Deborah Grate Frink was born December 16, 1972 on a small farm in Loris, South Carolina. She is the last seedling of thirteen children. Her parents believed in working hard to earn money and saving the money they earned. At an early age, Deborah had to learn to focus on the today and let the tomorrows tend to the future. As she grew up, she was exposed to nothing but mere farm work. From sun up until sun down, she and her family had to work in the fields during the hot, parching summers. Her mother sung hymns while she prayed for a better day. Constantly fanning and pondering for escape scheme, she was impelled to a slave frame of mind, conscious of the generational pattern already set for her. “The only thing a Black person could apprehend appropriately was manual labor, or farm work.” That’s what Deborah thought for many years. Never in her life did she once view herself as being worthy or capable of stepping outside the boundaries of farm life. As her mother gathered the family together with her famous chicken bog, her throbbing soul began to heal as she listened to her family members crack jokes and tell stories about their past experiences. Despite the learning discrepancy between her home and school life, ordeals did not hinder her mental growth. She sheltered herself in the grasp of her family, while the effects of the blistering sun prompted her to envision the unfamiliar world. Through her visions, opportunity presented itself. All her life, she read or heard about the great explorers who discovered new land, gaining great riches. But in her mind, she only wanted to gain enough wealth to quench her thirst and feed her hunger, not just for food, but for the knowledge to prevail over misery.

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Deborah Grate Frink overcame the battered visions and torn aspirations by finally graduating from Coastal Carolina University with a B.A. in education. She currently holds a position as a teacher with Horry County School District. Since the pathway to success started at school for her, she developed a desire to help the youth succeed and become productive citizens by giving back encouragement and inspiration.

After graduating from Coastal Carolina University in 1997, Deborah furthered her education at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she received a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy, reading, and writing in 2005. The novel, Blinded by Colors, was instigated from her childhood experiences with a sequel to shortly follow. In addition, she has three poems published in an Anthology called Letters to the Soul and another poem that received honorable mention in a poetry contest.

Deborah Grate Frink believes that “the colossal world is full of valuable lessons, which can help us to reflect on humanity and broaden our inner strength; thus, facilitating our ability to tolerate forceful impacts in life, allowing our dreams to come true”.