An author and leader in her community

Edna White is a very busy lady. The 58-year-old, who lives in Riverhead, is the president of the Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Chairperson at the NAACP of Brookhaven, and the author of approximately 25 books.

Recently, White curated a book titled “Women Write Now: Women in Trauma.” The book allowed dozens of women from around the world the opportunity to write about their personal experiences with trauma. White said the project began back in 2019, but of course COVID came and derailed several aspects of the project, with editors becoming sick and unfortunately, some of the writers passing away due to the virus.

To keep the momentum of the project going, White said she pushed and rallied her 35 writers to continue telling their stories.

“These are women who are writing about their stories for the very first time,” White said. “[They] never saw me in their whole life, but I had to push them to get through this. Some of them were ashamed to write their stories, but they still came forward for this project, and I applaud them every day.”

She said that even her publisher was proud and impressed with how she was able to keep her writers motivated about the project.

White noted that writers from India, Australia, and so many other places came together to tell their story for the book. She has a private group called “Wounded to Wonderful,” where the members discuss their traumas in a safe place, and some of the international writers for the book came from that group.

Something else that White is extremely proud of is her podcast and upcoming online talk show. Her podcast, “Keeping it Real on Purpose,” focuses on entrepreneurs and authors. She said that she wanted to focus on the reality of being an entrepreneur and an author and not just highlight the good aspects. Her virtual talk show is gearing up to premiere in January and will highlight local businesses and entrepreneurs.

“I’m getting people from around the world on my show,” White said. “People send me their books to review them and talk to them on my show about their book.”

The talk show will be available to watch on YouTube.

For her work as the president of the Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce, White is thrilled that this year all of the local community organizations came together to give away toys for the holidays in one setting. She said the groups used to work in their own bubbles, but with hard work they were able to come together. On Friday, Dec. 23, 500 gifts for the community will be distributed at the Gordon Heights Fire Department, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

White’s profession is real estate, with 20 years in the business, but she noted that “your purpose really changes” and that she loves this new path she is on.

To find White’s most recent book that she curated visit https://www.amazon.com/Women-Write-Now-Trauma/dp/1954102070.