Sophia Lorraine Greene was born in Kingston, Jamaica in the sixties. However most of her childhood was spent in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. Because both her parents were living abroad, Sophia was raised by her grandmother who owned a grocery store and bar.
As a youngster, Sophia attended St. Johns Primary School and later went on to Spanish Town Secondary School, where she spent one year. Without her parents’ knowledge, Sophia took and passed the common entrance exam to attend Gaynstead High School. After realizing the enormous cost of tuition and books to attend school, she eventually told her parents.
Sophia Lorraine excelled in High school, being one of the top seven honor roll scholars yearly, until she became pregnant at sixteen and was forced to drop out of high school. Sophia, however, did not allow that to keep her out of school, she asked her mother (who agreed) to help her with her child so she could resume school and two months after the baby’s birth, Sophia enrolled herself into Durham Business College
About a year after attending Durham College Sophia became enchanted with the dance hall lifestyle, an atmosphere which produced a lot of conflicts and some fights, but despite all of that, Sophia kept up her grades, however, something had to give. With her last fight, her mother intervened and took her to the States, paid six months’ rent, spent two weeks with her and left vowing that she would take care of her grandchild.
This was no easy task. Sophia struggled through homelessness twice, endured the killing of her father in 1996 and several pregnancies, none of which broke her. Eventually she got an apartment which she opened up to family and friends. Sophia was not deterred, she went back to school at the same time working a full time job but, after spending three years pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in social work, she made the hard decision to drop out and instead worked two jobs. At one point, she was doing three jobs.
In her determination to succeed, Sophia went from the corporate world as a banker, to an employee of the police department, to a city employee of New York City, where she still works today. She is also the proud owner of a home in Jamaica and has property here in America. To most these are solid accomplishments, she, however, finds her greatest joy in her two adopted daughters and raising her six children as a single mother, while battling the effect of diet pills that altered her personality.
She became an advocate for abandoned children as well as a licensed foster mom. She mentors domestically abused and drug addicted young women, while battling the effects of diet pills that altered her personality.
Sophia believes in giving back, and has been giving back and has been doing so for the last fifteen years, assisting families in Jamaica with their childrens schooling, tuitions and gears. She provides financial assistance to some students at UWI (University of West Indies). She donates to the Salvation Army, the Veteran’s Association and collaborates with a few organizations to assist with at risk inner city youths in Jamaica.
Sophia has written three books. Her first book Ladies by the Well, carries you through her journey. Her motto is, “Be your own light so you can shine for someone else until they have the strength to shine on their own.”
She emphasizes that she does not have a non-profit organization. She doesn’t solicit funds nor has she ever. Everything she does comes from her own resource, so she is challenging her readers to assist in any way they can, whether financial or material assistance or even your time.
“Ladies by the Well” is available on amazon.com and Rosedogbookstore.com. It’s also available in Jamaica at the Norman Manley International Airport and all 12 Sangters book store in Jamaica. It can also be found at the Greenlight bookstore in Brooklyn on Fulton Street, Island Flavah Restaurant, and 442 Main Street, Poughkeepsie. Or you can personally request an autograph from or connect with Sophia at slgreene@live.com or Facebook at Sophia Greene and Instagram at Ladies by the Well
