Today we’d like to introduce you to Essence Myrick.
Essence, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey started at home, long before it became a business or a book.
I have always been a creator at heart, drawn to storytelling, culture, and the idea of building something meaningful with intention. Even before I had the language for it, I was pulled toward creativity and the belief that stories could live beyond the moment. As my career grew and life became fuller, that pull never left. It simply evolved alongside my experiences as a woman, a wife, and a mother.
Motherhood changed the way I see the world.
Watching my sons navigate the world together became one of my greatest teachers. When we received our youngest son’s autism diagnosis, our family entered a season that invited us to slow down, observe more closely, and lead with deeper intention. I watched my two older sons naturally model patience, understanding, and care, not only supporting their younger brother, but also helping others learn how to communicate with him, connect with him, and meet him where he was. Those everyday moments reshaped my understanding of inclusion, not as a concept, but as something lived, learned, and passed through relationships.
As our family learned and grew together, I became more aware of how rarely experiences like ours were reflected in children’s books. I wanted stories that felt honest and warm, stories that showed siblings learning patience, children being understood on their own terms, and differences being embraced rather than explained away. That desire became the heart behind Syiah & Supreme Go to the Park, the first book in the Syiah Family Adventures series, inspired directly by life inside our home and scheduled for release this spring.
Today, I continue to build, learn, and grow as an author, entrepreneur, and inclusion advocate. My work is deeply personal because it comes from real life, but it is also deeply hopeful. Everything I create is rooted in the belief that when we tell our stories with honesty and care, we have the power to shape understanding, strengthen families, and build communities where everyone feels seen.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The journey has been meaningful, but it has not been easy.
Balancing motherhood, a professional career, and building a family-centered creative empire requires constant intention. There have been seasons of exhaustion, self doubt, and learning how to honor both ambition and presence without sacrificing either. Advocacy, especially when rooted in lived experience, carries emotional weight, and I had to learn how to protect my energy while still showing up fully.
One of the biggest challenges was trusting my voice. Creating work that is personal requires vulnerability, and there were moments when I questioned whether my story would resonate. What grounded me was realizing that authenticity is not a risk, it is the foundation. The challenges became the clarity, and the uncertainty became the reason to keep building with purpose.
Through it all, I learned the importance of slowing down, listening, and leading with intention. I learned that impact does not come from doing more, but from doing what matters most with care. Most importantly, I learned that building something meaningful requires patience, trust, and the willingness to grow alongside the work rather than rushing ahead of it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At the heart of my work is storytelling that builds connection, understanding, and belonging.
My creative journey really began with my family. My husband and I built the Royal Reigns Empire as a family-led creative space rooted in culture, creativity, and community. We started with design and fashion, creating with intention and grounding our work in family, identity, and expression. As that foundation grew, it gave me the space to return to something that had always been part of who I am, writing.
That return showed up through the anthology The Art of Womanhood: Fierce, Feminine, Fearless, where I co-wrote alongside ten other women. In my chapter, I shared about motherhood and raising my sons, and how they became my greatest teachers. Writing that piece helped me understand the power of my voice and the impact words can hold. It affirmed that my lived experiences mattered and that sharing them could create connection beyond my own home.
From there, storytelling naturally became a deeper focus. Royal Reigns Storyworks emerged as a home for my writing, and its first project, Syiah & Supreme Go to the Park, grew directly out of life with my three sons. The story centers sibling relationships and the quiet power of peer modeling, showing how empathy, understanding, and connection are often learned in everyday moments between children. The book is the first in the Syiah Family Adventures series and will be released this spring.
Community has always been woven into this journey. I serve on the board of The Ladies Room, a nonprofit that creates space for women entrepreneurs to connect and build together, and as co-chair of my school district’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council, where I collaborate with families and educators around inclusion and advocacy. Those roles keep me closely connected to the real needs of both women and families.
That same commitment lives in Uniquely Us NJ, our emerging nonprofit focused on creating sensory-friendly, inclusive spaces for children and families. It feels like the natural next step, turning storytelling and advocacy into real-world environments where children and families can truly belong.
When I look at everything together, what I’m most proud of is that none of it exists in isolation. Creativity, family, and community are all part of the same story I’m living and telling.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One of my favorite childhood memories is reading with my mom.
She used to write stories for my brother and me, turning us into characters and weaving us into little fairytales that became our shared escape. Those moments felt magical. It was where imagination, comfort, and connection lived, and where I first learned how powerful it is to feel seen inside a story.
That love for reading never faded. Even now, my mom continues that tradition with my children. Every weekend, she video chats with my youngest son and reads him stories, creating the same sense of warmth and togetherness across generations. Watching that connection unfold reminds me how stories can bridge time, distance, and experience.
Those moments continue to inspire my work today. They taught me that storytelling is not just about words on a page, but about presence, patience, and shared joy. That lesson lives in everything I create and is why I believe stories have the power to hold families together and help children feel safe, understood, and loved.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.royalreignsdesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/essiemyrickofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/essence.c.myrick
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/essence-c-myrick/
