Book Launch: "Sisterhood Heals" with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford of "Therapy for Black Girls."

Sisterhood is that sacred space where all the masks that are worn for the world fall off. It’s the place where you lay down your load, refill your cup, and laugh until your belly aches. Our sister circles literally prolong our lives. However, building and keeping healthy friendships take work. How must these friendships evolve as we age? What practices can we put in place? Can they be the key to unlocking a more fulfilled existence? The answer is yes.

Dr. Joy Harden Bradford has been doing the work to help Black women heal together for more than twenty years. In a sisterhood community with more than half a million members, she’s the go-to therapist for Black women looking to prioritize their mental health and become the best possible versions of themselves. Now she’s sharing all she’s learned using the tenets of psychology and group therapy to help us foster relationships that are not only positive, but transformative.

In Sisterhood Heals you will

• discover the ways in which your present-day relationships with Black women have been influenced by your past
• identify the recurring role you play in your friend group and how it influences your relationships
• learn new strategies to grow and sustain healthy, nurturing friendships as well as how to rebuild after a rupture

Dr. Joy brings the warmth, wisdom, empathy, and levity found in our girlfriends to these pages, and reminds us that during difficult times sisterhood is often a lifeline with the power to help us experience fuller, more satisfying lives.

About the Author:

Dr. Joy Harden Bradford is a licensed psychologist and the host of the award-winning mental health podcast Therapy for Black Girls. Her work focuses on making mental health topics and support more relevant and accessible for Black women. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Xavier University of Louisiana, a master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation counseling from Arkansas State University, and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Georgia. Her work has been featured in Essence, Oprah Daily, The New York Times, HuffPost, Black Enterprise, and Women’s Health. Dr. Joy lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two sons.

About the Conversation Partners:

Francheska Medina:

Francheska Medina is a wellness advocate based out of Harlem, New York. After years of battling a painful chronic illness and then healing herself through studies of alternative medicine, nutrition and fitness, she became a spokesperson for more conscious day-to-day living.

In hopes of aligning with others on a similar quest, Francheska founded HeyFranHey.com in January of 2011; curating accessible, affordable and comprehensive holistic living resources. Since launching, HeyFranHey engages via monthly discussions spanning from DIY recipes for naturally glowing hair and skin, to introspective journal prompts and personal audits for mental and emotional hygiene. Francheska has since followed up with the HeyFranHey YouTube Channel, the Loud Speakers Network wellness podcast, The Friend Zone and her own 12-city wellness tour, The Supernatural Pop-Up.

HeyFranHey has been featured in Ebony, Essence, Nylon, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Lucky Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Refinery29, Vibe, Buzzfeed and The Huffington Post. Francheska has worked with Marriott International, Levi’s Jeans, Bose, Clarks and Target.

Francheska hopes to continue to expand and spread her message of optimum living for all.

Crissle West:

Crissle is a TV and podcast personality whose work has been featured in the Washington Post, ESSENCE, Slate, Buzzfeed, and several other media outlets. She is half of the critically acclaimed comedy podcast The Read and considers being featured on Beyoncé's Facebook to be her greatest achievement. Crissle lives in Harlem, where she is raising her inner child and arguing with white people on a regular basis. She can be reached at crisslegwest AT gmail DOT com.

Dr. Tykeia Nicole Robinson:

Tykeia Nicole Robinson, PhD has ten years of professional experience as a university program administrator. Her career in higher education administration and higher education research has been committed to the design, implementation, analysis, evaluation and assessment of access and retention programs throughout and across the academic pipeline.

Tykeia earned a B.A. in Psychology from Manhattanville College and a M.A. in Human Development & Family Studies from the University of Connecticut (UConn). During her time at UConn, Dr. Robinson played a critical role in the development & implementation of the campus’ retention program that targeted first year African American students. She went on to earn an EdM in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teacher’s College Columbia University and a PhD in Higher Education from the University of Maryland College Park.

Dr. Robinson has committed herself to promoting academic excellence and addressing existing race/gender-based disparities in academic achievement and degree attainment through her work with STEM education programs.  Her professional passion is in crafting rigorous research designed to illuminate how programs function and serve student participants and institutional priorities. Dr. Robinson believes that comprehensive program analysis and evaluation ensures that the unique experiences of students are understood and met with excellence and equity. This work extends our understanding of programs and improves the professional practice of program & university administrators, faculty, and policymakers affiliated with the programs.

Jade Verette

Jade Verette aka JadeofallJades believes you deserve to feel good. Full stop. From the kitchen to your earbuds, the Brooklyn-based chef and veteran podcast personality brings distinct flavors, people, and topics into communion in ways that surprise and delight. Like many of her peers, the 2008 recession shifted Verette’s path, propelling her out of a career in the music industry, where she worked in A&R at a major record label, and into her passion for storytelling. She utilizes audio and the culinary arts to craft shared experiences of meaning-making. The themes of Verette’s work span the personal, cultural, and political, with fun-auntie commentary flush in honesty and humor. Through her two award-winning podcasts, Gettin’ Grown (co-hosted with Dr. Tykeia Robinson) and Jade + XD (co-hosted with Xavier D'Leau), Season 2 host of Heinz presents the Black Kitchen Series, and her internationally-touring dinner parties, For the Culture Catering; Verette cultivates digital and in-person spaces for authentic connection, where her audience of cosmopolitan humans of a variety of generations, can unwind, laugh, and reflect.