Queen Pin by Jemeker Thompson-Hairston and David Ritz
Reviewed by A. Jarrell Hayes
In life, people are what they do. The way a person can change who they are is to change what they do. Not just career-wise, but in their actions and thoughts.
In Jemeker Thompson-Hairston’s memoir Queen Pin (written with David Ritz), the reader is taken through Jemeker’s change from drug dealer to Christian evangelist. The earliest scene is of Jemeker and her family being evicted when she’s eight, and how she moves from Los Angeles, California to the Deep South to live with her grandmother. In the Mississippi, Jemeker is shown the value of family loyalty, and that violence can solve problems with and instill obedience in other people. From one of her aunts, Jemeker is exposed to “the Game” – the one boys and girls play with one another – and how to “play” men while they think they are playing her.
Jemeker uses those lessons to get what she wants: men, money, clothes; anything. Throughout the book, she is shown as a fiercely determined and loyal person; emotional at times, which is at odds with her cold and calculating exterior.
Jemeker returns to L.A. as a teenager, where she falls in love with and marries Daff, a weed dealer. They have a child together, and work on building their drug empire. Under Jemeker’s suggestion, the two expand their territory and start selling cocaine.
Eventually Jemeker’s life is drastically changed for the worse. She falls deeper into her addiction for money, expensive clothes and jewelry, and the fast-paced life of a dealer. Even after establishing a successful and legitimate business – an excuse to get out the drug game – Jemeker didn’t let go. She becomes a hollow shell; the love for her child wasn’t enough to have her give up the men and money she enjoyed – she has her son stay with her mother while she spends time in other states building her empire.
She takes a chance to see her son during his sixth grade graduation ceremony, and is arrested by the FBI in front of him. Jemeker is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. She’s a woman used to being in control, and getting acclimated to the lock-down and dehumanizing routine of prison takes time for her to learn. She soon learns to do her time, and she grows closer to God, and comes closer to finding the peace and compassion she’s searched for in her life.
Queen Pin is written in a clear and concise manner, excellent in its non-flashy prose. And, honestly, it doesn’t need to be flashy; the story itself is compelling enough. For anybody who enjoys reading urban literature novels about drug dealers, this is the book for you: a real-life story of a woman finding redemption from her life of crime.
In Jemeker Thompson-Hairston’s memoir Queen Pin (written with David Ritz), the reader is taken through Jemeker’s change from drug dealer to Christian evangelist. The earliest scene is of Jemeker and her family being evicted when she’s eight, and how she moves from Los Angeles, California to the Deep South to live with her grandmother. In the Mississippi, Jemeker is shown the value of family loyalty, and that violence can solve problems with and instill obedience in other people. From one of her aunts, Jemeker is exposed to “the Game” – the one boys and girls play with one another – and how to “play” men while they think they are playing her.
Jemeker uses those lessons to get what she wants: men, money, clothes; anything. Throughout the book, she is shown as a fiercely determined and loyal person; emotional at times, which is at odds with her cold and calculating exterior.
Jemeker returns to L.A. as a teenager, where she falls in love with and marries Daff, a weed dealer. They have a child together, and work on building their drug empire. Under Jemeker’s suggestion, the two expand their territory and start selling cocaine.
Eventually Jemeker’s life is drastically changed for the worse. She falls deeper into her addiction for money, expensive clothes and jewelry, and the fast-paced life of a dealer. Even after establishing a successful and legitimate business – an excuse to get out the drug game – Jemeker didn’t let go. She becomes a hollow shell; the love for her child wasn’t enough to have her give up the men and money she enjoyed – she has her son stay with her mother while she spends time in other states building her empire.
She takes a chance to see her son during his sixth grade graduation ceremony, and is arrested by the FBI in front of him. Jemeker is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. She’s a woman used to being in control, and getting acclimated to the lock-down and dehumanizing routine of prison takes time for her to learn. She soon learns to do her time, and she grows closer to God, and comes closer to finding the peace and compassion she’s searched for in her life.
Queen Pin is written in a clear and concise manner, excellent in its non-flashy prose. And, honestly, it doesn’t need to be flashy; the story itself is compelling enough. For anybody who enjoys reading urban literature novels about drug dealers, this is the book for you: a real-life story of a woman finding redemption from her life of crime.
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