See the FULL EPISODE on Spotify & Apple!
Direct Link to this Episode on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1kf92BtxFIAGccjaLWxj6J
Link to all episodes on APPLE podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jazz-for-peace-podcast-featuring-rick-dellaratta/id1771220129
Pamela Michaux: Mundele Diaries S:2 E:36
Pamela Michaux was taken from Congo at 7, silenced by abuse and racism, and stood alone in court at 12. Mundele Diaries is her rise from survival to global voice. A raw, global memoir that turns silence into strength and pain into purpose, the book is scheduled for re-release in late September, 2025 and her amazing story was the inspiration for Rick’s once-in-a-lifetime performance of the Italian Classic “Estate”. All of which makes for an episode you don’t want to miss! For more information please visit: https://www.amazon.com/Mundele-Diaries-Pamela-Michaux/dp/1917613040/
Meet Pamela Michaux, author of Mundele Diaries — a raw, global memoir that turns silence into strength and pain into purpose. Her story began in Congo, but it belongs to anyone who has ever felt unseen, unloved, or unworthy.
At seven years old, Pamela was sent from Congo to Belgium during political conflict. She was promised safety. What she found was emotional and physical abuse, racism, and the cruel weight of being both too much and never enough. In Africa, she was called “white girl.” In Belgium and France, she was called “nigger.” And the deepest wounds didn’t come from strangers. They came from her own family.
One year later, her siblings arrived. She was eight. Her sister was three. Her brother was seven. Their mother was gone, and as the oldest, she became the mother they no longer had. By twelve, she had endured more than many live in a lifetime. She took my legal guardians to court, moved into an orphanage, fought for her siblings’ protection, and that courage wasn’t a choice — it was survival.
But trauma doesn’t stop when childhood ends. As an adult, she became a stepmother to two girls. And once again faced humiliation and violence — this time from their biological mother. While pregnant, in a private Catholic school, she called her “nigger” and tried to hit her in the stomach. It was a painful déjà vu. But this time, she had a voice.
After her divorce, she had a final reckoning. she realized pain had become her comfort, because it was less painful than what she had survived as a child. That’s when she stopped surviving and started living. That’s when she wrote Mundele Diaries.
Not to expose her past — but to reclaim it. To speak for the child who had to be the protector. For the mother who rose alone. For every person made to feel like a burden, a problem, or a mistake.
The book was originally released—but due to betrayal from someone she trusted, it was removed from sale. That moment could’ve broken her again. Instead, it became her fuel. The final, corrected and complete version of Mundele Diaries will be published on September 23, 2025, in honor of her late mother’s birthday.
Because she doesn’t believe in hiding anymore. She believes in truth. In healing. And in the power of turning your deepest wounds into your greatest calling.
Today, she speaks about:
• Childhood and adult trauma—and how we normalize pain to survive
• Racial identity—especially growing up mixed in a divided world
• Emotional healing—what it really takes to break free
• Generational cycles—and how to stop repeating what hurt us
• Blended family pain, betrayal, and rebuilding from ground zero
• Speaking your truth—even when it costs everything
She don’t speak to impress. She speaks to awaken.
Because what tried to silence her is now the voice that sets others free.