Survivor, Advocate, Warrior. Tracey R. Young chronicles her battle for self-esteem, hope, and genuine love in her book and workbook offering God’s Got It in the Bag using biblical principles and a whole lot of “sistah girlfriend” wisdom. She chronicles her journey as a young girl in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas in the 1970s who faced the sting of parental divorce to becoming an Army Nurse in the U.S. Army Reserves where she learned the real meaning of beauty and self-worth. Beauty? In the Army? Yes. It was here she began to understand how and why real beauty is NOT skin deep. Mastering the lessons, she incorporated her revelation in every area of her life and for every woman she met. Over time, she used the obstacles she faced and conquered — generational strongholds, divorce, and domestic violence — to help encourage and empower women with hope and the godly vision that women everywhere recognize, reclaim, and thrive in their God-given beauty!
A graduate of Houston’s High School for Health Professions in 1989, Tracey went on to earn her B.S. degree from the University of Houston-Downtown, a B.S. degree in nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and a J.D. degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. She faithfully served our country as an awarded member of the Army Reserves. Now, Tracey works as a health care administrator and strives to ensure that her facility runs with God-centered principles while ensuring all patients and staff are treated like family.
Her penchant for community, women, and girls led her to become a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Top Ladies of Distinction, and the N.A.A.C.P. However, it’s her women’s health and wellness 501c3 organization — Rilassati Women’s Retreats — that has snatched her time and her heart. The organization’s flagship program, Winners For Life, has spread awareness and raised thousands of dollars to provide mammograms for countless uninsured women in her community for 20 years. In addition, she’s instituted a new global program of groups called “Girl GodSip” through which she hopes to promote support, empowerment, and healing of women and girls. To balance the physical work she does in the community, she and her husband, Vashon, serve as a deacon and deaconess at Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in West Monroe, Louisiana where they’ve been members for a number of years.
When not trying to help women and girls live fully and triumphantly, Tracey enjoys cooking, entertaining, and watching movies and sports with her family, which includes the two delights of her life — her two sons Hlevictor Jr. and Torry. She and Vashon have been married for nine years and currently reside in Beaumont, Texas.