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Carline Brown channels star power into writing
February 23, 2026
Raised in flood-prone Cave Valley, St Ann, Carline Brown made a name for herself in Jamaica's entertainment industry in the 2010s, appearing in THE STAR as a poster girl and building a career in modelling.
Her career as an actress spans several roots plays in the Jamaican theatre culture, including Ruth Samuel's Hell a Pop a Yard; Paul O. Beale's Xtortionistz, Michael Denton's Chixta, and David Tulloch's 2013 drama Risque, in which she played the lead role.
Brown isn't afraid to share her story--covering everything from her mass communications degree to life in the US army, spousal abuse, theatre, books, and her publishing company.
Destiny brought her to New York in 2018, and she hasn't looked back. In November 2021, she lit up All I Ever Wanted in Oak Park, Illinois, but her big break came in winter 2023 when she scored a role as a police officer on NBC's Chicago PD. A year later, in November 2024, she appeared as a politician in Chicago Fire, giving her two appearances within the Chicago franchise.
"I'm just humbled for the experiences I create for myself," she said, downplaying the importance of the gigs.
Yet even as her professional achievements grew, her marriage--full of promise at the start and perhaps delivering some--was not unfolding the way it should.
"I moved away from Jamaica because of marriage -- gave up my acting and entertainment career, gave up everything -- and it didn't work out," she said.
"I was in a marriage that wasn't working out; it was very depressing. I ended up in the ER [emergency room] and they told me that I had severe depression and anxiety," Brown said
"I had to get away," she insisted.
During those dark and difficult days, Brown began shaping her book, CARPENDIUM: Escaping Depression Through Literary Writing, penning the poems and prose that would become its heart.
"I had some pieces from earlier, but the real nitty-gritty pieces and what really made the book was while I was going through all of the depression, being in shelter for nine months, you know, getting injured, losing my car, [and] going to school," she shared.
"It was just so much," Brown said. "It felt like the lowest point in my life," adding that she had to shield her young daughter from the ordeal.
The poems and prose--long and short--formed the 328-page Carpendium, making it not merely another book of poetry but a work aimed at healing, beginning with the author herself.
"What has this book done for me? Liberation. Closure. Clarity. Confidence," Brown said.
"It allowed me to turn my pain into passion and purpose. A bad experience transformed into something that can help other people. This book helped me to reclaim my voice. It reminds me that my story has value and it encourages me to create space for other people to share their stories as well," she added.
Brown considers Carpendium a gift she gave herself.
"This book was actually written as a gift to myself for graduating with honours for my first degree, in Mass Communications and Media Arts, back in New York. I won five scholarships and I graduated summa cum laude; I was one of only two black persons to graduate with such honour," Brown revealed.
Carpendium is one of several books by Brown. Others include Dating Etiquette 101, I Survived Army Bootcamp, AIT (Advanced Individual Training), Conflict Reset and Your Future Bae.
In December, Brown launched her publishing company, Publishing Creatively.
"I want to give the average Joe a chance, people to tell their stories," she said.
