A spiritual journey lead to a literary discovery

This is a heartfelt story about a woman who was emotionally and spiritually in pain, but in the midst of that turmoil a dream came to life.

Connie Cheek and her husband, Richard, owners of Not Just A Bookstore, an establishment in St. Louis that features books and other offerings of African-American and Christian authors, unique teas and more. It is a place to read, to meet, that for Connie, represents a place of healing for her and others to come together to get refreshed.

Below is Connie's story - in her own words - a journey from hurt to literacy: empowerment through books.

My name is Connie (Leopold) Cheek and my journey began in 1993 while I was pregnant with my second child. I picked up a Terry McMillan’s book and could not put it down. In the midst of going through a rough marriage and trying to hold on, I started praying and reading Black authors looking for an escape and trying to devote my attention elsewhere.

I went on a quest to become a better reader. While reading novels by Terry McMillan, (The late) Bebe Moore Campbell, Toni Morrison, Tina McElroy-Ansa, Penny Mickelbury, and Connie Briscoe, to name a few, I was finding a way to find laughter, inner strength, help, and something I could relate to.

No one knows your hurt better than you and after divorcing the father of my two young children, I decided to get married again (while hurting and that didn’t help me either). So, I decided to seek God and gathered spiritual readings like Juanita Bynum, T.D. Jakes, Bishop Thomas Weeks III, Rick Warren and Stormie Omartian and others while building my spiritual journey and growth. While reading both spiritual literature and fiction novels I was beginning to get stronger and found that I loved to read, which was something I never knew before.

Early one morning, while still sleeping, God brought to me my purpose in life and my spiritual gift of help. That was in 2002. His vision for me was to open a bookstore, and it was so strong.

I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t have the funds available, nor did I have a husband that was supportive of my vision. I did what I’d come to learn to do when looking for guidance: continued to read. In time I began to do research, started to talk to other bookstore owners who gave me advice, and confided in a few of my girlfriends who were instrumental to my later success.

The journey to carrying out my vision was filled with many obstacles. In 2004, my second marriage started to fail, and I ran for cover by absorbing my time in work, and ignoring God’s vision in my life. Its funny how when God calls you to a mission, its easy to get diverted. At times I asked God, “why me?” I was a complete mess and felt like I was just going on a roller-coaster ride. I was falling deeper and deeper into depression, and no one was there to help me--not my husband, not my friends, and at times (so I thought), not God. Little did I know this was all a part of his plan for me. Before I would escape this stronghold, I even resorted to mixing alcohol with pills to find relief from my sadness.

God found a way to turn my life around. After much prayer and healing, I got back on track. I met Richard along the way, and we were married in 2006.

He and I had endless conversations about my vision and God’s Purpose for me. I thank God for him, because, he saw the vision in me. During our endless conversations, I kept saying, “I don’t want this to be just a bookstore. It should be a place where people don’t have to be afraid to learn.” Finally, he told me, “you just named your bookstore.” The rest was history.

Not Just A Bookstore is a bookstore with a children’s corner, a specialty tea garden, and community empowerment/wellness workshops.

We serve fresh pastries, and oolong, red, black, white and green specialty teas that are good for your body, mind and soul daily. On Saturdays from 12pm- 2pm, children can come and be read to during story-telling time. Soon, we will begin hosting Spoken Word/Poetry Nights on Friday and Saturday evenings from 6pm until 9pm. We have had many St. Louis Authors hold book signings at our location, and we want this bookstore to be the home for all authors.

Not Just A Bookstore is a multi-cultural bookstore environment for everyone.

We want people to come in, read, empower themselves, and get on the road to literacy. Order a cup of our tea of the day for your sipping pleasure while reading. We are a hot spot with Internet Access, so bring in your laptops and surf the web while you work! When you're done, you might want to purchase a canister of tea, herbal soaps, bookmarks, Bible covers, address books or scented soy candles.

Don’t be afraid to read to empower the mind, body and soul. It’s so much fun!
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Note Just A Bookstore
5892 Delmar Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63112
notjustabookstore@att.net. (e-mail)
http://www.notjustabookstore.net/. (website)
314.361.9955