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 ]

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 ]

In part 1*, I talked about: How vaping is pervasive among teens and young adults How targeted marketing plays a role The associated health risks of teen vaping And I also provided some tips to parents Today, I'll be reflecting on a WSJ article** I read earlier this week to continue the conversation. The Article The first post focused primarily...[ read more ]

Earlier this week, I shared an excerpt from Lecrae Moore's memoir, I am Restored, on Instagram. In my caption, I shared my thoughts about being both a therapist and a Christian while not identifying myself as a "Christian therapist." I am looking forward to sharing insights that I gained from Lecrae's (stage name) book, as it goes beyond just evangelizing;...[ read more ]

Given this series, it's clear that memoirs are my favorite book genre. With that being said, Short Stories: The Autobiography of Columbus Short is one of the most dynamic memoirs that I've ever read. I know of Columbus Short from his role in ABC's Scandal; however, his career has spanned choreography, music, and film production. From reading his memoir, I...[ read more ]

I finished Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah for the first time a few months ago; however, publishing my review felt ill-timed given that George Floyd had just been murdered that week. Having finished the book for the second time today, I've come to understand that Noah's story is very relevant to the times we are living in. So let's...[ read more ]