Did you know that many Texas Wesleyan alumni are published authors? We love to highlight the successes of our alums and are featuring several TXWES writers over the coming weeks.

Xavier Sanders graduated from Texas Wesleyan in 2009 with a degree in psychology. His novel, The Other Side of Real, tells his story of caring for his mother as she battled breast cancer. In addition to writing, Xavier works as the executive director of the BarbaraCares Foundation, a non-profit that he founded to provide resources to breast cancer patients and their families in Texas.

What inspired you to write your book?

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Watching her go through her journey devastated me mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. When she died, a part of me died. This book details how I learned to accept that sometimes, God says no! 

Why did you feel this story needed to be told?

No one ever auditions for this job; there’s no amount of preparation that can adequately prepare a person for the role of caregiver. At what point does caregiving turn to care-grieving? It was important to share with others about seasons of tests and loss.

What was your biggest challenge about writing and getting published?

The biggest challenge for me was doing all the research related to publishing and editing. I chose to self-publish because the printing houses I talked with were not very responsive and didn't seem to want anything except money.

How and why do you stay connected to Texas Wesleyan?

As an alumnus, I try to support events as I can and give back at every opportunity. I transferred to TXWES during a hard period of my life after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The kindness and generosity shown I'll never forget.

If you or a fellow alumnus has a published work, contact the alumni office at alumni@txwes.edu to be considered for future feature stories.