What is fierce love? For 57-year-old Sonya Curry, it is the foundation of motherhood. “I was extremely intentional about how I wanted to raise my children,” Curry tells ESSENCE. As the mother of basketball stars Seth and Stephen Curry and content creator Sydel Curry-Lee, “people would always stop me and tell me how wonderful my children were.” However, writing a parenting book sharing her testimony was never on her maternal to-do list. But, between spending time with her eight grandchildren, traveling and shooting her new TV show Raising Fame, Curry somehow found the time and inspiration to write her first Fierce Love.
When people would suggest she should write a book, “I always laughed and proclaimed that I didn’t feel like I was doing anything extraordinary or above and beyond what any other parent was doing,” the Virginia-native says. But, “these frequent encounters with fans and a small, still voice inside of my head began to ignite that desire.” In the book, Curry shares never-before-told stories; narrating not only her personal childhood but what went into raising her three celebrity children.
Much like writing a book, raising stars wasn’t in her mind’s eye either. “Our intentions were never to raise our boys to be NBA players but to have a relationship with God and be good and productive human beings,” she says. “I also tried to always support their dreams and aspirations.” After giving birth to her eldest child and now four-time NBA champion and MVP, Stephen, the busy days of motherhood have reminded her of the importance of taking care of herself. “I’ve always worked while raising my children and have learned the hard way what burning the candle at both ends will do: cause burnout.”
As for her top self-care priority and beauty tip? “Sleep is vital,” she warns. Curry also wants to remind new moms that self-care doesn’t have to be out of reach, even when you’re constantly short on time. “Find time to be alone for at least 30 minutes per day,” she says. “Sleep when the babies are sleeping.” Curry also emphasizes how important finding a consistent workout routine, increasing her water intake, and treating herself to frequent facials have been for her. But the most important of all are her daily prayer and meditation sessions.
Now that all of her children have grown into adults, she’s grown grow as their mother, too. “I’ve learned to embrace the fact that as my children matured, my role in their lives had to change,” she says. “There’s no instructional manual for parenting, so we have to do our best and leave the rest to God.”
When it comes to what’s next for Curry, she’s most excited about the “Fierce Love” retreat that is “currently in its incubation period,” she says. Happening later this year with creativity, fellowship, rest, and self-reflection at the epicenter, “I hope to create an experience for women of all ages that offers a respite from the everyday rigors of life.”