Dr. Debbie Holliday-Phillips spent her career shaping young minds as a special education teacher and instructional administrator in Chicago Public Schools. Today, she’s devoted to something just as close to her heart: making sure mothers everywhere are remembered.

She’s the founder of Diversity Matters, a community built on nearly six years of honest conversation across race, culture, and belief, proof that when people truly listen to one another, common ground isn’t hard to find.

This book started with one bite of sweet potato pie and a flood of memories of her own mother. It grew into an invitation for others to share their stories too, and hundreds answered. Every chapter is a reminder that a mother’s love doesn’t disappear; it lives on in the people she raised.