Helena says she decided on the title for her book after hearing comedian and writer Tina Fey say the phrase on Saturday Night Live, and she said it was a perfect fit for it.
“It [the word bitch] represents modern feminism and how many of us as women see ourselves,” comments Helena. “Folks whose only concept of me is walking to the metro through a gauntlet of catcalls might see me as a bitch, whatever that means. The term has evolved over the years to mean any woman who isn’t cute and cuddly. I am neither. But I am loyal, hilarious, fun and sometimes annoying.”
The young writer says she perceives herself as a regular girl with regular issues and makes a point to mention it in her 
novel, specifically in reference to how significant others see her. One for example, labeled her as the “perfect girl.”
“Sometimes I have it together, sometimes I don’t,” Helena admits. “I’m not perfect because no one is perfect.”
Helena credits her mother Frances, whom she repeatedly references in her manuscript, for who she is as a person and a woman today.
“She was a great parent and very supportive,” she says. “I don’t know what I would have been without her in my life. She taught me how to be confident and about the importance of self-worth.”
In today’s society, that confidence and sense of self-worth are ironically seen by some as reasons why so many “successful” African-American women in this country are single.
Helena says there are a plethora of reasons why many African-American women in the U.S. are not married, but they get blamed for it. She believes the tale of the single, black, successful woman is a trend in the news that will eventually fade away.
In Helena’s book, she wrote a chapter in reference to the fictional characters Cliff and Claire Huxtable from The Cosby Show, a show many in the African-African community hold to high esteem. During her childhood, this show was her only escape as she was the only black girl on an all white-island. During the airing of the show, the Huxtables’ were the epitome of the “ideal black family.” Today’s generation recognizes the Obamas’ in the same regard.
As a political reporter, Helena covered President Barack Obama’s presidential race, which she says she was proud to write about and participate in something monumental and historical.
Helena says her next project is the film adaptation of Bitch is the New Black with Shonda Rimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy.
I would dare say this book also found its place in an untapped market, one of which Helena recognized and is a reason she wrote the book. This memoir for black women by a black woman filled with humorous, sarcastic, heartfelt and nostalgic moments, brings out the honesty some of us dare to think and struggle with the courage to say out loud.
