Despite years of campaigns and marketing, there is still a lot of stigma around mental health. This stigma is especially pronounced in communities of color and among people with constant financial stressors. All too often, many people see seeking help or getting help for themselves or their children as a sign of weakness. Sometimes, families are more comfortable with talking about addiction, behavioral problems, or even criminality rather than looking beneath the surface and

Shondra Rhimes, creator of Gray’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, wrote a book called Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be our Own Person. It is a wonderful book that recounts the year she decided to move out of her comfort zone and live in the “space of yes.” For her, “the space of yes” was a period of freeing herself from the “shoulds”, limits, and restrictions that she placed on her life. Her book is a feel-good, inspirational rea

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

This post was written pre-confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States. I am writing this during “investigation week,” which for me has been emotionally exhausting. I have shared my own MeToo story here. In the midst of the news of his alleged abuse of women and violations of power, this week in my own life and work I have also heard the stories of men who have been wounded and violated physically, emotionally, and spiritually. There are a lot of