Queen Pin: A Memoir by Jemeker Thompson-Hairston / 207 pages. Read in 32 days

Jemeker Thompson-Hairston who is now an evangelist and the owner of Second Chance Ministries in South Central, Los Angeles is far from the biggest drug lord she was portrayed to be back in the day. Jemeker did not always grow with the fortunate things in life but she made do with what she knew she could. Her life was far from perfect. She was evicted from her home at an early age but learned how to hold make ends meet quickly as she got older. Like other teenagers who fall in love, she plotted to get with an older guy named Daff, who later became the love of her life, her husband, her business partner, and the father of her son. With Daff, life was rolling in the fast lane and before you knew it, their son Anthony was born. After the birth of their son, they committed to being more of a family but they also worked harder at making more money, which included expanding their drug business. Not long after they expanded their business with a new connection and a more in demand drug, Daff was killed at a car wash. Months following Daff’s death Jemeker had a hard time starting over without the love of her life but she eventually did and when she did, she took the drug connections and sales to a different level, one that would make her rich. She begin making sales and connections all across the US with different men, some became friends with benefits. The money and men was good while it lasted but Queen Pin knew the drug game was changing so she begin making smarter investments and decided to invest in the hair business. She became one of the most popular and successful hair vendors in LA. She sold hair to celebrities and had huge hair shows that left people talking for days. During this time, the Queen was also dating guys that were not to be trusted, and one of them became a snitch for the Feds and before she knew it and had any time to think, she was on the run for months.

This true story begins with Queen Pin on the run from the Feds and how she ran to different cities to be with different men. She explained how hard it was to live a normal life without her son. So, she decided to return home for her son’s graduation where she was arrested by the Feds in front of him. From there, she begin serving time before knowing her charges. After six months, she was placed on trial and ridiculed as Los Angeles’s biggest drug lord, which is where she earned the name Queen Pin (by a District Attorney during her trial). Although the Queen was never caught with drugs she was still arrested because of her involvements in the drug trade. For this, she received a 180 day sentence. Her initial charges were 25 to life but she felt lucky to get 15 and even better when she walked out free after serving 13 years and some change. During prison is when Jemeker became free of her past and found her calling to become an evangelist minister. Jemeker quoted that once she accepted her calling from God, “Doors began to open that only God himself could have opened”. With that, Jemeker begin witnessing and ministering to any and every one that came through the prison doors. Although she lost time in prison, she did not loose her faith to be free and now, Jemeker is a well-known minister, a wife and a better mother to Anthony.