For over 30 years, Quelyn has served youth and families of diverse backgrounds.  Best known as an educator, she has taught at New York City and Atlanta public schools, performed casework at children and family agencies, and coached group leaders at an afterschool program.

    Her childhood experiences and professional background in family services informed her first book, Validation Denied, Grace Bestowed: somewhere between the ghetto and God was something called foster care… (iUniverse Inc., 2004).  Validation Denied, Grace Bestowed portrays a young teenager who struggles with identity and the stigma of living in foster care. However, through a process of spiritual awakening and realizing self-worth as a young woman, she learns to forgive her past and love herself.

   A Movement of Grace: My Soundtrack of Liberation and the Role of Music Today offers new insight and perspectives into Purdie’s original piece.  Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, A Movement of Grace explores the intersection of music and healing by highlighting the impact of music on Purdie’s life from back in the day as a teenager, college student, and young adult, through today’s post-pandemic challenges.

    Purdie holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and a minor in Theatre from SUNY at Oswego.  In 2017, she earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling from New York Theological Seminary, where she learned how to integrate spirituality and clinical approaches to help people in distress.  Her capstone project, Song of the Human Heart: Integrating Music in Clinical Pastoral Counseling, appears near the end of AMG. 

    She is a certified mental health first responder pursuing credentialing in preventative substance use counseling.

A MOVEMENT OF GRACE: My Soundtrack of Liberation and the Role of Music Today / May 2024

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