With the purpose of maintaining her roots and keeping her culture alive, Stacey Nembhard, a CSUN alumna, launched her book “The Jamaican Linguist: I Remember When” at Coley’s Jamaica’s Best Cuisine on Saturday.

There were about 50 guests at the event. Friends and family members got together to support Nembhard’s first book and to buy what they said should be a great read.

Lala Ebrahami, a senior in the biology department at CSUN and a friend of Nembhard, said she is very proud that her friend has come so far.

“I’m here to support Stacey and I wanted to get her book and see what her story is,” said Ebrahami.  “I think it’s so great that she is sharing her story with people that are from different backgrounds.”

The book is $14.99 and every copy was signed by the author during the launch.

“I incorporate my experiences into my book to tell about those challenges and how I overcome them,” Nembhard said. “So it’s an inspirational, autobiography and cultural heritage book and it’s really fun to read and (also) has pictures so (to let) you follow along.”

The event got started with a speech by Nembhard in which she talked about what being Jamaican really means to her.

“Being Jamaican is a proclamation of heroism – (a declaration of) who and what we want to be, without having fear of failure,” she said.

Sardia Robinson, who is also Jamaican and has known the author for various years said this book has the potential to have a lot of success.

“So many people loved the book, so many people talk about the book and it can only go as far as Stacey wants it to go, and knowing Stacey I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets on the bestseller’s list,” Robinson said.

The master of ceremonies was Papa Michigan, a well known Jamaican singer, who also dedicated some words to the author.

“On behalf of the reggae industry which I am part of and I came to represent, I wish this book all the success and all the support,” Papa Michigan said.

Nembhard graduated from CSUN’s Pan African Studies Department in 2012, and said she hopes she can return to present her book since she graduated in 2012. Nembhard also has a bachelor’s degree in history from CSUN.