Ntozake Shange, author of the famous choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf passed away this year on October 28. She was an award-winning playwright celebrated for telling women’s stories in women’s voices. In 2010 Tyler Perry transformed her trailblazing work into a movie. One of the monologues from the choreopoem is called “Somebody Almost Walked Off wid Alla My Stuff.” It’s about what happens when a woman gives/allows her “stuff’—

“Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes” is one of my favorite quotes. It captures the angst associated with truth-telling. Standing in your truth requires real courage. Unfortunately, it feels like all too often, truth-telling, honesty, and transparency are not valued. Additionally, listening, hearing, and responding to truth can be even more challenging for many of us. A passage in a little-known part of the original early Christian Bible says, “If you bring forth what

My father died on May 20th, which has afforded me a lot of time – perhaps too much – to think about fathers and mental health. With Father’s Day approaching, I thought it appropriate to talk about the role and importance of fathers in our lives. For me, writing about fathers is difficult because I had a complicated relationship with my father. I was conceived outside of a long-term marriage, and my father’s presence in my life was erratic at best. My relationship with him was