How Poetry, Faith, and Redemption Led Me to Purpose
By Sanford Shuman (“LastRealPoet”)
Some journeys begin with a map.
Mine began with a pen.
I was raised in the small town of Pembroke, Georgia, where life moved slowly enough to hear your own thoughts. Just down the road was Savannah, a city rich in history, resilience, and culture. Today I call Ellabell home, but each of these places has shaped who I am. They taught me that extraordinary stories often emerge from ordinary beginnings, and that powerful voices can rise from the quietest communities.
Long before I understood the meaning of purpose, poetry had already found me.
By the age of ten, words came naturally. While other children were discovering hobbies, I was discovering language. My older brother and his friends—five years my senior—would ask me to write letters to the young women they admired. Even now, I smile thinking about it. A little boy was helping teenagers express feelings they couldn’t quite put into words themselves.
I didn’t see it as work.
Every letter mattered.
Every sentence deserved care.
Every emotion deserved honesty.
Looking back, I realize I wasn’t simply writing love letters—I was learning that words could heal, connect, encourage, and reveal truths that everyday conversation often leaves unsaid.
At the time, I thought I simply enjoyed writing.
Today, I know it was a gift from God.
Life, however, has a way of leading us down unexpected roads.
One of mine led to prison.
Many people assume incarceration marks the end of a person’s story. For me, it became the place where my purpose was rediscovered.
While incarcerated, a teacher’s assistant recognized something in my writing that I had nearly forgotten. They reminded me that what came naturally to me wasn’t ordinary—it was a calling.
Those words reignited something within me.
Instead of allowing my circumstances to define me, I allowed my gift to refine me.
I began writing with intention, pouring my experiences, faith, struggles, and hopes onto paper. One manuscript became another, and eventually several books. With every page, I grew more confident that God had preserved this gift for a reason.
The greatest reward has never been publishing a book.
It’s hearing readers tell me that something I wrote gave them hope, challenged their thinking, or helped them believe that their own story wasn’t over.
There is no greater gift for a writer than discovering someone found a piece of themselves in your words.
Writing has never been about recognition.
It has always been about purpose.
Poetry became more than an art form.
It became the language through which I understand life.
Sometimes it comforts me.
Sometimes it convicts me.
Sometimes it refuses to let me remain silent when injustice demands a voice.
Through every season, poetry has reminded me that every struggle has the potential to become someone else’s source of hope.
That belief inspired LifeAfterStruggle, the movement and podcast I proudly co-host. Our mission is simple: to inspire and be inspired through authentic stories of perseverance, redemption, and faith.
We believe everyone has survived something worth sharing.
Every testimony has the power to light someone else’s path.
Our message has never been that life is easy.
It is that struggle never gets the final word.
That same spirit drew me to Mood Magazine NYC.
From the moment I learned about its vision, I recognized something familiar. Mood is more than a publication. It is a platform that celebrates culture, creativity, conversation, and community. It amplifies voices that deserve to be heard while creating space for meaningful dialogue capable of inspiring lasting change.
As someone who believes stories can transform lives, I see Mood Magazine as a place where purpose meets opportunity.
Harlem has long stood as one of the world’s great centers of Black artistic excellence, intellectual leadership, cultural innovation, and social activism. Its influence extends far beyond New York City, reminding every generation that creativity and courage often walk hand in hand.
My roots may be in rural Georgia, but I recognize something deeply familiar in Harlem.
We understand resilience.
We understand faith.
We understand family.
We understand what it means to build something meaningful with limited resources.
And we understand the importance of telling our own stories before someone else tells them for us.
That shared understanding creates a bridge between our communities.
As a contributor to Mood Magazine NYC, I hope to offer more than articles.
I hope to offer perspective.
I want to help bring awareness to both historical and present-day social injustices while encouraging thoughtful conversations about practical solutions. Lasting change rarely begins by shouting louder than everyone else. More often, it begins when people truly listen and discover that their shared hopes are greater than their differences.
Words alone cannot solve every problem.
But words can inspire the people who will.
I also look forward to introducing my readers, listeners, and supporters to Mood Magazine NYC, just as I hope Mood readers will discover the work we are doing through LifeAfterStruggle.
Communities grow stronger when they intentionally support one another.
That kind of mutual encouragement represents the very best of what community can become.
When I think about the little boy in Pembroke writing letters for teenagers trying to express their hearts, I can’t help but smile.
He had no idea those handwritten pages would one day become books.
He couldn’t have imagined that prison would become the place where purpose would be restored instead of destroyed.
He certainly couldn’t have foreseen opportunities like this.
But God already had the story written.
Every chapter—even the painful ones—was preparing me for the next.
Today, I write with gratitude.
I write for those still searching for hope.
I write for those who believe their mistakes have disqualified them.
I write for dreamers.
For survivors.
For believers.
For skeptics.
For anyone courageous enough to keep turning the page.
Because every life tells a story.
Every struggle carries a lesson.
Every ending has the possibility of becoming a new beginning.
If my words help even one person discover that truth, then every sentence has fulfilled its purpose.
As I begin this new chapter with Mood Magazine NYC, I do so with an open heart, a grateful spirit, and an unwavering belief that the most meaningful stories are still waiting to be written.
For God’s glory.
Always.
