A Westend Girl: Breaking Cycles in Louisville's West End (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798249079079)

The Westend Girl by Sherika Dockery is a raw, honest memoir about growing up in Louisville's West End and fighting to survive what tried to break her-poverty, instability, sexual violence, loss, and destructive relationships-while still becoming a mother determined to protect her children from the same pain.

Sherika's life is marked by deep trauma: early hardship, the rapes that changed her sense of safety, and the grief of multiple miscarriages. As she tries to build love and family, she repeatedly meets partners who bring chaos-men who deny responsibility, cheat, disappear, or weaponize alcohol and cruelty. In her marriage to JD, both infidelity and escalating conflict turn toxic, and Sherika confronts her own accountability when her violence spills in front of her children-an unforgettable moment that becomes the turning point that pushes her to end the marriage. Even after divorce, JD remains a consistent father, proving that family can be complicated and still show up.

Later, Sherika remarries "Mistake #1," a man whose alcohol-fueled verbal abuse and emotional emptiness poison her home. When he disappears for eight months without explanation and returns blaming everyone but himself, Sherika finally chooses herself, files for divorce, and celebrates her freedom-opening the door to a new chapter.

In 2015 she meets Wan, the man she initially resists because his steady love begins breaking down the walls she built to survive. Wan's consistency, and later confirmation of his truth through his child's mother, helps Sherika trust again. They marry in 2016 and build a life defined by safety rather than survival. After her father's death in 2013, Wan's grounded personality-similar to her daddy's-becomes part of the healing she didn't know she needed. The memoir closes with a powerful message of accountability, blended-family unity (including JD and his new wife), and generational cycle-breaking, as Sherika claims peace, love, and a future her children and grandchildren can grow up safe inside.