HOUSTON – Educator, speaker, host, author, wife and mother: Those are just some of the titles belonging to Tyra Hodge, PhD., supervisor and social-emotional learning coordinator at one of the fastest growing districts in the greater Houston area.
But her path to success wasn’t easy. And she’s penned a new book detailing the tragedies and triumphs that she hopes inspires others to never give up.
To look at Hodge’s life today, you would never know the struggle she endured to get here.
“Childhood was hard. I had a stepfather who was an alcoholic – an abusive alcoholic,” she shared.
In her new book, “A Rewritten Story: Survival, Strip Clubs, and Salvation,” Hodge details a life that started with domestic violence. By the time she was out of high school, she didn’t see a bright future and would soon turn to exotic dancing to make money.
“I thought about school, but I really didn’t think I was smart enough to go to school,” she said. “People, when they go into exotic dancing, it’s usually for money or survival. For me, it was a little of both.”
But she was taken advantage of, paid an illegally low wage and as a result, experienced homelessness while dancing. Her life would spiral even further after she was sexually assaulted at what she thought was a private party she’d been hired to dance for.
“I found out I was pregnant. That gave me just a little glimpse of hope that there might be a reason for me to live,” she said.
She would eventually leave the strip club for good and leaning on her renewed faith in God, Hodge got sober and pursued her associate’s degree, then her bachelor’s, master’s, and in 2018, her PhD. in education. She said none of it was easy and even endured an abusive first husband during her studies. When she finally left him, she had to switch to online coursework as a single mom of four.
“This is the thing, Lisa. Life is hard. It can be messy,” Hodge said. “Ultimately, your triumph, your overcoming, that’s part of your story.”
Now remarried to her husband, Terry, they share a beautiful, blended family. And she’s thriving in education, helping students get past their own traumas and roadblocks.
Hodge is holding a book signing on July 6 at 4 The One Studio located at 950 FM 1960 Rd., Suite A. Her book is now available on Amazon.