Geraldine was born in St. Louis, Missouri; lived briefly in Fayette, Mississippi after her unwed mother became ill; then returned to St. Louis to live with a great aunt and her abusive husband. At age ten, her mother returned and rescued her. Up until age fourteen, she believed her name was Geraldine Maxine Sullivan West, only to find out it was really Geraldine Jackson. It was a time of much pain and confusion. Geraldine's mother never discussed any of her failed relationships including the one with her father. Watching her own mother fall in and out of love with two different men, affairs that produced four younger siblings but no marriages, Geraldine met and fell in love with her future husband when she was just 17 years old. He was a married man and father. Soon she became a mother and bride of a divorcee who continued to be Mr. Romeo. When her husband was called to the ministry she took on the role as a pastor's wife despite the added challenges. As a working professional, Geraldine endured extreme racism and sexism within an organization that could not block her path to greatness no matter how massive the effort. Her mother's love child and father's rejected child, Geraldine lived a life determined to prove that she had value. All the time believing she had to prove it to others, in reality she was proving it to herself. She became a master at hiding her real reaction to the insensitive and sometimes cruel world that surrounded her. At age 81, Geraldine decided it was time to introduce herself to her children and grandchildren who question who she really is as well as those who may find interest in reading her story, UNAPOLOGETICALLY ME. Geraldine "Geri" Smotherson is a retired Manager of Training for the United States Postal Service. During her Postal career, Geri developed the first National Diversity Training Program and the National New Employee Orientation. She is proud of starting her own business called Training Options Plus, earning her GED, a bachelor's with an emphasis in Training & Development, and a master's in Adult Education. She was married to her late husband for 57 years and is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. In contrast to her many accomplishments, Geraldine considers herself to be an extreme introvert, however, many whose lives she has touched would beg to differ.
