Kiarah Michelle Williams, a senior print journalism major at Bowie State University senior has written a new book called “Forever Friends” to help teens navigate the ups and downs of friendship.
The book is currently available at Barnes and Noble stores across the nation and on Amazon. It follows two teenage girls who learn what it means to be true friends as new people come into their lives and circumstances change. Throughout the book, Williams offers advice on how to deal with new conflicts, jealousy, solving problems through communication, and eliminating avoidance behavior.
“Our society is in a dangerous place right now and I’m hoping “Forever Friends” will inspire and motivate young people to solve their problems through dialogue with each other,” said Williams. “The bottom line is that I wrote this book to show people how to problem solve and I believe it all begins with communicating.”
The university reports that Williams started writing the book when she was 13 or 14 years old growing up outside of Baltimore. She had the first manuscript for the book written after graduating high school in 2019, but didn’t move forward with the project until early in 2021 when she was introduced to a writing coach.
Williams discovered her love for writing at the AME Church where she served as editor of the monthly Young People’s Division newsletter. “After serving as the YPD editor, I knew I wanted to go to college and become a journalist,” she said.
According to Bowie, while visiting schools to speak with students about her book, she tells them that problems with friends will not last forever and that they must be honest and tell their peers how they feel.
“My primary audience for this book is 5th and 6th graders through sophomores in high school,” said Williams. “My goal is to always help the younger generations find peaceful solutions to solve problems they may have with their peers and eliminate physical confrontation.”
Williams’s future as a writer is bright she just began working as a freelance high school sports writer at the Baltimore Sun. Her ultimate goal is to publish a magazine like Cosmopolitan in the future.
“I love to write and “Forever Friends” is just the beginning,” she said. “I will always be devoted to helping young people solve their problems regardless of where my journalism career takes me.”
