Because I'm a fan of Beyoncé and her entire family of talented individuals, I pre-ordered her mother, Ms. Tina Knowles' memoir, Matriarch, as soon as it was announced a few months ago.           Though this review won't be exhaustive, I'll share some takeaways that I found relevant. Ms. Tina suspects that...[ read more ]

When I learned that Emely Rumble was a fellow therapist who uses books as healing tools in her clinical practice, I was thrilled to read her debut book, Bibliotherapy in the Bronx! It’s no secret that stories (music, books, and poetry) enable us to empathize, educate, and comfort. But most people aren’t familiar with the term, bibliotherapy. In bibliotherapy, therapists...[ read more ]

I learned of Joanna "JoJo" Levesque in 2004 when her debut song, "Leave (Get Out)" blew up on the charts. I was eleven at the time, so seeing a twelve/thirteen-year-old make such a splash at damn-near the same age as me was inspiring. I BEGGED to get JoJo's debut album when it came out and, thanks to Grandma's Kmart employee...[ read more ]

Acamea Deadwiler is a gifted storyteller, and her new memoir, Daddy’s Little Stranger, made me feel understood and even brought me to healing tears. “Releasing my tears would only compound the humiliation. I knew there would be no consoling hugs. We weren’t that kind of family.” Daddy’s Little Stranger takes readers on a journey set in Gary, Indiana, which for a...[ read more ]

As a Black and biracial person, I was thrilled when Mya Jayn, my mixed-race daughter, was gifted a copy of More Than Peach by Bellen Woodard to add to her library. I'm excited to share what I learned as I read this book to MJ. More Than Peach is a story written by a child about her experiences in elementary...[ read more ]

As a therapist, grief is something I encounter often. Earlier this year, one of my clients, Diane, experienced a series of events that felt like something out of a soap opera. When the dust settled, she found herself widowed at the age of 51. I support my clients through email between sessions. Earlier this week, Diane posed the following questions:...[ read more ]

A Visible Man by Edward Enninful was one of a few memoirs that I finished in December. The book is different from most of the memoirs I choose because I had no prior knowledge of who the author was; rather, Audible kept recommending it to me. I'm glad I gave his book a chance and I look forward to sharing...[ read more ]

I've had Fat Joe's new memoir, The Book of Jose, on my Audible wishlist for a while and I finally got around to giving it a listen. As a hip hop fan growing up in the 90s and early 00s, I've kept up with Fat Joe's career. Prior to reading his story, I didn't know much about his personal life...[ read more ]

Like many in their late 20s-early 30s, I grew up during Nickelodeon's heyday (ahem... back when it was good) and enjoyed watching shows such as All That, The Amanda Show, and Drake & Josh. Josh Peck played roles on all the aforementioned shows. Having been chubby throughout my childhood and adolescence, I appreciated seeing the representation that Peck's characters brought...[ read more ]

For today's book review, I selected Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams with my middle and high school therapy clients in mind. Though this book is written for that age group; as an adult, I found the novel to be very compelling, as it addresses the issue of colorism in a way I haven't seen before. So let's get...[ read more ]