Interview: Nadia Davis for Hispanic Heritage Month
Favorite failures, confessions, curiosities, and advice
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, I’m highlighting some of my Hispanic and Latina clients, authors with incredible and powerful stories.
Today I’m excited to feature Nadia Davis, a mom, attorney, victims’ rights advocate, kundalini yoga instructor, and author of Home Is Within You: A Memoir of Recovery and Redemption. She is a survivor of trauma and abuse, a near fatal car accident, addiction, and brutal public shaming. Nadia has a lifetime record of passionate work and of dedication to improving the lives of others, for which she has received numerous awards. She is most well known as the attorney who fought tirelessly to free Arthur Carmona, an innocent victim wrongfully accused and jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. She is developing a nonprofit to support mothers in the justice system and to end the public shaming and stigma they face for struggling with addiction and mental health. Nadia has a BA from UCLA and a JD from Loyola Law School.
When I started working with Nadia, she had bravely self-published her book and worked tirelessly to raise awareness for her work. Having caught the attention of Girl Friday Books, she re-released it, this time with her photo on the cover, reclaiming her voice and narrative. Nadia's story is a profound lesson in learning how we are often too quick to shame others before first considering that behind nearly every story of addiction is trauma, and that every act, as Nadia reminds us, is either a cry for love or an act of love. Women supporting women is critical in this world, and Nadia is a perfect example of someone who fights for others and has developed a daily practice of fighting for herself. Please check out her book, Home is Within You.
What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?
My father, Wally Davis, inspired me to make the world a better place. Of Southwest Indigenous and Hispanic Heritage, he found strength in his roots through which he created a roadmap to our Creator, an infinite, divine source of love, light, and warmth. An orphaned fieldworker who became one of the first Spanish-speaking attorneys in the Southwest, I watched him fight for the educational and civic rights of students and voters as a child. He abruptly passed away when I followed in his footsteps and was in law school. Yet his spirit came to me in the darkest hours, reminding me of my truth, heritage, and purpose. By connecting to his spirit, I found a doorway to that same infinite source of love, light, and warmth within us all - thus, my father's inspiring story and spirit opened and guided my entire book.
Can you tell us when and where your author journey began?
My author journey began at different significant times in my life - when my father died while representing a wrongfully convicted kid and then a decade later, in my own trauma and addiction recovery. These were challenging moments, but I found strength in writing. It helped me tie past, present, and future together - a space I entered after suffering a near-death car accident shortly after my father passed away and representing that kid. Putting the experiences down on paper enabled all the emotions to fall out; it helped me see the truths behind them, heal, and transform the shame I felt about how I handled all the pain into power.
Is there any one thing that stands out as the most pivotal moment in your journey as an author?
The most pivotal moment was when writing became the canvas for connecting past, present, and future events. This inspired me to write letters to my sons full of life lessons and spiritual lessons.
What is a favorite failure or most surprising success? It could be a failure that taught you the most, ultimately leading to later success.
A failure that stands out was getting into a relationship with someone right before the first publishing launch of my book, my not adequately noticing and properly responding to red flags, and after that, being distracted by the pain of another's deception and rage. It made it very difficult to function at my best at times and negated fully embracing all the blessings, successes, and miracles that came my way as a result of writing and releasing my memoir. Today, I am grateful for all I learned. This experience taught me the importance of emotional and mental presence and the need to fully embrace the journey of writing and releasing a book. It also taught me to be more protective of my energy, and more cautious and focused, especially during significant life events like a book launch.
What are you currently curious about and spending time learning?
Currently, I'm exploring the idea of publishing my memoir as a children's book and handbook for women. I want to help them learn how to build a sense of home within their hearts and, most of all, ban shame in and around their lives. I am discovering how shame shows up for others and what works best to help them transform it into healing power.
BONUS: What is one book you recommend the most to people?
Today, it is How to Love and Be Loved by Humble the Poet, and in the recent past, it was/still is The Sun My Heart by Thich Nat Han, and Japji, A Master's Touch by Priya Jain, Seventh Chakra Institute of Spiritual Sciences. All three reveal the true meaning of life.
