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Despite the title, Milwaukee author Teresa Rae Butler’s new book is well worth the trip
by Thomas E. Mitchell, Jr.
Trying to teach at-risk youth not let life’s obstacles keep them from attaining their dreams while trying NOT falling in love with a younger man who might be the proverbial knight in shining armor (or a dud) is at the heart of Teresa Rae Butler’s first novel, “Don’t Even Trip!”
“It’s about how hard it is for minorities to succeed in any profession and a love story about a woman who is fed up with Black men, but can’t let them go,” said Butler describing her book during a recent interview.
The main protagonist is a teacher who tries to instill in her at-risk students life skills that will prepare them for what they will face in the hard-knocks job market and a tough world where there are no “free-rides.”
“She (the protagonist of the novel) tries to communicate to her students they need to drop the attitude and prepare themselves for the real world where doors will be closed (to them) because of the color of their skin,” Butler said.
Butler said the main character’s motivation for pushing her students down the right path is her own life. The character has three different babies’ daddies.
“And that’s significant because in their (the students’) neighborhood, with nothing but poverty surrounding them, the only activities open to their crowd is sex and crime,” Butler said in describing the students’ world and perhaps the main character’s own past.
“That (sex and crime) doesn’t cost anything. But it does cost them their lives in one way or another.”
As the protagonist tries to teach her students about the real world, she’s also trying to avoid another relationship with a brotha who is younger than her, a college student who is very persistent.
“It’s during their brief encounters she suspects he’s a thug in disguise,” Butler said.
Like all good novelists, Butler drew from her life experiences in writing “Don’t Even Trip!”
Butler said growing-up half Black and half White was tough given the fact that she could never be White or Black enough for either side of the color line.
“Too much drama,” was how Butler described growing up in a violent part of Milwaukee. Whether it was jobs, schools or something else, there was always a wall to climb or knock down.
Butler said “Don’t Even Trip!” and the sequel, “God, I Respect You Gangsta!” exposes a gritty world to young minorities.
“I point out that things could be so much different if our economic status would change for the better,” said Butler.
The second book, “God, I Respect You Gangsta!” centers on a lottery for the poor. If a person wins the lottery, they have to fix their credit, educate themselves, get their children in line and repair all the wholes in their lives.
Butler’s book has gotten good reviews in a number of publications that showcase Black authors such as Ingram Advance, African American Books That Click, African American Connections and Black Issues Book Review.
More importantly, the book is a hit with the people who really matter, the readers. Butler said people she’s talked to who have read the book find it interesting because they can identify with the book’s exploration of Black and White culture, as well as the pain, hardship and determination that comes through Butler’s writing.
Butler said she discovered her talent for writing while a student at the Milwaukee branch of Massachusetts’s Springfield College where she earned a degree in Human Services. Butler developed a reputation for writing “lengthy” papers.
“It brought out the writer in me,” Butler said of the experience. “I enjoyed it so much.”
Butler moved from college term papers to writing short stories and poetry, before writing her first novel. She made the progression while teaching at two independent schools in Milwaukee. Now she writes full-time.
Like a number of Black urban authors, Butler has her own publishing company called “TEXT 4M Publishing. The name comes from the “text form” style of writing.
“When writing my material, you see words abbreviated with numbers and letters, like code. It’s my own independent style.
“It’s a newborn,” a beaming Butler says of her new publishing endeavor, which she started in April of this year. On explaining why she decided to add publisher to her current title of author, Butler said there are a lot of “hacks” in the publishing world that take stories and put someone else’s name on it.
“I’m a firm believer in ‘you get what you give.’ I will give people advice (about how to succeed as writers),” said the engaged single mother of four children and three stepchildren.
The “advice” will be how to avoid the pit falls she’s encountered in her own journey as an author. She is sharing her wisdom with George Ralph Salter, author of the book, “Abandon.” Butler plans to bring Salter to Milwaukee in the next few months to promote his book and get word out about TEXT 4M Publishing.
Butler is also working with poet Lem Louis, who is working on a still-to-be titled book of poetry.
Butler’s stint as a teacher has allowed her to see the education system in Milwaukee up close and personal. She feels the system has to improve or it will continue producing children with no futures to look forward to.
Part of that improvement must be in the approach of teachers--particularly White teachers--in teaching central city youth. Butler feels teachers are out of touch with today’s students.
“White teachers (or non-Black teachers) need a course that will prepare them for what they have to deal with as it relates to central city children.
Butler describes these children as “ticking time bombs” who come to school having dealt with violence in their homes or in the streets. “Their environment is the number one reason (for these kids) not to come to school or to come to school to eat, sleep or socialize.
“Teachers must be prepared for this and be able to steer them (students) toward being educated and feel good about coming to school.”
Butler suggests the school system hold Parent/Teacher conferences on the weekends since parents find it difficult to come to conferences during the week because they’re working two to three jobs.
The teacher-turned-author has put some of her ideas about education in her book, as well as ideas on how to change society--even stave-off crime.
“Writing these books are my contribution to helping to affect change in the community,” Butler said.
“It’s important that African Americans never forget what our ancestors gave us from genetic birth. We were kings and queens; we will forever be kings and queens. It’s time to wake up.”
“Don’t Even Trip!” can be found at Cultural Connection (where it made its debut), Barnes & Noble, Border’s and Walden’s Books. Butler noted the book could also be found at Milwaukee Public Library, which has up to nine copies.
The book was also among the new titles showcased at the Book Expo America in Washington D.C. this past May. The book is available in hardcover $24.95 and in paperback for $15.
