When most people hear about Montego Bay, pristine beaches and all-inclusive hotels that attract millions of tourists to Jamaica come to mind. However, Keisha Salmon remembers having rough times growing up there.

Now an ordained minister of religion, Salmon lives in New Jersey and is a published author.

Recently she released Thank You Father, her first song.

Produced by multi-instrumentalist Andre “Dretegs” Hawthorne, the track is inspired by her challenging upbringing on Paradise Crescent within one of several tough communities in Montego Bay.

“It’s all about my life experiences living in Jamaica as a teenager and the wrong path that I took in my life which caused me to miss out big time to live that teenage life. I took a wrong path that led me to being a gambler, being physically abused, etc. I went on dangerous grounds that could have cost my life,” said Salmon, who has been a pastor for 13 years and leads the congregation at Ministry of God’s Love Inc in New Jersey.

Hawthorne, who has worked with roots-reggae acts including Dre Island and Jesse Royal, helped her overcome any jitters on her recording studio début, which came two years after the release of From Pit To The Palace, Salmon’s warts-and-all memoirs. Like Thank You Father, it appeals to individuals who faced similar challenges early in life.

“I wrote the book to encourage others who are faced with the same situations I have experienced in sin, and also that people will see that God is real and if they too believe He will do it for them also,” she said.