SPARK is excited to premiere our Media Corner, a “corner” of our social media and website where we highlight media that speaks to us! This could be a book, podcast, movie, etc.! This month’s media corner feature is Prentis Hemphill’s What it Takes to Heal. Thank you to SPARK’s Executive Director, Dr. Krystal Redman, for providing their takeaways from this insightful and important book. Check it out below!
4 Takeaways Provided by Dr. Krystal Redman (KR)
- Healing is a multifaceted process: True healing involves addressing not just physical symptoms but also emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects. It requires a holistic approach that includes community support, self-reflection, and resilience. I really appreciated this and immediately thought of emotional safety when it comes to ourselves in our communities.
- The importance of storytelling: Sharing personal stories, especially in communities with the furthest distance to power, is an important part to healing. It allows folx to reclaim our narratives, build collective strength, and connect with others who have similar experiences. I love the concept that our stories have power, and also that our stories are data — qualitative data. They not only paint a picture of our untold experiences/lives, but also give a full picture to our joy/issues/experiences that do not exist in a vacuum.
- Embodiment in our (BIPOC) communities: Embodiment— similar to weathering —refers to the experience of living within one’s body and the relationship between mind, body, and identity and the experience of the world (systems, social norms, culture, violence, trauma, etc). For BIPOC folx, the impacts of systemic racism and weathering—how racial trauma wears on the body over time—are critical to understanding how trauma is physically carried. Healing requires reclaiming embodiment as an act of resistance and self-care (nurturing).
- Collective healing and activism: Healing cannot be isolated from the journey towards justice. True transformation happens when healing becomes a collective process, where we work together to address systemic inequities and build stronger, more healthy communities.