Spoken Black Girl: A Wellness Magazine for Black Women Writers & Healers
Explore the Abundance Wellness Blog
Here are a few gentle reminders you can borrow to center rest and affirm yourself. A soft life is about speaking to ourselves with care, prioritizing our mental health and wellness in real time, and listening to the voice that says it's ok to rest.
After going through so much in my life, things were going well, until it happened.
I had a head-on collision with not only breast cancer, but colon cancer as well, and it changed my entire outlook on life. I found my cancer through an ultrasound.
Today there’s more pressure than ever on moms to juggle multiple responsibilities for work, school, and family, while also being the main source of emotional support in the household. Meditation can be the key to peace of mind when it feels like expectations are piled higher than the dishes.
“The exact cause is unknown”
As I started my research about PMDD (Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder), I saw this phrase repeated again and again. We hear this refrain uttered over so many women’s health diagnoses.
The staggering statistics facing Black moms highlight the increased risk of falling through the cracks in the healthcare system when it comes to our maternal health and overall wellness.
The first step towards building a robust financial foundation is to focus on strengthening your earnings. Historically, Black women have been underpaid, which undervalues our immense contribution to the workforce. It's time to shift the narrative…
With college acceptance letters arriving in mailboxes and inboxes around the country, a new chapter begins for many students and their families. However, the excitement of college acceptance often comes hand in hand with the daunting question, "How are we going to pay for this?"
Explore the Editor’s Corner
As I was considering what to share with you all this month, I started researching the birthdays of Black women writers born in July, and came upon the life story of Gwendolyn Bennett. It struck me that I had never heard of her before. There are so many Black women writers whose legacies have been forgotten. Gwendolyn’s life was interesting and quite remarkable.
When I walked across the stage to accept my MFA, it was like a new part of my brain unlocked. In that moment — and not a moment before — I realized that it was all in me. I had started walking this path, and I’d made it through by my own hard work and perseverance, despite the many distractions of life and work. Before that moment, I thought the purpose of my degree was to become a better writer, and that did happen.
As we celebrate the launch of Issue 6 Beauty, let’s reflect on these beauty, self-love and radical liberation quotes by Black women writers. I hope these words will fill your cup and offer encouragement on difficult days. Feel free to bookmark this post to come back again when you need inspiration.
The Bluest Eye was one of the first books I read after college, when I sought to widen my knowledge of Black women writers on my own after searching for myself in a mostly white curriculum.
Books On My Desk
Happy Mental Health Awareness Month! I’ve been fortunate enough to get a new haul of books for May! Thank you to all of the authors and publishers who reached out to share these remarkable stories.
What are you reading this March? Here’s my curated list of books that are feeding our collective this month. I’m so proud to include Spoken Black Girl Magazine Issue 5 Motherhood contributors Michele Evans and Martheaus Perkins on this list of new books!
Most Black women I know are working twice as hard, still haunted by the old adage that we have to be twice as good. With that pressure comes lots of stress and expectations that take a toll on our minds and bodies. It’s time for us as Black women to embrace rest as a movement.
In Harlem Rhapsody, Victoria Christopher Murray immerses the reader in the exciting and energetic times of the Harlem Renaissance. As a Black woman writer and publisher, this book was absolutely thrilling to read.
Natural Beauty
“Braids in my Head” was inspired by the specific act of getting my hair braided by my mother. I wanted to explore beauty not as something external or performative, but as something inherited, practiced, and passed down through touch, patience, and love.
The words you say to yourself count the most. There's no need to be your harshest critic, but there is a need to be your loudest cheerleader.
Beauty today feels like ownership — not approval. It is the way my skin absorbs sunlight like it was born for it, the way my hair grows upward toward the heavens, the way my body carries memory, ancestry, and sensuality with no apology. Beauty is presence. It is breath. It is inheritance.
I thought about what an iconic symbol the Mona Lisa painting is for so many, yet it never spoke to me. Then I started to think about us as Black Women being art, beautifully created and what that means to me.
Explore Resources on the Blog
As the literary landscape continues to evolve, platforms centered on Black women writers remain essential, not only for representation, but for the future of Black women and girls.
I try hard to remove the mask.
This feeling feels heavy like a coat.
Lined on the inside of this coat are the demands
shoulda-coulda ain't got no choice but too.
My shoulder pads are the burdens
placed there long before I arrived:
I’ve always been weary
of people who are more concerned
with my expression of pain
Than what caused it in the first place.
I will protect you
I wanna protect what’s mine
I wanna protect because I wasn’t
Protected
Listen to The Healing Entrepreneur Podcast
Jana J. Jones is the talented author behind Vivid, What Happened to Alice, and Scenes From a Chrysalis. A Baltimore native now living in Atlanta, Jana brings stories to life that resonate with powerful themes of healing and self-discovery.
This time, we’re talking about finding and embracing your authentic voice as a Black woman writer. "Just write what you think and feel" sounds simple, but it becomes complex under societal pressures.
"As Black women writers, that's often a lot more complicated because we might be facing criticism and questioning the validity of our voices." - Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson
We’re back for season 2 Episode 2 “ A New Direction / A Soft Black Woman’s Journey to Spiritual Entrepreneurship” . This episode contains some thoughts about the process of making the podcast as well as what you can expect in the future. I also read from my Substack essay, an excerpt from my upcoming non-fiction work, “A Soft Black Woman’s Journey to Spiritual Entrepreneurship”.
In this episode of the Healing Entrepreneur podcast, we interview GG Renee Hill, a writer and creative coach, about the transformative power of writing and the concept of Story Work from her new book Story Work: Field Notes On Self-Discovery and Reclaiming Your Narrative.
On my 33rd birthday, I declared to all of my family and friends that I had adapted a new name, Yaa. The reactions varied widely. Some people love my new name, others not so much.
In this powerful episode of The Healing Entrepreneur Podcast, host Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson sits down with Monetta Wilson, an award-winning yoga teacher, author, and entrepreneur from St. Lucia. With over two decades of yoga experience and a deep passion for decolonizing wellness practices, Monetta shares her journey of bringing accessible, culturally relevant yoga to Caribbean communities and beyond.
Our newest episode is with Katonya Trent, SBG Motherhood contributor, and author of “22 and 6 Born on 11/26”, Katonya is an advocate and voice for NICU moms. Going through a traumatic premature birth experience motivated Katonya to start her organization, KonnectedThru22 and give gift packages to NICU moms filled with items to support their self-care during this difficult time for families. Check out the Amazon Wish List of items! Your support can make all of the difference to a NICU mom!
New on the Mental Health Blog
It is an undeniable truth that Black children are born with a target on their backs. That target gets even bigger when those children learn more about themselves and realize that they are trans.
I often wondered—was I being judged, or was I the one casting the harshest gaze on myself? I was lost in my insecurities, watching my life curve down a path I never intended. I thought I had done everything right, yet I found myself in the place I feared the most: single motherhood.
What originally began as a brief visit quickly became a sister circle where vulnerability and support converged to create a healing experience none of us knew we needed. We spent the next several hours, yes hours, discussing relationships (familial and romantic), trauma, forgiveness, self-worth, and other topics important to women.
“It was only when I began to write in my diary to push that memory into the farthest part of my
mind that my metamorphosis gradually, like sand in an hourglass, came. Writing became a
therapeutic offering to myself as I chipped away at those parts of my life that were so confusing,
so ugly, so unkind.”
This is a Black girl rite of passage. We all have to endure the pains that come with “getting your hair done”. We’ve been taught there’s a certain amount of discomfort, from the tight pull of a braid to the burn of a relaxer or hot comb, that is to be expected. We suffer for beauty, and yet we’re still criticized and politicized for the choices we make when it comes to our hair.
After listening to Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah, I couldn’t stop thinking about Meghan identifying herself as a Black woman. I highlight this because, in my ignorance of what I know about The Crown, I would never have imagined at first sight that Megan could be considered a Black woman. However, having watched the whole interview, so many questions and the thirst for further investigation came to my mind.
As Black women, we have a habit of being everyone’s superhero and protector but for ourselves. There is one thing for sure: we, as Black women, are human beings: we’re vibrant, resilient, resourceful self-sacrificing humans. However, especially as humans we have the habit of saving everyone and then us.
I understand I cannot control my familial circumstances. I was adopted into a household of Christianity and emotional abuse. Black womanhood and toxic masculinity. Enmeshment and unavailability. Nor can I undo my family environment where I was rooted in Black superwoman strength and performance under all circumstances. And I definitely cannot forget the ways in which I was raised to be a “good girl”, obey, be nice, and one day, get married.
Shop Spoken Black Girl to Support the Mission
Healing Through Writing: Decolonize Your Thinking: Healing Through the Ways of Our Ancestors
This workshop explores healing through the wisdom of our ancestors i.e. ancestral elements, food, and ancestral veneration. Drawing from Fawn’s book, participants will learn from Fawn’s personal journey of living with a chronic illness (endometriosis) and her ongoing practice of using African spirituality for healing.
During the workshop, attendees will create a family group record and practice ancestral veneration by making a memorial wall that reflects on their own ancestors. Topics covered include the spiritual side of womb wellness, the conditioning of Black women to be “superheroes,” unlearning, and healing through African spirituality.
Date: Saturday, August 22nd 2026 @ 7 PM EST
Free / Donation-Based
Join us for our monthly Healing Through Writing Virtual Workshop. This is a safe space for writers to express themselves, explore literature, and enjoy conversations on self-care and wellness. Our workshops are held on Zoom so you can join remotely from anywhere in the world. All ages and experience levels are welcome. Workshops last for approximately 1.5 - 2 hours. Replays will be sent to all ticket holders after the event. All workshop materials will be provided. The workshop link will be sent via email after registration.
Pay What You Can
Choose the amount that feels accessible and sustainable for you. Every registration helps us offer paid opportunities & scholarships to support Black women writers.
Spoken Black Girl Magazine: Issue 6 – Beauty is a radiant, full-color exploration of Black beauty rooted in self-love, authenticity and community. Weaving compelling mental health narratives with poetry and stunning visuals, Spoken Black Girl Issue 6 Beauty contains works that redefine beauty. Written, edited and curated by Black women and femmes, Spoken Black Girl Beauty offers a unique editorial viewpoint in which our beauty is the standard. Our Issue 6 cover features Solitude by Julie Atkinson.
Featured Issue 6 Beauty Contributors:
Adwoa Amponsah, Yewande Akinse, Julie Atkinson, Maroula Blades, Daisy Brown, Christie A. Cruise, Jada D'Antignac, Daniela Dampare, Kamaria Delaney, Elizabeth DeHaan, Crystal Foretia, Salisa L. Grant, Brandon LA Hutchinson, Yuki Jackson, Rev. Lotus La Loba, Michaela "Mikki" McKenzie, Brittney Miles, Amari Murray, Traci Neal, Adrienne Prather, Khalisa Rae, Karla M. Scipio, Kayla T., Chidera Udochukwu-Nduka, Afton Williams-Jacobs, Jasmine Williams-Jacobs, Maya Williams
Issue 6 Editors:
Editor-in-Chief: Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson, Guest Editor: Emelda De Coteau, Guest Editor: Jana Jones.
Highlights include:
✨ New contributor features alongside beloved returning writers and artists
🌿 The launch of the Spoken Black Girl Community Awards
💖 Resources on Safe Beauty Without Compromise
🎨 Full-color artwork that celebrates the brilliance of Black womanhood
Whether you’ve followed Spoken Black Girl from the beginning or are just joining our community, I hope you enjoy this issue.
All preorders will come with a special gift and be signed by Spoken Black Girl Editor-in-Chief, Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson
Publication Date: February 2, 2026
Format: Full-Color Print & Digital Edition
Publisher: Spoken Black Girl Publishing
Preorder now to reserve your copy and be part of this celebration of Black beauty and storytelling.
Full-color print copy of Spoken Black Girl Magazine: Issue 6 – Beauty
Ships in eco-friendly packaging with literary thank-you gifts inside
Publication Date: February 2, 2026
🌸 Every Purchase Supports
Your order helps Spoken Black Girl Publishing continue uplifting the voices of Black women writers and artists through storytelling, community, and healing.
Spoken Black Girl Issue 5 delves into the profound and often overlooked topic of Black Motherhood, presenting insightful viewpoints on the maternal mortality crisis and the formidable challenges that Black mothers encounter. This issue uplifts the joys and challenges of motherhood, highlighting issues that impact Black women the most, from fertility, maternal health, maternal mental health, birth stories, and depictions of motherhood's most enlightening moments to reflections on generational trauma and hope for generational healing. This issue features art, photography, poetry, essays & fiction from emerging creatives. The cover features Author Leonora Martelly, founder of She is Made. Photographer: Cristian Genao Photo & Films: IG @cristiangphotogrphy
Featuring Writers:
Maroula Blades, Triston Dabney, Adrienne Prather, Attorious Renee Augustin, Dr. Shameka Poetry Thomas, Dr. Kyrah K Brown, Tangela Williams-Spann, Anjuliet Woodruffe, Reign X, Traci Neal, Francena Ottley, Jasmine Tabor, Lou-Ann Belk, Shenea Brown, Melanie Andrade Williams, Nubia Wilson, Queyonna Jacqueal, Pauline Mansfield, G. Sanders, Mari Corona, Cynthia Young, Tonya Abari, Aurelia Luciano, Lesley, Aisha Willis, Leonora Martelly, Dr. Ashley Gaddy Robbins, Michele Evans, Arika Parr, Ryana Burrell, Caneeka Miller, Schyler Butler, Tamara J. Madison, Jade Jemison, Natasha Thomas, Tonya Abari, Ari Foster, Natasha Howard, Emelda De Coteau, Maholin Navarro, Lisa Roy, Michelle Parks, Jennifer Cadogan Nettingham, Nathelie Zetrenne Norman, Aisha Willis, Samantha Leidig, Brookie Madison, Destiny Prescott, Lesley Younge, Lyanna Moore, Reign X, Alexis Clark, Patrice Bradshaw, Camille Hernandez, Amber Earls, Katonya Trent, Dr. Ashley Crooks-Allen, Jasmine D. Tabor, Ari Foster, Chrystol Wilson-Payne, Aurelia Luciano, Shiela Scott, Martheaus Perkins, Sankara Olama-Yai, Tayllor Johnson, Alexis McCoy Gonzalez, Q.R. Williams, Stevie Magenta.
Editors: Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson, Emelda De Coteau, Maholin Navarro, Erika DeShay, Krystal Camacho, Christine Lee, Camille Wanliss
• 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester)
• Fabric weight: 4.2 oz/yd² (142 g/m²)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Side-seamed construction
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Blank product sourced from Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, or the US
Personally Signed Copy!
Celestine Samuels is making the biggest trip of her life, from Guyana to the United States for college. At first, she is relieved to get away from her annoying sister, neglectful mother, and troublemaker brother and eager to embrace the new freedoms of the United States like Starbucks, bagels, and wild college parties. Reality sets in when she gets the news that her aunt and uncle in Guyana have been shot in an act of political violence. Unable to go home, Celestine decides to find justice by championing the cause of an African Dance group on her small midwestern campus. Meanwhile, matters of the heart couldn't be more confusing. She finds herself entangled in a romance with classmate and photographer Richard Wirth, while she can't help her curiosity about the obnoxiously cocky football star Don Bradford who also happens to be her fellow student council representative. No matter how far she travels, "Home" keeps haunting her dreams, leading her to question unforgivable family secrets, and search for answers she may not want to know.
Copyright Spoken Black Girl Publishing, 2021.
Official Publication Date: June 1, 2021
Paperback book
Book Cover Design by Valentina Alvarez
Spoken Black Girl Magazine is back with a new issue! This time our theme is “Diaspora”. Enjoy essays, letters, poetry, photography, and artwork from powerful new voices in our community!
This issue features work by: Erika DeShay "Black Lives Matter", Adrienne Prather " Hear our Ancestors Roar", Tsebiyah Derry "Earth is Home", Donauta Watson "How to Drink Water from a Coconut Without a Straw", Sherese Francis "How Can You See in the Dark? (EnTalechy of a Diasporic Misfit)", Angela Miskis "Inside my Lungs", Kristin Jere " The Things That I Love About Wash Day", Elizabeth DeHaan "I am a Child of the Diaspora", Krystal Camacho "Dear Abuela", Eunice Brownlee "Lost Heritage", Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson "Novel Excerpt: Departure Story", Maholin Navarro "The Venezuelan Diaspora", Mari Corona "Who is Responsible? The Race Cards are on the Table", Lauren Morton "Find Our Way Back"
Photography By: Adeline Nieto (Cover Photo Image, Design by Valentina Alvarez), Valentina Alvarez, Steven Jermaine, Vithoria Escobar
Artwork By: Monifa Kincaid “Her Black Body” / “She Still Hears Me” / “Acceptance”, "Maho" Portrait by David Booth
Layout and Design: Valentina Alvarez
Publication Date: May 15
All Orders Ship in June.
Order a print copy of Spoken Black Girl Magazine Issue 2: Resilience.
• Covers with soft-touch coating
• Cover weight: 10.38 oz/yd² (352 g/m²)
• Page weight: 2.62 oz/yd² (89 g/m²)
• Metal wire-o binding
• 140 dotted pages
• Size: 5.25″ × 8.25″ (13 × 21 cm)
• Blank product sourced from the US
In this free e-book, Author, and Entrepreneur, Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson gives emerging writers some advice about the journey to becoming a professional writer, from getting words on the page to pitching publications.
Enjoy this healing meditation to manifest deep inner-peace and serenity. Spoken Black Girl Founder, Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson will lead you through this short meditation for grounding during times of stress and anxiety.
Enjoy this healing meditation created to uplift and affirm Black women and women of color. This meditation was written and voiced by Spoken Black Girl Founder, Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson.
Your word is your wand. Writing down your dreams, goals, and ambitions is a surefire way to see them come to pass. The power of manifestation is real and Spoken Black Girl is here to assist in style! The pages are blank and lined. Let your imagination go wild!
The SBG Self-love & Healing Journal will take you step by step through the process of moving through depression and anxiety to embrace self-love and learn how to thrive. Filled with inspirational passages, affirmations, and journaling prompts that spark self-reflection, the SBG journal will be your personal guide to transformation.
The first edition of Spoken Black Girl Magazine is here! In this issue, read the moving stories of our two Mental Health Essay Contest winners, and enjoy interviews with women-owned businesses including FLWR FOOD and The Business Mystic, as well as poetry from a decorated poet, Sherese Francis. Feeling rundown? Our Reflections editor has some humorous self-care tips for folks who are fed up with self-care.
The first edition of Spoken Black Girl Magazine is here! In this issue, read the moving stories of our two Mental Health Essay Contest winners, and enjoy interviews with women-owned businesses including FLWR FOOD and The Business Mystic, as well as poetry from a decorated poet, Sherese Francis. Feeling rundown? Our Reflections editor has some humorous self-care tips for folks who are fed up with self-care.
Represent mental health and wellness in style with this SBG Crewneck. On the back: “Write. Heal. Thrive.”
With a soft comfy fit and an empowering message, this T-shirt will become one of your favs!
Purchasing this digital gift card creates a unique code. The gift card recipient can enter this code at checkout to subtract the gift card value from their order total.
This gift card never expires.
Poetry
I try hard to remove the mask.
This feeling feels heavy like a coat.
Lined on the inside of this coat are the demands
shoulda-coulda ain't got no choice but too.
My shoulder pads are the burdens
placed there long before I arrived:
I’ve always been weary
of people who are more concerned
with my expression of pain
Than what caused it in the first place.
I will protect you
I wanna protect what’s mine
I wanna protect because I wasn’t
Protected
Breeze flows through my hair. The clouds are big and puffy.
Podcasts hum in the background and children play outside.
I drift higher and higher as the cool air touches me reaching towards the sky.
A bird passes me and I realize I am flying.
Happy Halloween! To end this month’s theme of Transformation, we present to you three poems from an accomplished and talented poet, Safia Jama.
Wellness Reflections
I promised myself that I would not have postpartum depression this time, as if that’s a thing you can promise yourself. The truth is, it’s beyond our control. No person who has ever experienced a mental health challenge could control it, or we would choose not to. Your body has experienced a great shift
We’ve all heard of getting butterflies in your stomach when you feel nervous, so it should be no surprise that when you’re taking care of your mental health, good gut health is a must. After all, our gut is our second brain. There’s so much to explore when it comes to the connection between gut health and mental health, including the connection between gut health, autism, and ADHD.
By understanding the foundations of our society, we understand that this trauma has shifted DNA, familial patterns, mental health, societal roles, and daily experiences. Understanding the history and the foundations of our society is necessary to understand the complex ways in which these formative actions impact mental health. The dance of injustice has been a long narrative in this country and has shaped the mental health of a people.
What originally began as a brief visit quickly became a sister circle where vulnerability and support converged to create a healing experience none of us knew we needed. We spent the next several hours, yes hours, discussing relationships (familial and romantic), trauma, forgiveness, self-worth, and other topics important to women.
I recently revealed on my popular Instagram reel show: Search for Serotonin that I went on a date. People in my DMs congratulated me and said they were proud of me for taking this step. I thought it was funny all the fuss people made, but I had been very vocal about not trusting anyone ever again and remaining single to protect myself. And now here I am, allowing a man to give me butterflies.
When most people think of a person with Autism, they think of a white male. My second child is an African American female. This is our story. From the moment my husband and I brought her home from the hospital, she was extremely sensitive to light and sound.
PTSD nightmares are a reality for many survivors of trauma, whether you experienced trauma yourself or witnessed a traumatic incident. Every day millions of people are impacted by PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which can affect anyone who has experienced physical or psychological trauma.
As a full-time student and international student dealing with depression and anxiety daily, it is a struggle, primarily when you continually deal with hardships: homesickness, social difference, and all-around stress. Sometimes there are difficulties within people. Students who have experienced anxiousness or depressed feelings should know that they are not alone. It merely is not uncommon to feel this way—in particular, being involved in the university community.
Past Publications
You're doing all the things — morning journaling, herbal tea before bed, sleeping with a weighted blanket. You’ve finally started deciding what you're willing to give and communicating it clearly, even when it feels uncomfortable.
So why does it still feel like you're performing wellness instead of living it?