THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602090446
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARSHA GILBERT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Susan L. Taylor thought she was having a heart attack.
It was 1970. She was a 24-year-old single mother, just out of a failed marriage and starting a new job, with $3 to her name. When the chest pains started, she rushed to the hospital.
Taylor would only leave after the emergency room doctor assured her that she was merely suffering from anxiety.
As she walked down Broadway, in Manhattan, she saw a marquee advertising a church service. At the end of her rope, she went in.
``The preacher's message was `God is alive in you,' '' said Taylor. `` `If you ever begin to understand what that means you won't feel alone again.' ''
That was a major turning point in Taylor's life.
``Since then I try to behave as if God is alive in me,'' she continued. ``I stopped focusing on what I didn't have and started focusing on what I had. I had a job, a healthy child, a roof over my head and no heart attack.''
It's been 25 years since Taylor's revelation. She still attends that church. The job she started then was as a freelance cosmetology writer for a 6-month-old publication, Essence Magazine. Now she is editor-in-chief of the magazine, which has a circulation of 1 million.
Today, at 2:30 p.m., as part of the fifth annual Hampton Roads Woman's Show, in the Virginia Beach Pavilion, Taylor will share her inspirational message of ``how we can take the reins of our life to create inner peace,'' she said.
Following her speech, Taylor, now 50, will sign copies of her new book ``Lessons in Living,'' released by Anchor Books Doubleday.
In ``Lessons in Living'' Taylor engages the reader in some of the most painful, personal moments of her life.
Among other topics, she discusses when she knew her three-year marriage was over, after her first husband, Billy, left her for another woman; the helplessness she felt as her parents, both in their 80s, died; and the terror of being overwhelmed with her career and personal life.
Taylor's message: ``We must take responsibility for everything that happens in our space and be wise enough to learn from our pain.''
She was quick to note that it is an ongoing effort to see the benefits in adversity.
``We have to keep reminding ourselves that we are human and divine and we have an inner wisdom that once we stay in constant contact with, will never misguide us,'' Taylor said.
Her inner wisdom guided her through several occupations before finding her niche in journalism.
She worked as a presser in a dry cleaners from age 14 to 18 and acted from age 17 to 24. During that time she performed with the Negro Ensemble Company; landed a recurring, small role as a nurse on ``As the World Turns,'' for two years; and was offered a role in the movie ``John and Mary'' with Mia Farrow and Dustin Hoffman in 1969.
When she became pregnant with her daughter, Shana Nequai, Taylor decided that she wanted to do something that would allow her to have more control of her time.
So, she got a cosmetology license and created Nequai Cosmetics, a company she ran for a year. She left her business after she started working at Essence.
She wanted to further her education and enrolled in Fordham University. Seven years later she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Taylor is now happily married to writer Khephra Burns. They live in an apartment in Manhattan. ILLUSTRATION: Susan L. Taylor
HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN'S SHOW
What: More than 200 exhibitors, plus demonstrations, speakers,
fashion shows
When: 10 to 6 today and Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Virginia Beach Pavilion
How much: $3 in advance, $5 at the door. Tickets available at all
CI Travel locations, J.C. Penney stores and at the Pavilion box
office.
Special events: Talks by Essence editor-in-chief Susan Taylor,
2:30 p.m. today ($25) and Olympic skater Bonnie Blair, 1 p.m.
Saturday; appearances by soap stars Matthew Ashford (``General
Hospital'') and Kamar De Los Reyes (``One Life To Live''), 2 p.m.
Sunday.
Call: 468-2300
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB