Real Talk! Live Video Discussion Series With Author Kiara Imani and Guests, Featuring Therapy Isn't Just For White People
Real Talk! Featuring Author and Host Kiara Imani
Each week special guests joined author Kiara Imani on Instagram LIVE for REAL TALK! A fun, engaging, five-part book discussion series covering wide-ranging topics from Imani’s debut memoir, Therapy Isn’t Just For White People. The series included over a dozen guests and featured lively and insightful topic discussions from “Black Beauty and the Politics of Hair”, to “Being Black in Corporate America”, and from “The Politics of Respectability”, to “The State of Black Healthcare”. Watch the video discussions below, follow Kiara Imani on Instagram, and join the on-going conversation!
Real Talk! Series Episodes
Debut episodes premiered on IG LIVE.
Ep. 1: “Black Beauty and the Politics of Hair”.
Ep. 2: “Talking White”.
Ep. 3: “The Politics of Respectability”.
Ep. 4: “The State of Black Healthcare”.
Ep. 5: “Being Black in Corporate America”.
EP. 1: Black Beauty and the Politics of Hair
In America, Black hair has been a topic of political discussion. This week, Kiara talks about the natural hair movement, hair typing, hair in the workplace, assimilation, and more. As featured LIVE on Instagram. Guests include: @luvcrystalrenee, @desijwilliams, @jbayardelle, @ashleycmeverett, and @jasminebrowley.
EP. 2: Talking White
What does it mean to talk “White?” This week Kiara dives into why, although it may seem like a harmless joke, this rhetoric is harmful to communities of color because it often links intelligence and competence to whiteness. As featured LIVE on Instagram. Guests include: @hermelatv, @dr.royeljohnson, and @blackmouf.
EP. 3: The Politics of Respectability
Black people often face overwhelming pressure to conform to certain codes of behavior acceptable to White people. This week Kiara talks about code-switching, the Black desire for White approval, and the toll it takes on our mental health. As featured LIVE on Instagram. Guests include: @dr.maia_ and @aydeethegreat.
EP. 4: The State of Black Healthcare
Did you know Black women are three times more likely to die after childbirth? Or that Black patients are 40% less likely to receive medication for acute pain compared to White patients? This week Kiara discusses discrimination in healthcare settings, the relationship between physical health and mental health, and the historical distrust between Black patients and White healthcare providers. As featured LIVE on Instagram. Guests include: @missukachi and @jessicaloveis.
EP. 5: Being Black in Corporate America
So often, being Black in corporate America means being the token Black person. We’re also paid less and often expected to educate our peers from other racial groups on Black issues. This week Kiara discusses money, social dynamics, and diversity in corporate America. As featured LIVE on Instagram. Guests include:
Book Details
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKSHOP | BOOKS-A-MILLION | INDIEBOUND | POWELL’S
Category: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
290 Pages | 8.5 x 5.5 | 1 lb
ISBN: 978-1-7351458-7-7 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-7351458-8-4 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-7351458-9-1 (eBook)
Therapy Isn’t Just For White People is a brilliant debut memoir chronicling Imani’s compelling journey to understand the racial trauma experienced by many Black people in America and the underlying effect it has on Black mental health. Through therapy, Imani was introduced to the concept of racial trauma, and discovered how her own unrecognized racial trauma affected her mental health, self-image, and worldview.
Spanning more than twenty years, Imani weaves together a multigenerational family portrait of her experiences growing up in the south to her career as a young Black professional, where she was often one of the few Black people in the room. Grounded in truth and reality, in a series of insightful and deeply affecting essays on race, gender, and identity, Imani writes about career, money, religion, food, health, dating, friendships, body image and beauty, and ultimately, through therapy, her mental health and well-being.
Sincere and inspiring, soulful and uplifting, Therapy Isn’t Just For White People is a timely reminder of why the telling and sharing of untold Black stories are central to understanding the pervasive race issues in America. “Hold your head high and wear your Black skin with pride,” Imani writes, embarking on a journey of understanding, healing, empathy, self-love, and taking control of her personal narrative about what it means to be Black in America in the 21st century.
Kiara Imani
Kiara Imani is an attorney, writer, and co-host of Don Amiche vs. Everybody + Crysta & Kiara, a daytime talk show on Los Angeles radio station KBLA Talk 1580 AM. She is the co-founder of LikeU Cards, a getting to know you card game that facilitates human connection and meaningful conversation. Imani graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia with a major in political science. She has been featured in Forbes, Oprah Magazine, The Huffington Post, Blavity, and more. Therapy Isn’t Just For White People is her debut memoir.