Celeste Fernandez Finds Peace in Middle of Storm
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
PLEASANTVILLE — Celeste Fernandez said she is learning to find peace in the middle of the storms she faces in life and hopes her recently published book will help others do the same.
The owner of the multifaceted Fernandez Services in Pleasantville wrote her first book, “In The Storm: Understanding The Storms In Our Lives,” which is out in e-book form on Amazon and will be available later this month in hardcover.
Fernandez’s life story is already an inspiration.
A native of the Dominican Republic who rose from being a bartender and waitress in the Atlantic City casinos to owning her own business and coming less than a percent point shy of being elected an Atlantic County commissioner, Fernandez embodies what it means to be a self-made person.
But even at the height of growing her business and being active in the Atlantic City community, she endured challenges such as the business-crushing COVID-19 pandemic and even a failed relationship.
“In life, you go through many ups and downs and there comes a time where you just want to put it out there and put it in writing,” Fernandez recently told Front Runner New Jersey. “When I talk to people, I hear how they have gone through their struggles and they don’t overcome them, and that’s when they get into alcohol or drugs.
“A lot of people don’t say what they are going through, even when they have success and even when [they] are growing. We don’t talk about the personal and professional challenges.”
READ: Celeste Fernandez Says She Can’t Stay Silent
Fernandez said her faith in God and in herself at times were the only things that gave her the strength to endure the pandemic period to grow her business while helping others in the community. She said readers will find it surprising that some of her most difficult challenges came when she was having her greatest successes as a business owner and community advocate.
“I think they would say, ‘I had no idea, because you were always smiling through it and trying to help others,'” Fernandez said. “I had my business, and I was able to help a lot of people with their problems, but I still had to go through my own storm.”
Fernandez, like many others who turned their own stories into books, admitted she surprised herself by overcoming the challenges she faced, until she finally put pen to paper.
“You are doing so much growing and working, you don’t realize all the obstacles that you had to go through and all the things you had to overcome,” Fernandez said. “The truth is that it’s not success without that trial by fire. It’s what makes us stronger.
“When you’re trying to move on in life, you have to understand where you come from, so yes, it helped for me to put it down on paper. You have to understand where you’re at in life so you can get the knowledge and strength to move to the next level.”
Fernandez said the book will be available in Spanish and English. She hopes to plan book signings in Atlantic City, Pleasantville and Bridgeton as soon as she gets confirmation when the hardcover books will be delivered.
While not ruling out a future local political run, Fernandez said she is concentrating on running her businesses and helping people in the community. She said she hopes her book will resonate with others who find themselves at a crossroads in life.
“I hope they’ll read it and say, ‘If she figured out a way to do it, then I can as well,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez Services, LLC performs a wide range of business solutions in an effort to fill that gap in the community, especially among those who need help the most.
READ: 5 Questions – Fernandez Services LLC
“I have a passion for helping others and I love the concept of ‘doing good while doing well.’ Through the multiservice side of the business, we are able to serve the Latino community and assist them in their own language,” Fernandez said in a 2022 FRNJ profile of her business.
“Our team offers translation, notary public, document production, tax preparation, bookkeeping, community outreach, public relations, business services, and many other services that the community wouldn’t receive under one roof and platform otherwise. In the other side is the insurance part where we help protect many families from the unexpected while helping them to create a better financial future.”
For more information on In The Storm, click here.
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