
There Are Souls Beyond the Scoreboard: A History Lesson in Hope, Radio, and Second Wind (podcast episode)
We are not living in the time of afterschool specials, radio dedications, and songs that reached through the static to touch a hurting child’s heart.
So sometimes we have to borrow from the past.
We have to go back to song [...]

Before You Yell “Cocaine,” Learn What 1980s Black Joy Looked Like
The 1980s Were Competitive Joy
A room full of Black people dancing hard.
A Black singer sweating through a performance.
A Soul Train line with everybody dressed like joy had somewhere important to be.
A big Black [...]

Dr. Tracey Marks: People Who Drain You vs. People Who Energize You
Why do some people calm your brain while others drain it? One of our favorite psychiatrists, Dr. Tracey Marks, explains how your nervous system regulates with safe people—plus a simple body check.
[...]
What “Find 100 Ways” Teaches Us About Uplifting the People We Love
There are some songs that do not simply play.
They enter the room.
They adjust the light.
They sit beside you with a kind of grown tenderness and remind you that love was never supposed to feel careless.
James Ingram [...]
The Playlist: Funk, Soul, and Body Release
Some anxiety does not need another explanation. It needs a doorway out of the body.
Sometimes anxiety does not leave through thinking. Sometimes it leaves through the shoulders. Through the jaw. Through the hands. Through the b [...]

The Empty Nest is a Healing Space
The empty nest is not the end of motherhood.
It may be the beginning of a woman’s re-encounter with herself.
Not just a quiet house.
Not just “the children are gone now.”
Not just a season people joke about with sadness, lon [...]
When Dismissal Tries to Turn You Against Your Own Body
“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.” Toni Morrison
Mistreatment often tries to make th [...]

Elizabeth Packard: The Woman They Called Insane Until She Changed the Law
Elizabeth Packard was not simply a “wronged wife.”
She was a mother. A thinker. A religious dissenter. A wife under the rule of a husband who believed disagreement was disobedience. She was a woman living under laws that trea [...]
Affirmations for Patients Who Are Afraid They Will Not Be Heard at the Doctor’s Office
There is a particular kind of tired that comes from knowing something is happening in your body, then having to gather your strength to explain it to someone who may or may not listen.
Some patients walk into the doctor’s offic [...]

Different Go-Go, Same Refusal to Disappear into Misery
I just discovered something beautiful.
There are two kinds of “GoGo.”
One was born in Washington, DC.
One comes from Tanzania.
And somehow, both are rooted in survival.
Many of us Black Americans kno [...]
Mama I Love You: Women Are Amazing, Unique, and Special!
Tyron Woodley’s mother congratulates Kamaru Usman at UFC 235
Â
"It's all good, baby. It's all good. It's your turn. It ain't his turn."Â
Â
Please, do not ever let anyone convince you of false th [...]

Ketty Lester: Honor the Firsts, Remember the Closed Doors
Ketty Lester deserves more than a passing mention. She deserves the kind of appreciation that slows the room down.
Born Revoyda Frierson in Hope, Arkansas, she came from a farming family and grew into a singer and actress whose [...]

The 12 Somatic Knots of Trauma — The Complete Map from Sacrum to Jaw (and How to Untie Them)
updated from March 24, 2024
Somatic healing is not just “take a deep breath and calm down.”
Sometimes your body is holding a story your mouth got tired of telling.
Your shoulders may remember what you had to carry.
[...]

Their Words Do Not Name Me. Survival Does.
✨ Affirmation ✨
Their words tried to cling to me like chains,
but I shook them off.
Their judgments do not define me.
Their names do not name me.
I carry the name given by my survival—Strength. Courage. Unbreakable.
I wa [...]

The Lie of “Not Enough Trained People”: What Martin, Motown, and Black Representation Already Proved
There is an old lie that keeps getting dressed up as wisdom.
It says Black communities do not get full representation because there are not enough “trained” people.
Not enough trained actors.
Not enough trained writers.
Not [...]
The Black Performance Genius Behind America’s “Iconic” Jazz Style
I like Bob Fosse too. He was a brilliant dancer and choreographer. But his style is heavily influenced by Black dancers. You can't even put too much "heavy" on the "heavily influenced."
American stage entertainment keeps [...]
AFFIRMATIONS AND SELF LOVE
Surviving Is Still Sacred—Even If They Clap for the Wrong Person
SurvivorAffirmations.com | Inspired by WeSurviveAbuse.com
You saw them cheer.You heard the applause for the one who harmed some [...]
HEALING JOURNEY
🌿 Josephine Baker: She Found a Place Where She Could Breathe
Joséphine Baker did not just “move to France.”
She left a place that constrained her…and stepped into a place that, for a time, allowed her to expand [...]
🌿 Affirmation Post: “I Am Becoming Who I Needed”
A sacred declaration for Survivors stepping into their wholeness.
I am no longer trying to return to who I was before the harm.She didn’t have [...]
12 Free Books to Support Your Trauma Healing Journey
Whether you’re healing from personal trauma, systemic injustice, or generational pain, you deserve tools and support that honor the fullness of your s [...]
I Will Not Shrink Myself So They Can Stay Comfortable in Their Denial
SurvivorAffirmations.com | Inspired by WeSurviveAbuse.com
They ask you to soften your voice.To stop being “so angry.”To say it “more kindly.”To “ge [...]
Compassion at the Table: Nothing New, This How We Do
Where I am from, when we say DEI, we’re saying:
“You belong here. I see you. I will work so that you can be safe, heard, and fully present.”
I [...]
Keep the Faith for Better Dayz: Healing Affirmations for the Weary Heart (video by Kirby)
Affirmations for Better Dayz inspired by the insanely beautiful and talented Kirby!
I am walking past the haze of yesterday and stepping into t [...]
CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE
Small Shifts, Big Relief: Real-World Ways to Defuse Everyday Stress
Stress isn’t loud. It creeps in quietly. A clenched jaw, missed sleep, a flinch at a harmless notification. Left unchecked, it coils tighter. But [...]
Can your brain really regrow after stress or trauma?
Stress, especially chronic or traumatic stress, can shrink parts of the brain — particularly the hippocampus (which handles memory and emotional regul [...]
“They keep calling me names… does that make it true?” (No, and here’s why it doesn’t.)
Let them talk.
Let them build stories out of shadows.
Let them sculpt their own fears into your silhouette
and call it truth.
You don’t have t [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
10 Gentle Ways to Grow Toward Accepting Your Flaws
🌿 You don’t have to be perfect to be powerful. You only have to be real.
For many Survivors, the pressure to be flawless wasn’t just emotional— [...]
Before You Yell “Cocaine,” Learn What 1980s Black Joy Looked Like
The 1980s Were Competitive Joy
A room full of Black people dancing hard.
A Black singer sweating through a performance.
A Soul Train line [...]
From History to Present: Self-Care Through Yoga in the Black Community
elink.io | See Original
[...]
For the Ones Who Keep Going When No One’s Watching
There’s a moment at the finish line of the New York City Marathon thatdoesn’t make the highlight reels.
It’s long after the crowds have thinned, afte [...]
7 Ways Listening to Sad Music Can Relieve Sadness (podcast recording)
Podcast Episode Link
[...]
PBS Newshour: A Brief But Spectacular take on appreciating what we have
“Joy multiplies when I choose to love.” 💫
“I find joy not just in myself, but in celebrating others.”
“Love is the soil—joy is the [...]
She Is AMAZING
Dorothy Porter Wesley: The Woman Who Transformed the Dewey Decimal System
Libraries are often called the gateways to knowledge. But have you ever wondered who decides how books get organized? For over a century, most libra [...]
Artist Jossie Harris Thacker: Building On Where You Come From — Without Going To War With It
Some of us were taught that “healing” means disowning everything that shaped us.
The accent.The neighborhood.The elders.The songs.The faith.The grit. [...]
Surving Abuse Daily: Musical Empowerment for Women
elink.io | See Original
[...]
Affirmations for Black Women on a Personal Journey with Our Hair Inspired by ShesASolarBeing
Affirmations for Black Women on a Personal Journey with Our Hair
From the roots to the rhythm, this is sacred.
🌿 I honor the truth that my hair is n [...]
Congolese Women, Sacred Knowledge, and Spiritual Leadership: A Gentle Introduction
There is a quiet truth that has always existed, even when it wasn’t written down.
Across the lands now known as the Democratic Republic of the Cong [...]
ART HEALS
Survivor Affirmations: History Remembers What is Rooted in Truth, Love, and Dignity.
American fashion icon Dapper Dan shares the history of the Adinkra symbol 'Sankofa' in Harlem, New York (& other places around the United St [...]
Different Go-Go, Same Refusal to Disappear into Misery
I just discovered something beautiful.
There are two kinds of “GoGo.”
One was born in Washington, DC.
One comes from Tanzania.
And somehow [...]
9 Quotes from Maya Angelou to Nourish the Survivor’s Soul (Part 2)
Updated for 2025
🌟 Resilience & Strength
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced [...]
12 Reasons Lauryn Hill Deserves More Respect for Her Impact on Music (w/affirmations)
The only reason that men question Lauryn Hill's
accomplishments
is because they can't find a way
to take credit for them.
Lauryn Hill was never j [...]
JOURNALING/WRITING IN A HEALTHIER WORLD
WE Survive Abuse Podcast














