The Bibliotherapy for Black Women Podcast

On this episode of the podcast, I look back and reflect on some of my favorite Letters & Layers episodes of the year so far. Towards the end of the episode I share a prayer from Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley written specifically for Black women (19:16) . I hope you listen to the end.I'm going on break! This will be the last episode until we return for the fall season on August 1st.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

On this episode of The Letters and Layers Podcast, I talk about some personal updates, then share how betting on yourself can mean turning down opportunities that come your way (10:26). I also discuss how my relationship with the phenomenon imposter syndrome has changed over time, and how I am actively in the process of rejecting it in my life (19:18). I hope you listen to the end.I'll be going on an extended break soon! The June 15th episode will be the last until we return with new episodes on August 1st.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

On this episode of The Letters and Layers Podcast, I am very excited to share my interview with Nikkya Hargrove, author of Mama: A Queer Black Woman's Story of a Family Lost & Found. This was a rich and thoughtful conversation, and I hope you listen to the end.Nikkya Hargrove is a LAMBDA Literary Nonfiction Fellow and has written about adoption, marriage, motherhood, and the prison system for The Washington Post, the Guardian, the New York Times, Scary Mommy, and Shondaland. She has worked for social impact nonprofits providing support to underserved communities throughout her professional career. She graduated from Bard College and lives in Connecticut with her wife and three children.Mama: A Queer Black Woman's Story of a Family Lost and Found follows Nikkya's journey as she makes the decision to raise her half sibling, Jonathan, after he was born to her mother, who had a crack cocaine addiction and spent time incarcerated while Nikkya was raised by her grandparents. The book traces Nikkya's path toward custody and adoption, her family's perspective on her queerness, and the way she finds love and forms a family.Connect with Nikkya: https://www.nikkyamhargrove.com/https://www.instagram.com/nikkyahargrove/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/obodoserendipitybooks/I'll be going on an extended break soon! The June 15th episode will be the last until we return with new episodes on August 1st.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

On this episode of The Letters and Layers Podcast, I talk about the commitment I made to eliminate my consumption of sweets and sugar during the season of Lent. I also share some realizations I had after Lent ended, and the noticeable ways my body and overall well-being has changed. I hope you listen to the end.I'll be going on an extended break soon! The June 1st episode will be the last until we return with new episodes on August 1st.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

On this episode of The Letters and Layers Podcast, I'm talking about a Youtube video that prompted me to interrogate the limiting beliefs I have as a creative and artist. I share those limiting beliefs on the podcast, and encourage my listeners to identify where in their life they hold limiting beliefs that could be keeping them from the goals or success they are working towards. I hope you listen to the end.Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/live/4KTBS4LYC38?si=aaIXMRfZN7SJl8qRI started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

On this episode of The Letters and Layers Podcast, I jump right in and talk about a traumatic event that happened to me while away for a weekend last month in California. In order to successfully process the experience and prevent any debilitating impact, I employed some exposure therapy tactics to help rewire my brain and prevent the trauma from impeding my day to day life. I hope you listen to the end.Exposure therapy resources:Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/exposure-therapy-for-ptsd-2797654The Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/25067-exposure-therapyI started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

On this episode of the podcast, I share three statements and affirmations that help with managing self-doubt and feelings of overwhelm and failure (11:29). Before I start the segment, I talk about some books I'm currently reading, giving back to the community and seeing amazing art from Black creatives at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I hope you listen to the end. Black Creativity Juried Exposition: https://www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/black-creativity-juried-art-exhibition/artistsMama by Nikkya Hargrove: https://bookshop.org/p/books/mama-a-queer-black-woman-s-story-of-a-family-lost-and-found-nikkya-hargrove/21003176?ean=9781643751580&next=tDream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: https://bookshop.org/p/books/untitled-2724/c7b6aa2765889f35?ean=9780593802724&next=tWellness Bestie Chi: https://www.instagram.com/wellnessbestiechi/As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

On this March 1st episode, I start by sharing some forms of creativity that have inspired me recently (6:43). I then devote my main segment to discussing ways to reconnect and honor the desires of your inner child, like reintroducing old activities and that brought you joy, and tools for facilitating the therapeutic process of healing any trauma or negative experiences from childhood into adulthood (17:40). I hope you listen to the end.Links from the episode:Jonaé Michelle Artwork: https://www.theartistjm.com/Homeworthy - Natasha Landers' London Townhome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HjSqInNxvE&t=37s&ab_channel=HomeworthyHomeworthy - Skylar & Temi's Brooklyn Townhome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCZY-vxddnY&t=186s&ab_channel=HomeworthyRainbow Fish Children's Book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rainbow-fish-marcus-pfister/1100058470As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

On this episode of The Letters and Layers Podcast, I highlight two articles written last year by the Atlanta Tribune and The Black Women in Science Network discussing how inability to process feelings and emotions can increase the risk of auto-immune disorders among Black women. I share statistics, biological context, and strategies to help with reducing the likelihood of developing these conditions. I hope you listen to the end.Articles:Atlanta Tribune: https://atlantatribune.com/2024/07/16/silent-rage-is-a-hidden-health-crisis-among-women-of-color-fueling-autoimmune-disorders/Black Women In Science (BWIS) Network: https://www.bwisnetwork.co.uk/post/silent-and-silencedBook:Black Women's Mental Health: https://coalchicago.com/Images/2021/09/Black-Womens-Mental-Health-Balancing-Strength-and-Vulnerability-by-Stephanie-Y.-Evans-Kanika-Bell-Nsenga-K.-Burton-eds..pdfI started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

Hey everyone!Happy February! Coming to you after unfortunately losing my initial recording for today's episode, but I am leaning heavily on consistency, and have re-recorded the first part of what would have been published. I will re-record part 2 discussing Black Women, Anger Suppression, and Auto-Immune disorders for the February 15th episode.In this one, I talk about approaching 100 episodes of the podcast this year, streaming music vs. buying music, and close out by sharing my favorite shows of the year so far. I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comNew podcast Instagram! @thelettersandlayerspod. Give us a follow!I appreciate you!

Happy New Year!A lot has happened since the last episode, and I'm very excited to record again and hit the ground running for 2025.I begin the episode by sharing some highlights of my trip to Portugal, then continue by discussing my decision to delete my personal Instagram (14:55), and end with sharing 2025 resolutions (32:34). I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.comI appreciate you!

Hey everyone!Welcome to the final episode of the year! I'm really happy to get to this point and thank you all who have listened to this podcast, or found me this year and stuck around! I appreciate it more than you know. We will resume new episodes January 15th, 2025.At the top of the episode, I talk about making a list of your accomplishments. This can help put things in perspective when you feel like you got nothing done during the year, which was something I was contending with myself (8:38). Secondly, we discuss Chapter 8 in All About Love, where community is a focus, and how our relationship to it informs the importance we place on relationships vs. friendships (27:21). I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Happy December!With just a few more weeks in 2024, I wanted to share an essay I wrote for a competition that was not selected, but I love regardless, and felt many Black women could relate to (7:14). Before starting the essay, I talk a bit about how "rejection" can sting at first, but so often it is meant to push is in a new direction and open us up to opportunities we may not have even considered. I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey everyone!A lot of us have gone through a myriad of emotions in the aftermath of the US Presidential election. I start the episode by reflecting on my thought processes over the last week, and how I plan to prioritize my mental health through the transition and beyond. Later on in the episode I talk about Megan Thee Stallion's documentary on Amazon Prime and some key takeaways from what she shared. I hope you listen to the end. I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey Everyone!Happy November! I'm excited to come back with a new episode to start the month and kick off the holiday season. At the top of the episode I talk about some changes I've made to my appearance, like getting braces for the second-time and installing micro-locs. I follow-up with encouragement to prioritizing taking care of how you look if you feel moved to do so! When you look good, you feel good.The second segment of the podcast focuses on my thoughts about Tia Mowry's new show, Tia Mowry's My Next Act, and lastly I close by discussing chapter 7 in All About Love titled Greed: Simply Love.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey Everyone!I decided to take an impromptu break from recording, but wanted to highlight an episode from the Letters and Layers Podcast archives that I think is relevant for this time of the year. We're entering into the fall in the US and sometimes folks have some difficulty adjusting to the colder weather and shorter days. I thought putting a spotlight on a past episode where I discuss my tools of mental hygiene might be helpful. It was originally published March 1st, 2022. I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey Everyone!Happy October! We are well into the fall season -- for many people, this is often a time of transition, which is also the case for me, as I've decided to transition my hair into microlocs, and begin the episode talking about getting to this point. The second segment of the episode focuses on chapter 6 of All About Love, themes of love and power, how that affects how we relate with each other, and what we can change (12:05). I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey everyone!I started this episode by sharing a personal breakthrough I experienced last week around the relationship with my father (4:34). Then after, I took a deeper dive into some of the lessons from the last episode (22:09). I hope you listen to the end. I started a blog! Pay it a visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey everyone!I am beside myself having reached this milestone and getting to celebrate 3 years with this podcast. Thank you so much to everyone who has listened to even one minute of an episode. I really appreciate it.I spend the first half of the episode sharing what this accomplishment means to me at this point and transition into sharing the list of 35 lessons I wrote for turning 35 (12:46). I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Pay it a visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey everyone!I'm looking forward to sharing with you all my final thoughts on the last three episodes of Showtime's Couples therapy (12:31). Before this segment, I talk about visiting my family this weekend, and the ongoing work of reminding myself that my value is not dependent on my accomplishments or level of productivity. I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Pay it a visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey Everyone!It's feels great to be back after taking a month of to celebrate my birthday and refocus for the second half of the year. In this episode I talk about my trip to Panama for my birthday, what it meant to me, and my thoughts on solo travel as a Black woman. For the second half of the episode, I talk about the next three episodes of Showtime's Couples Therapy, and how I see the impact that unresolved trauma can have on romantic relationships (18:29). I hope you listen to the end. I started a blog! Pay it a visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey Everyone!It is that time of year where I take a pause from the podcast with a short break! This means there will be no new episode on July 15th. I will be back with new episodes on August 1st. Coming back we will continue talking about Couple's Therapy on Showtime, and I'll devote a couple of episodes to my recent mini-project where I wrote 35 lessons for turning 35. We'll also get back to the books for sure!Today I wanted to give a quick personal update about how walking has made my life so much better, planning my birthday trip to Panama, and my thoughts on Inside Out 2. I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Pay it a visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Hey everyone!After I share my personal update at the top of the episode, I turn back time and share a journal entry I wrote over six years ago, where I detailed the things I wanted out of life professionally and how I am living that life now (09:18). Later on I discuss the first three episodes of Showtime's Couples Therapy, specifically my first impressions of the couples this season and how things may unfold as I continue to watch(32.31). I hope you listen to the end.I started a blog! Pay it a visit (www.thelettersandlayers.com) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage. I'd love to offer answers to your questions, real-time life updates and recommendations, and mental health/wellness insight and resources.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Happy June!We're just weeks away from the halfway point of the year and I truly cannot wrap my head around how fast 2024 is going. Nonetheless I'm excited to talk this episode about insights from my health challenge that I'm about to "end" (4:20), and my experience reading Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom (16:36). I did not finish the book (!!!) and I talk about why in the episode, but regardless was I was moved by her personal story on the subject of Black maternal health. I hope you listen to the end.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Happy Wednesday!Very excited to return to my listeners with new episodes thanks to my new podcast recording setup! I planned to begin my deep dive into Thick by Tressie McMillian Cottom, but while blogging this past weekend, I stumbled upon an essay I read two years that I still think about and felt moved to share. After providing a quick personal update, I read the essay Running Out of Gas By Sonya Renee Taylor (8:27). It is an essay of radical honesty dealing with death, grief, sex, healing and recovery. I hope you listen to the end. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Happy May!I unfortunately had some unexpected technical difficulties while working to record a new episode for May 1st, and wasn't able to make it happen in time. I'm working on getting back up and running, but regardless it's always a good time to listen anew or listen again to one of my favorite episodes on the book, What Happened to You by Dr. Bruce D. Perry & Oprah Winfrey. The book tackles how trauma can impact how we see the world and interact with the people around us. I hope you listen to the end.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!Subscribe to my new YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKqzLvt6WEK7Dfl7SJFtJFAEMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

It's an ongoing journey for me to process the mistakes I make in a healthy way, and not regress to a place where I emotionally punish myself because I feel I deserve it. For my listeners who struggle with this, I hope this episode connects with you, and maybe because of it you're able to extend yourself a little more grace. I start this segment at the 5:32 mark, and I hope you listen to the end.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!Subscribe to my new YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKqzLvt6WEK7Dfl7SJFtJFAEMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Allowing myself to identify as an artist and creative feels unfamiliar, but the signs have been there since childhood and I wonder if this is who I've been all along. I talk more about this on the podcast this episode (25:13). Beforehand, I share a mental reframe I'm using to get things done when I don't "feel like it" (18:10), and talk about what I've been up lately, which includes going to a tattoo festival and taking a cooking class with new friends. I hope you listen to the end. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!Subscribe to my new YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKqzLvt6WEK7Dfl7SJFtJFAEMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

We're returning to our All About Love discussion series this episode with chapter 5 titled Spirituality - Divine love, where bell hooks highlights spirituality in the context of needing community (16:06). Before we dive in, I give a personal update on feeling overwhelmed the past couple of weeks and how I'm working on prioritizing what's most important. I hope you listen to the end.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!Subscribe to my new YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKqzLvt6WEK7Dfl7SJFtJFAEMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Happy March! I had a lot of fun recording this episode. At the top, I share about my weekend and taking a historically black neighborhood bus tour around Bronzeville, Chicago and some of what I learned (3:06). Next I talk about watching Mea Culpa over the weekend and my thoughts with spoilers (16:36). Lastly I spend some time entertaining the thought exercise of which Black women in entertainment, fashion and media I would love to interview for the podcast and how it would impact me (28:21). I hope you listen to the end. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

I read Behold the Dreamers in 2018 and loved it so much that I wrote a reaction essay to process my thoughts and feelings about the story. Every so often I re-read the essay, and decided to record it and turn it into an episode. The story follows characters Jende and Neni, and married couple from Cameroon who come to the states with their six year old son with hope for a better future in the US. But things prove much more challenging than they anticipate and they find themselves in situations that force them to make decisions they never thought they would have to make.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Happy February!We're kicking off the new month by reflecting on Kerry Washington's memoir, Thicker Than Water. I've been an admirer of Kerry's work for a long time, and since she is known to be very private, I was curious about what she had to share and was not disappointed. She was very open and shares so many gems and lessons she's learned in her personal life and her acting career.I talk about her how her relationship with her parents has evolved, her challenges with an eating disorder, and how acting was a safe place and means of escaping her reality without knowing the truth about herself. I hope you listen to the end.I'm starting a YouTube Channel! It will be the secondary platform for my podcast alongside videos specifically for the channel that will focus on books, wellness and lifestyle insight just like the podcast. Follow here!As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Happy New Year!In this episode I begin by sharing how I spent the holiday season, before talking about my 2024 Ins and Outs, which was a popular topic on social media as we approached the new year (06:54). Finally I discussed an experience I had after seeing the Beyonce concert film that moved me to unfollow almost all the celebrities I followed on Instagram (24:49). I hope you listen to the end.I'm starting a YouTube Channel! It will be the secondary platform for my podcast alongside videos specifically for the channel that will focus on books, wellness and lifestyle insight just like the podcast. Follow here!As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_agI appreciate you!

Happy New Year!While on break from new episodes, I thought it might be timely for listeners looking to use the new year as a fresh start or new opportunity to re-release this podcast episode from April 2022. I shared my thoughts about the book Atomic Habits by James Clear (3:30), and in preparing for this re-release, I listened to the episode again and am so glad I did. I think I needed to hear some of the takeaways again myself as I think about everything 2023 was for me and how I want to move in 2024. I touch on the concept of motion vs. action, the expectation of linear progress, how to establish habits as easily as possible, and much more. It's a great listen and I hope you enjoy it.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @mylettersandlayersCheck out my podcast page and blog at aagpsychiatry.comI appreciate you!

The end of the year often comes with sentiments around where we are in the moment, and hopes for the future. Opportunities to try again. Second chances. A black page. A new chapter. A clean slate.On this episode I look back on what 2023 meant for me and my thoughts around the transition to a new year. I talk about refocusing, particularly around this podcast, and what I got right this year that I want continue in 2024. I hope you listen to the end.This is our last new episode of the year! I will be back with new episodes of Letters & Layers Podcast on Monday, January 15th. Thank you to all my listeners this year. The support means more than you know.As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support!EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com-OR-DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @mylettersandlayersCheck out my podcast page and blog at aagpsychiatry.comI appreciate you!

Hey everyone! It. Is December. Where did the year go? I truly can't believe we're already here. I start this episode sharing my thoughts on heading back to the east coast for the first time since our move out to the mid-west and how I'm feeling ahead of my travels. I spend the majority of this episode discussing how hormones we may not otherwise consider as contributors to our mental and emotional health can impact how we feel (07:30). I hope you listen to the end. If you're interested in reading the article in it's entirety, you can find it here. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com  -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! It's hard to believe we're halfway through November. Thanksgiving is literally around the corner. It felt good to talk about surprising my mom for her birthday at the top of the podcast, then chat a bit about how my fitness journey is going and a milestone I hit recently that I'm proud of (10:26). I also talk about how voice notes offer a means of self-accountability as they have for me the past few months (21:27), and lastly I discuss my major takeaways from the book Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke (26:49). I hope you listen to the end. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com  -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! Happy November! As we near the holiday season, I am so excited to share the first interview conducted on The Letters & Layers Podcast with Dr. Jeannelle Perkins-Muhammad. Dr. Jeannelle is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, owner of private practice TMI Counseling, and author of Into-Me-See: Mastering Black Intimacy for the Relationship You've Always Wanted. We dive deep into this conversation and discuss her inspiration for writing the book, how it has changed her as a therapist, the impact of mental health on intimate relationships, and what she would love her readers to take away. It was great to talk to Dr. Jeannelle and I hope you all enjoy the interview! Want to reach out to Dr. Jeannelle? Personal website: Drjeannelle.com Private Practice Website: Tmicounselingandcoaching.com Instagram: drjeannelle Private Practice Instagram: tmi.counseling Tik Tok: dr.jeannellelmft   As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com  -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Y'all! It has been a morning. Recording on publishing day because of my schedule, coupled with technical issues and experimenting with video for the first time resulted in a not so smooth recording experience for my 50th (!!!) official episode, but the show goes on. Leaning hard on consistency today and less on timing as I love to get these episodes out early in the day for you all, but today was not that day. Nevertheless, you're getting me almost in real time, which I hope adds to your listening experience. Thank you for your patience! I start this episode with talking about my language learning journey that I'm actively on with becoming conversational in Spanish, and how I want to incorporate how we approach English to Spanish fluency long term (08:55). I talk later on about the prevalence of Seasonal Depression going into the fall and winter months, and offer some recommendations I hope will make the transition smoother (21:32). Finally I discuss chapter four in All About Love which tackles self-esteem, and what were my most important takeaways (33:40). As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! The past couple of weeks have been eventful to say the least. From going to Beyonce's Dallas show which I rave about at the top of the podcast, to meeting Victoria Monet, last weekend was all about music and appreciating some of the artists I love. Later on in the podcast I open up about my current fitness journey, and how I work on staying consistent by depending less on motivation and leaning into generating momentum to keep me going (16:50). I hope you listen to the end. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! EMAIL: contact@thelettersandlayers.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey Everyone! I recorded this episode right after seeing my panel of patients that morning, one of which made a major life decision that we have been working towards over the past few months. I talk about the process with the patient and how it feels to support her on this journey. I also talk about a Tik Tok/podcast episode with Mel Robbins and KC Davis who wrote the book How to Keep House While Drowning. This conversation sparked some introspection about my childhood, and how it impacted how I see myself in relation to the current state of my physical environment (23:14). I really enjoyed recording this episode, and I hope you listen to the end. Link to the Mel Robbins & KC Davis Episode here! As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey Everyone! Happy September! Today's episode marks two years since the first episode of what is now known as The Letters & Layers Podcast. In this episode I discuss why I changed the name and what the new title means for me personally. I also talk about having a "come to Jesus" moment with myself last week, and needing to make changes when it comes to my level of comfort. I also talk about not giving up on your day just because it feels like it started off on the wrong foot. It can very well turn around for the better. This episode is particularly special to me, and I hope you listen to the end. I recorded the bulk of it while sick! But it came out so much better than expected. Happy Anniversary to The Letters & Layers Podcast! As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com (e-mail change coming soon!) -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! I'm recording this episode off the heels of a great weekend I had with one of my closest friends. During the episode I give a quick recap of what we did and how I felt considering my philosophies around friendship and how has matured over time. I also share my initial thoughts on the show Painkiller on Netflix with Uzo Aduba, and later on, my intentions around curbing my social media consumption by building a more intentional relationship with it through specific tools and strategies (15:49). I hope you listen to the end. Also, keep an eye out for changes to the podcast! A trailer with the new name and thumbnail will be out before September 1st along with other tweaks, but I promise to continue sharing with you content that's always been my focus and what you guys love to hear. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone, I'm really happy to be bringing you a new episode on the first of this month, talking about overcoming recent setbacks, success with sobriety, and the next chapter in All About Love chapter three. I've had to deal with a pretty unfortunate situation recently that I talk more in depth about in the episode, but ultimately I'm happy to be on the other side. I highlight one of my favorite entertainers Ari Lennox, who recently shared about her journey toward sobriety, and we get back into All About Love by discussing chapter 3, which focuses on truth and honesty. I hope you listen to the end. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! I was so happy to fire up the mic and kick off the second half of the year with a new episode. I'm easing back in by sharing details about my experience driving from NYC to Chicago, and how conquering that challenge has impacted me mentally. In the second half of the episode I discuss what I call anchors: places, tools and strategies that I've counted on to help me successfully transition to a new place. Having lived in six states in my 20's, it's been so important to develop a plan of how to quickly move past the anxiety of moving to a new place and start feeling at home. I hope you listen to the end. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you so much for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone, I'm delivering to you guys my last episode for the first half of the year! I'll be taking a break from publishing for the next month, so I will be back before you know it with new episodes on July 15th. This episode is short, because I am leaning on consistency above all else in making sure I connect with you guys no matter how short a time, while managing the craziness that has been the past week, from me getting sick with a bad stomach bug and recovering, to prepping and packing for the move out west. Towards the end of the episode, I share a personal journal entry from last August where I was intentional about reminding myself of my past accomplishments and things I've overcome, in order to lift myself out of an emotionally low space I was in at the time. I think it helps to remember our past wins in order to believe in our ability to do it again. If you find yourself in a similar space, I hope this helps you too. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you as always for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! Happy June! With this month comes major transitions for me that I am mentally preparing for, while being very excited for the summer! I decided to have this be a conversational episode where I talked about my holiday weekend to start, and gave an impromptu review of Tia Mowry's new hair care line 4U By Tia (6:00). I also talked more about the changes coming for the podcast. We are relaunching this September as part of the two year anniversary, ans I have so much in store for my listeners. I can't wait to share more (19:30). Later in the podcast I discuss the concept of good vs. bad anxiety that I've been thinking about and how that played out recently when considering a new job (25:58). Lastly, I'm letting you guys know that the mid-year break for the podcast is coming up! June 15th will be the last podcast for the first half of the year and there will be no new episode on July 1st. I'll come back and hit the ground running on July 15th with new episodes through the holidays. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you as always for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! We're halfway through the month of May and I'm coming to you with thoughts about my adult friendships, and the work I've done to get here, where I feel I have deep, authentic, genuine friendships in my life (00:33). I also talk later on in the podcast about knowing your number, or the amount of time your brain registers positively when it comes to accomplishing tasks and increasing your productivity (13:04). Lastly, I talk about chapter 2 in All About Love by bell hooks which focuses on love for children, how love and abuse/punishment are conflated, and how I hope to take lessons from childhood into motherhood in the future (26:26). As always, please share and recommend, and thank you as always for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey Everyone! Happy May! The weather is warming up, the days are getting longer, and Spring has sprung. I excited to talk to you guys about some things that have left an impression on me recently, which include the meditation/affirmation "I am Making Space," by Alex Elle in her most recent book, How We Heal (5:44), alongside the affirmation track Worth Ethic by Toni Jones I stumbled upon on Spotify (12:40). Listen here! I also discuss my thoughts on Netflix's The Light We Carry Special with Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey (16:05), and spend the majority of the episode breaking down some of chapter 1 in bell hooks' All About Love (27:09). We get deep! I end the episode with a journal prompt stemming from the book that I hope you will consider exploring. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you as always for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! As you can see from the title of the episode, I'm throwing it back this week to one of my best performing episodes to date that was posted one year ago today. But before the episode starts, I give a quick update about the reason behind unexpectedly re-publishing this episode. If you just listen to the update, or listen to the whole episode, I appreciate you. Thank you for your support as always. Brand new episodes returning May 1st. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you as always for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!

Hey everyone! Happy April! I'm kicking off the new month by sharing my initial thoughts on the book All About Love by bell hooks (8:29). I have barely scratched the surface with my thoughts on this book. The episode focuses on the introduction and first chapters, and I plan to continue the conversation on this book in segments on future episodes. There's so much to cover and I do not want to rush. So that means tackling it a bit at a time. Before I dive into the book segment, I share some big transitions that are on the horizon for me personally and offer a glimpse into some plans I have for the podcast moving forward. I also share a journal prompt connected to the conversation about the book. I hope you enjoy. As always, please share and recommend, and thank you as always for the support! Send me an email: btbwpodcast@gmail.com -OR- DM me through my social media handles! IG: @amaka_ag; @yourmentalhealthnp I appreciate you!