I Don't Talk About This Enough

When I sit with that honestly, it bothers me.

I talk about platforms and websites and LinkedIn strategies. Offer clarity. Content systems. All of it matters. But underneath all of that is a conversation I keep circling without fully landing in. One that sits much closer to why I actually do this work.

So today I want to say it out loud.

The reason I wrote my book wasn't just to share a story. It was because I looked around and didn't see enough people who looked like me telling theirs.

A refugee kid from Iraq who built businesses, spoke on stages, and had something real to say about resilience and identity. Nobody in my world was writing books. That wasn't the path people like me were expected to take.

And that's exactly why I did it.

I was inspired by a friend I found here on Linkedin, her name is Tracy Stewart. She posted about something very powerful and it reminded me of why I avoided not only publishing my own work, but going into the publishing industry all together.

The Numbers Tell an Uncomfortable Story

In 2022, roughly 81% of published authors identified as white. Black and Hispanic authors each represented only about 5-7% of published authors. Lee & Low

The business books, the leadership guides, the self-help shelves, the coaching frameworks, the consulting methodologies. The voices shaping how people think about work, life, identity, health, money, and purpose. That world is still overwhelmingly white.

The 2023 Lee and Low Diversity Baseline Survey found that 72.5% of the entire publishing workforce is white. The people deciding what gets acquired, edited, positioned, and placed on shelves reflect that. And what gets through the gate usually looks like whoever is holding it.

Think about what that means for the knowledge that never makes it out.

It's Not Just Books

This gap doesn't stop at publishing.

Walk into the coaching industry. The consulting world. The speaker circuit. The workshop stage. The thought leadership space. The pattern continues.

The frameworks most people have access to were built by a fairly narrow slice of human experience. And while those frameworks have value, they were never meant to be the whole story.

When certain voices are missing from the conversation, we all lose something real. We lose wisdom forged in different kinds of fire. We lose perspectives that challenge what we assume is just the way things work. We lose the lived knowledge that only comes from navigating systems that weren't designed for you and figuring out how to build something anyway.

That knowledge is not extra. It's essential.

Your Story Is Also Your Marketing

Here's something I learned as an author of color.

Your lived experience isn't just the subject of your book. It's the reason people will trust you to write it.

The authenticity, the specificity, the texture of a life lived differently from the dominant narrative, that is not a liability. That is your differentiator. That's what makes a reader stop scrolling and say, "This person understands something I've never seen written down before."

I've watched authors try to sand down their edges. Soften their cultural references. Speak in a more "universal" voice because they were afraid the realness of their story would limit their audience.

Every time, they lost the very thing that made their work matter.

Your accent, your upbringing, your grandmother's kitchen, your immigrant parents' sacrifice, your community's struggle and joy, that is not niche. That is resonance. And resonance is something marketing can never manufacture but authenticity always builds.

The most powerful brand you can build is the one only you can own.

Garden of Wisdom Publishing

This is something I share only occasionally, but it feels right to say here.

I started Garden of Wisdom Publishing because I kept seeing the same gap playing out in front of me.

Authors of color with extraordinary knowledge, real expertise, hard-earned wisdom, trying to navigate a publishing world that was not built with them in mind. They either got squeezed into existing molds, spent a fortune on systems that didn't serve them, or quietly put their book idea away because the path felt impossible.

I want to change that.

Not just to help people publish a book. But to help them build an entire brand around who they are and what they know. A website that reflects their voice. A content strategy rooted in their story. A platform that opens doors to speaking, consulting, coaching, and everything else a well-positioned book makes possible.

The garden metaphor is intentional. You plant with intention. You tend with patience. And over time you grow something that feeds more than just you.

That's what I want for every author who comes through this work. Especially those whose voices the industry has historically been slow to welcome.

When a person of color publishes a nonfiction book rooted in their real story and genuine expertise, something happens that no algorithm can replicate. People feel seen. Readers find themselves in the pages. Communities gather around the message. The author becomes not just a writer but a bridge.

That kind of impact doesn't require a bestseller list or a Big Five deal. It requires clarity, consistency, and the courage to show up as exactly who you are.

Things are shifting. Slowly, imperfectly, but genuinely. More people of color are writing books, building platforms, and claiming space in the thought leadership world than ever before. The barriers are real but they are not immovable.

The authors who break through are not always the most credentialed. They are the ones who decided their story was worth telling and showed up for it consistently.

That decision is available to you right now.

You don't need permission from the industry. You don't need a traditional publisher to validate what you know. You need clarity, a plan, and someone in your corner who believes in what you're building.

If you've been sitting on a book, a workshop, a coaching practice, wondering if it's the right time or if anyone will care, I want you to hear this.

The world does not have a shortage of knowledge from the same familiar voices.

It has a shortage of yours.

If you're ready to take that step and want someone in your corner who gets it, message me. I'd love to learn about what you're building and how we can grow it together.

Practice patience and gratitude.

Hussein