Follow along as Johnzelle chats with 6 guests about Jennette McCurdy's memoir, "I'm Glad my Mom Died," focusing on mental health themes along the way. Episode 1 (click here) Episode 2 (click here) Episode 3 (click here) Episode 4 (click here) (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 ]

While this blog focuses on mental health, I occasionally get creative with a relevant book or movie review. Today, I'm doing something a bit different. When Megan Thee Stallion released her sophomore album, "Traumazine," last Friday, I knew I wanted to write about it here. As an EMDR therapist, I know a lot about trauma; however, I'd never heard the...[ read more ]

In this 3-part podcast series, Johnzelle discusses Billy Porter's Memoir, Unprotected. Episodes will focus on the environments that Billy navigated, racism, homophobia, trauma, mental health, and hope. Click the episode links below to start the podcast. Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 This podcast is sponsored by House of Isis: Beauty Naturally. Save 15% at houseofisis.co with my code "MJZLOCS"...[ read more ]

I came across the movie, Joe Bell while scrolling through Prime Video. The trailer caught my eye and after watching the film, I am excited to share my mental health movie review with you. What's the movie about? Joe Bell is a movie based on a true story about a man and his family, focusing primarily on Joe's son, Jaden....[ read more ]

Today I'm excited to review the new workbook, Successful Coparenting with a Toxic Ex: A guided Journal to Support and Encourage you and your Children, written by my friend and colleague, Susan Buniva, LCSW. She's a licensed therapist, divorce coach, and co-parenting counselor with over 30 years of experience. As the title of the book suggests, this book is for...[ read more ]

My wife and I haven't been to a movie theater since before the pandemic. On a whim, we reserved seats this morning for a matinee showing of Dear Evan Hansen. Though we were masked up and fully vaxed (also boostered!), we were relieved to learn that we were the only people who bought tickets for that particular showing. That's right,...[ read more ]

Image Credit Though I don't tend to follow the royal family, I became more interested when Meghan Markle, an actress from one of my favorite shows, Suits, got engaged to Prince Harry. More recently, I've seen how their lives have been shaped by racism and anxiety, which ultimately culminated in the couple separating from the royal family. Today, I'll be...[ read more ]

It has been a while since I’ve reviewed a book on this blog but this book was so moving that I couldn’t help but share.  The Face I Made When the Doctor Said I had Cancer... Again!!! is a memoir that was started by Jonathan "J.O." Newby and was later finished by his wife, Regina Newby after he passed away...[ read more ]

I preordered Cicely Tyson’s memoir back in December, already knowing that her story would be one of the most profound I’ve ever heard. I was beaming Tuesday morning when Audible notified me that my preorder was available. All my other books went to the back burner and I began binge listening, taking breaks of course to do mundane things like...[ read more ]