
Behind the Wall by Tracy Chapman: When a Woman’s Cries for Help Are Heard, but Help Never Comes
Some songs stay with us because they are beautiful. Others stay with us because they tell a truth that society has spent generations trying not to hear.
In 1988, Tracy Chapman released a song called âBehind the Wallâ on her s [...]

Before âI Am Womanâ Became an Anthem, Women Were Fighting to Be Heard: The Story Behind Helen Reddy’s Song
The history behind Helen Reddy's 1972 anthem, the rights women were fighting for, and what her story can teach Survivors about independence, solidarity, and finding their voices.
In 1972, Australian singer Helen Reddy release [...]
Who Did You Have to Become to Survive? A Gentle Introduction to Jungian Self-Reflection for Survivors
Exploring the parts of ourselves we learned to hide, the roles we learned to play, and the freedom to discover who we are today.
Sometimes we become so accustomed to being a certain kind of person that we forget we had other [...]
đ Black Sitcom Halloween Episodes: The Ultimate Watchlist for a Cozy Night In or a Watch Party With Friends
From Martin and Living Single to Girlfriends, Family Matters, Abbott Elementary, and more.
There is something special about revisiting the television shows that made us laugh growing up. The familiar theme songs, the characte [...]

Because They Refused Jim Crow, We Walk Through Different Doors
October 7, 1955: Ella Fitzgerald Arrested After Performing Before an Integrated Audience in Houston
We live inside freedoms that somebody else had to be brave enough to imagine. I am grateful for the people who challenged Jim C [...]

10 Surprising Lessons for Survivors from Gloria Gaynorâs I Will Survive
When most of us hear Gloria Gaynor sing âI Will Survive,â we hear certainty.
We hear a woman who has figured something out. She sounds like she knows where the door is, knows she deserves better and knows she can live without [...]

10 Lessons from The Forever Tree for Black Women, Girls, and Survivors Who Have Learned to Play Small
There is something quietly radical about The Forever Tree.
Tawny Bennett, played by Olivia Washington, is a young Black woman living during the Harlem Renaissance. She is intelligent, knowledgeable and working as an antiquari [...]
10 Lessons for Survivors from Sandy âPepaâ Dentonâs Letâs Talk About Pep
Sandy âPepaâ Denton is known to millions as one of the women who helped change hip-hop. But Letâs Talk About Pep tells another story underneath the records, performances, fame, laughter, relationships and celebrity encounters. D [...]

Tammi Terrell’s Story Reminds Us That Survival Is More Than Staying Alive
When people speak about Tammi Terrell, they often begin with how young she was when she died.
Twenty-four.
They talk about the brain tumor. The interrupted career. The songs she never got to record. The future that was cut sho [...]

7 Reasons Survivors May Want to Read Taraji P. Hensonâs Around the Way Girl
Sometimes the books that stay with Survivors aren't the ones written specifically about surviving.
Sometimes they are simply somebody telling the truth about her life.
Taraji P. Henson's memoir, Around the Way Girl, was pu [...]

Angie Stone, Roberta Flack & Gwen McCrae: The Power of Their Musical Legacy
Angie Stoneâs Music Pulled Us ThroughâAnd Now, Sheâs Gone.
Angie Stone has passed, and somehow, it still doesnât feel real.
During one of my lowest valleys, her music became my guide, my comfort, my reassurance that I [...]

The Wishing Tree With Alfre Woodard: A Beautiful Movie About Finding Your Way Home + Full Movie
Sometimes you want a movie that doesn't demand everything from you.
Something you can put on while folding clothes, answering emails, working on a project, cooking dinner, or finally dealing with that pile of papers that has [...]

How Singing is Surprisingly Good for Your Health
There's a vocal teacher on Youtube that I love, and I wanted to share her with you. Kristel Cherelle's approach reminds me of our choir teachers back in school who had faith in our ability to sing if only we understood technique [...]

10 Lessons Women Can Take From Star Jones, Al Reynolds, and Everybody Who Had Something to Say
There was a time when Star Jones and Al Reynolds seemed to be everywhere.
The proposal came at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game. Then came the enormous wedding, the vendors, the publicity, the photographs, the commentary and eventu [...]

7 Survival Lessons From Eve: Your Life Is Allowed to Have More Than One Act
Some chapters prove you can survive. Others remind you that survival was never supposed to be the whole story.
I love Eve's music.
Let me get that out of the way because, obviously. Tambourine. Love Is Blind. Let Me Blow Y [...]

Vanessa Williams Refused to Become the Worst Thing People Said About Her
Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect, and make everyone else deal with you the same way. -Nikki Giovanni
It was 1984, and Vanessa Williams was surrounded.
Only months earlier, she had made history as the f [...]

Some People Don’t Wait for Affirmation. They Give It to Themselves.
They did not wait for the world to settle the question of their worth. They kept something sacred for themselves: the authority to know who they were.
There is an old story about Diana Ross. "Call her Miss Ross."
[...]

There Are No Children Here: When Survival Makes a Child Grow Up Too Soon
In 1993, Oprah Winfrey starred in a television movie called There Are No Children Here. She played LaJoe Rivers, a Black mother raising her children in Chicagoâs Henry Horner Homes, a public housing development where violence, p [...]

Survivor Affirmations: You Are Not Too Late for Your Own Life
Maybe the life you imagined for yourself was supposed to happen by now.
That is the part we don't always say out loud.
You thought you would have written the book by now. Started the business. Finished school. Traveled. Ma [...]
Steve Harvey Survived the Closed Door Because It Wasn’t His Only Door
There is something Steve Harvey has been saying lately that I think is worth hearing beyond the celebrity story.
Harvey has spoken about conflict he experienced with a powerful television executive and what he believes ha [...]
AFFIRMATIONS AND SELF LOVE
đș Survivor Affirmations Post: âI Donât Exist to Be Understood by Those Who Harmed Meâ
A reminder for the Survivor whoâs ready to stop explaining her healing.
I used to spend my energy trying to be understo [...]
HEALING JOURNEY
10 Lessons for Survivors from Sandy âPepaâ Dentonâs Letâs Talk About Pep
Sandy âPepaâ Denton is known to millions as one of the women who helped change hip-hop. But Letâs Talk About Pep tells another story underneath the re [...]
How Survivors Intentionally Silence Self-Doubt
Self-doubt can be sneaky, but it doesnât have to control your life. Hereâs how you can silence it and step into your power:
1. Challenge the Nega [...]
đ« 10 Signs You Are Reclaiming Yourself
Even if you donât feel âhealedâ yet, you are rising. Quietly, deeply, powerfully.
Survivor, there are days when healing feels invisible.You may not b [...]
The Nose That Changed Everything
I come from a generation that watched our celebrities alter their noses â narrowing, reshaping, and refining â just to be seen, to get work, to surviv [...]
CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE

Survivor Affirmations: You Can Heal Through the Chaos
1ïžâŁ "I am resilient, and even in the midst of chaos, I find my inner peace."
2ïžâŁ "Every challenge I face is shaping me into a stronger, w [...]

Soul Music Connects to Your Soul and Your Spirit
âSoul music is true to its name. It's music that connects to your soul, your spirit. ⊠when people can emotionally connect with something or it helps [...]
Survivor Affirmation: For Patti LaBelle, the Beautiful Assertion
Before the world knew her as Patti LaBelle, she was Patricia Louise Holte, a girl from Philadelphia with a voice that could rise from the church floor [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
Iâm Not Here to Be Believed by EveryoneâIâm Here to Be Free
SurvivorAffirmations.com | Inspired by WeSurviveAbuse.com
Freedom is not the same as being liked.Freedom is not the same as being approved of.And f [...]
The Empty Nest is a Healing Space
The empty nest is not the end of motherhood.
It may be the beginning of a womanâs re-encounter with herself.
Not just a quiet house.
Not just âthe [...]
âš Knowing My Body Is My Birthright. âš
Knowing about my body and how it functions is not shameful.It is not taboo.It is not âtoo much.â
It is my right.As a woman.As a human being.As someon [...]
Sugar Ray Leonard Knew How to Fight. That Did Not Mean He Held the Power
Sugar Ray Leonard knew how to fight. By his early twenties, the quiet kid from Palmer Park, Maryland, had become an Olympic gold medalist, and profess [...]
She Is AMAZING
The Forgotten Black Woman Inventor Who Changed the Lives of Women and People with Disabilities
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner
(1912-2006)
The Forgotten Black Woman Inventor Who Revolutionized Menstrual Pads
(article with audio)
[...]
Sound, Spirit, and Survival: How Alice Coltrane Held Sacred Space
âđœ For SurvivorAffirmations.com
Some Survivors find their way through words.Some through silence.And someâlike Alice Coltraneâfind their way through [...]
10 Lessons for Survivors from Sandy âPepaâ Dentonâs Letâs Talk About Pep
Sandy âPepaâ Denton is known to millions as one of the women who helped change hip-hop. But Letâs Talk About Pep tells another story underneath the re [...]
Inspired by Survivor Viola Davis: You Donât Need Perfect Weather to Bloom
Some flowers wait for sunshine.Others learn how to grow toward the light
even while clouds remain overhead.
Gratitude to a shining star....Viola Da [...]
Mama I Love You: Women Are Amazing, Unique, and Special!
Tyron Woodleyâs mother congratulates Kamaru Usman at UFC 235
Â
"It's all good, baby. It's all good. It's your turn. It [...]
10 Inspiring Quotes from Survivor Queen Latifah
The extraordinary and deeply gifted Queen Latifah has always been intentional about protecting her private life. That boundary deserves respec [...]
ART HEALS
Cathy Hughes and The Quiet Storm: Healing on the Airwaves
âGood evening, sweetheartâŠâThose few words, whispered through radios across America, werenât just an introductionâthey were an invitation. An invita [...]
A Journey to Finding Our Voices Through Personal Stories (podcast/audio)
Your Survivor story has the power to heal. On this episode of We Survive Abuse, Tonya GJ Prince reveals how sharing our trut [...]
Lessons from Pam Grier’s Memoir for Survivors
updated from December 2024
I love it when women tell our own stories in our own words!
When Pam Grier's memoir came out...I [...]
An Affirmation for Choosing How You Live
Anyone who danced the way Prince dancedâwith that level of athleticism, speed, torque, elevation, repetition,and especially in heelsâunderstood early [...]
JOURNALING/WRITING IN A HEALTHIER WORLD
WE Survive Abuse Podcast

















