A review by lit_vibrations
Black Girls Breathing: Heal from Trauma, Combat Chronic Stress, and Find Your Freedom by Jasmine Marie

informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

Special thanks to @gcpbalance for my gifted copy‼️

You never know what you need until you need it . . . I feel like this book will be that for many who decide to pick it up. It’s a guide to help you understand and uncover hidden traumas, suppressed feelings you’ve kept bottled up for years, the stress these situations have caused and how they not only impact your life but your mind, body, and health. 

Throughout the book the author touched on so many topics and themes. A few being how Black women carry so much of the burden of those around us because we have to be everything to and for everyone. We have to be the caretakers, mediators, Mrs. Fix It, the do it all’s in our careers, the strong Black woman, the dependable friend/family member and so on. 

As Black women we have to wear a million and one hats and do it all with grace and a smile on our face otherwise we’re deemed as the angry Black woman. In doing so we forget to make time for ourselves and lose sight of who we are and what we want to be because we’re too busy being everything to other people. Or we overwhelm ourselves trying to be there for everyone and never stop to rest or reset. 

Stress is a tough thing to deal with because half the time you don’t even realize how stressed you are until it begins to affect you physically. While this book alone may not help you combat stress it’s definitely a great starting point on your healing journey. It’s also not something that can be breezed through as there are prompts, exercises, and different techniques mentioned that will require some thought. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading this. The authors goal with the book is to help you connect more fully to your body, give yourself permission to rest, heal the chronic stress you carry in your body and nervous system, address emotional pain and rebuild your sense of self and your community.