program that will help you find it. If you feel stuck somehow, this book will help you examine why!”

-DIANA LÓPEZ