By the Time You Read This: The Space Between Cheslie’s Smile and Mental Illness
By the time You Read This is the posthumous memoir of Cheslie Kryst, a lawyer who was crowned Miss USA in May 2019. The title of the memoir is taken from a text message that Cheslie sent to her mother, April Simpkins, on the day that she committed suicide. In the text, Cheslie instructed her mother to publish what she had written so far for her planned memoir.
In the memoir, Cheslie describes her upbringing in North Carolina and explains how encounters with bullies at school affected her self-esteem. Her self-esteem would improve through her involvement with pageants. She decided to participate in pageants because her mother was a pageant winner. She discusses navigating the pageant world, and the unwritten rules she had to follow to succeed. In addition to her pageant experience, Cheslie also discusses her experience as a track and field athlete throughout high school and college.
After examining her college experience, Cheslie describes deciding to go to law school to obtain dual Juris Doctor and Master’s in Business Administration degrees from Wake Forest University. Cheslie then discusses passing both the North Carolina and South Carolina bar exams, and practicing as a civil litigation attorney while providing pro bono representation for low level drug offenders. She also discusses competing in pageants during this time.
Cheslie details the exhilaration of winning the Miss USA title in the memoir, along with the unexpected difficulties that came along with her win. She also reflects on becoming Miss USA at a historic time in pageant history. In 2019, five of the major beauty pageant titles were held by Black women: Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World. Cheslie used her role as Miss USA to promote causes that she cared about, such as Dress for Success, which allowed her to use her position to uplift and inspire those around her.
The last part of the memoir is written by April Simpkins, Cheslie’s mother. April describes what it was like to hear of her daughter’s suicide. She also details Cheslie’s mental health issues, and the concerns that she had for her daughter’s well-being.
April expresses gratitude for the years that she got to spend with her daughter. Although she wishes she had more time, she wants to fondly remember the time she did have with her. April wants to honor Cheslie’s life by helping those suffering with mental health issues as well as their family members. She doesn’t want anyone to feel like they are alone in their mental-health struggles. April founded the Cheslie C. Kryst Foundation in memory of her daughter and continues to speak about mental illness at events around the country.
This is a great book to facilitate discussions around mental-health issues, which continue to negatively impact members of the legal community. Although these discussions can be difficult, they could be instrumental in saving lives.
If you need help with personal or professional pressures, call the free Florida Lawyers Helpline: 833-351-9355 or visit https://www.floridabar.org/helpline/.
