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Into what situation were you born?

The Healing is the Revolution Podcast is a soulful, intimate, and honest one-on-one conversation with noted psychiatrist and trauma expert Dr. Denese Shervington and a guest. Individuals share intimate - and at times tragic - stories of creating successful lives beyond their traumatic beginnings and for some, untreated experiences. Behind the pained words, learned wisdom, and laughter, are courageous examples shared with Dr. Shervington that display the effectiveness of breaking generational cycles of dysfunction. The series features a range of guests: each episode a personal story revealing joys, pains, and a path to healing. The living improves but the work is never done. Dr. Shervington pulls from her training and study in both eastern and western healing modalities to guide these explorations of past, present, and future. In her own words, she describes the Healing is the Revolution Podcast as a place where “everyday people like us bare our souls as we try to learn from each other the naked truth of living.”

Emotional, raw and captivating discussions, this podcast, places the individual stories of trauma in the intergenerational and social context in which abuse flourished and hurting individuals were left untreated. It also shows the individual paths her guests have taken to: cope; find direction, purpose and meaning in their lives; and ultimately find healing. Each speaker reveals the catalyst that set them on their paths and/or how they embrace the ups and downs of maintaining mental health and balance in their current lives. As a supportive listener, Dr. Shervington allows each participant to tell their story as they feel comfortable; creating an easy and warm rapport that makes us feel welcomed into such an intimate space. Sometimes the retelling is linear. Other times messy. Sometimes it’s raw and emotional. Other times strong and clear. Each conversation is unique but the outcomes are the same: folks using the tools they could access to upend cycles and undertake the daily work to be more than the negative sum of what they were born into.

The B Sides

The Healing is the Revolution Podcast is back with “The B-Sides,” four lagniappe episodes where Dr. Shervington checks-in on the healing journeys of our guests from Season 1—Amy, Arnold, Brennan, Flozell, Gina, Jasmine and Lauren. Since we last spoke to with them, times have significantly changed due to two viruses; one we cannot see causing the current global pandemic, and another that people of color have endured and fought against for many years, that of systemic racism and police brutality. These follow-up episodes provide an honest and intimate view into the ways everyday people are coping and continuing their healing journeys during this uncertain time.

THE B-SIDES: FLOZELL

Released December 15th, 2020

This episode focuses on one man’s journey to care for himself and his community during a time of loss and hardship. Flozell’s childhood epitomized the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” as he grew up in a tight knit and supportive family and community. But within every community there is tragedy, and the loss of Flozell’s son significantly impacted his path in life. In that experience, Flozell has risen up as a compassionate leader, while also turning to his community for support. In this episode, he shares how he found meaning within his grief and a renewed calling for acceptance, forgiveness, and compassion.

 

THE B-SIDES: ARNOLD & JASMINE

Released December 8th, 2020

This episode explores the concept of freedom in two very different expressions. First, we hear back from Arnold, who exemplifies the idea that 60 is the new age of enlightenment. With every year, Arnold has found it easier to let go of his anxieties, his control, and the ghosts of his past that haunt him. Thanks to this new approach to life, Arnold has shed many of his self-imposed constrictions and found a new zest for life. While Arnold is thriving in his version of stability, Jasmine, on the other hand, is “always in transition.” While that may sound like a bad thing, to Jasmine it truly is not, as it is the constant on her journey to healing and to her truest self. Find out what freedom and evolution mean to these two unique souls as you simultaneously explore what it means to you.

 

THE B-SIDES: GINA & LAUREN

Released November 24th, 2020

This episode focuses on two women that are dedicated to breaking the cycle of trauma in their families and who are using their stories as a means to help heal others. First, we hear from Lauren, a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist, and pediatrician, who feels that there was no amount of training that could have prepared her for the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the difficulties, she continues to bring comfort to the patients she virtually meets with, all while continuing on the path of reconciling her personal childhood trauma. We also hear from Gina, a pillar of strength for her family and an outspoken advocate in her community. Having lived through the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Gina has found herself in an unsettling but albeit familiar place. In this episode, Gina discusses how she is handling the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the devastating losses and new challenges (good and bad) that it brings.

 

THE B-SIDES: AMY & BRENNAN

Released November 17th, 2020

This episode focuses on two people whose healing journeys have been highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unique processes each one uses to cope. In spite of the traumatic experiences that marked his childhood, Brennan’s resilient spirit kept him on his path to become a devoted father and beloved math teacher. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic has majorly impacted both him and other members of his family in a very lasting way. In this episode, Brennan reflects on how the pandemic has affected him physically, emotionally and mentally, as a father, a brother and a teacher. Last year, Amy couldn’t have imagined that her loss and struggles would uniquely equip her with the tools to take on 2020. But surprisingly, it did. Amy is a body healer/body worker, and a writer, and in this episode she discusses how she dealt with the anxiety of a chaotic world in COVID lockdown, as well as the isolation from her father who is living in hospice. In an honest and raw way, Amy explores what “coping” looks like these days.

 

Season One

This episode explores the concept of freedom in two very different expressions. First, we hear back from Arnold, who exemplifies the idea that 60 is the new age of enlightenment. With every year, Arnold has found it easier to let go of his anxieties, his control, and the ghosts of his past that haunt him. Thanks to this new approach to life, Arnold has shed many of his self-imposed constrictions and found a new zest for life. While Arnold is thriving in his version of stability, Jasmine, on the other hand, is “always in transition.” While that may sound like a bad thing, to Jasmine it truly is not, as it is the constant on her journey to healing and to her truest self. Find out what freedom and evolution mean to these two unique souls as you simultaneously explore what it means to you.

 

Gina Brown could have settled with being one of many tragic stories of a human’s inability to claw beyond circumstances outside of her control. Beginning at just four and a half years old, Gina has endured a history of abuse, a devastating health diagnosis, failed familial relationships, self denial, and substance use. Yet instead of succumbing to the trauma, after a lot of work Gina has pushed through and become a national advocate and activist. With humor and conviction, Gina tells her provocative personal story of how she catalyzed her own healing and how she works daily to disrupt the harmful cycles in her family.

 

Flozell Daniels’s story is rather unique, yet some may say it's unfortunately not uncommon. These days Flozell thrives as the President and CEO of the Foundation for Louisiana, likely possible through the foundation he received growing up in an African American community in New Orleans that was idyllic and secure despite its issues. In this episode Flozell speaks of strong maternal figures and a father who always showed up and guided him, which helped him feel sure of the role he in turn would play in the future. But life dealt him one of the cruelest of blows. Only a few years past a trauma that still reduces him to his knees in tears, he employs a range of self-care and healing strategies to answer his broken heart’s question “how am I supposed to live?” Flozell shares how his personal and community fight for joy and justice have intertwined and keeps him on his healing journey.

 

Daddy’s girl Lauren Teverbaugh has fulfilled her father’s mantra, “excellence, nothing less,” and is now a board-certified child psychiatrist, adult psychiatrist, and pediatrician. Despite tumultuous changes in her family unit starting when she was a mere five years old, her dad showed up for her and her sister, and she believed that he always would...until the day he didn’t. In this episode, walk alongside Lauren’s healing journey to uncover the truths and complex realities that stemmed from this devastating time both as a curious child uncovering family secrets and as a compassionate professional who only too well understands the effects of untreated trauma.

 

Dr. James is a psychologist, but today he is not going to be a therapist, he’s just going to be Arnold. On the other side of the couch, Arnold talks candidly with Dr. Shervington about his first few decades, which were lived under the inhibiting weight of unwavering rules and expectations; breaking free from that weight is his life’s journey. Through deep reflection, accented by moments of levity, Arnold describes his path to create freedom, self-worth, and balance in his relationships without shunning the parts of this deeply embedded rigidity that feel protective and connect him to the most meaningful influence in his life.

 

Despite all, bodyworker, healer and writer Amy Stewart gently reminds herself that “I’m better now than I was back then.” And that is saying a lot, because by the age of nine she had already experienced enough trauma to feel that the world and everything around her was sad. Amy reveals how that young girl - hurt, angry, and feeling unprotected - succumbed to harmful outlets to escape and to cope. Today, after decades of therapy ,she is proud of her growth and has found healthier outlets to speak her truth and fight for her healing. 

IN ADDITION TO AMY’S EPISODE, YOU CAN READ A BRIEF STATEMENT SHE SHARED WITH US HERE.

 

Today Brennan Jacques is a thriving middle-school teacher, and a football and basketball coach, yet in his own words his early life “was not pretty.” The memories that play on repeat in his head aren't all bright and positive like the once in a lifetime community trip he took to Disney World, rather he is still plagued by a horrific situation that unfolded right in front of his eyes at age twelve. That wasn’t Brennan’s first intimate brush with violence - and it would not be his last - and when he became a young father he became determined to create a different life for his daughter and went down a whole new path. But inside and outside the classroom, Brennan has been quick to learn the lessons life has dealt him. He now uses healing and wisdom to guide him as a father and he has excelled beyond even his own belief.

 

Since the age of four, artist and activist Jasmine Davis was very clear about who she was, yet she felt burdened by the weight of other people’s prejudice, expectations and projections onto her, and she had to constantly navigate this lack of acceptance and understanding everywhere in her world—from church, to school, to even within her own family. Finally successful in her self definition and in harmony with the people in her life and work, now Jasmine honestly and openly recounts her path to get there: the unexpected people from whom she found acceptance and guidance, the vices she clung to for survival, and even the times she knows she simply got in her own way. With a wise lens she reflects on her journey to developing healing, healthy relationships with others and with herself.

 

If pain is indeed inspiration for art, then poet, health advocate, and educator Nikki Napoleon’s first few decades were not short of material. From the layers of trauma in her home - heartbreakingly brushed off as “just learned behavior” by relatives who could have intervened - to losing some of her beloved siblings, Nikki could have drowned in a reservoir of pain. But “Earth Angels” like her maternal grandmother turned her on to reading books and writing poetry, in which she found healing and self-expression. Through that creativity and curiosity, and other therapies that are important to her, Nikki has created a thriving life for herself and her children, despite the scars of her life’s early storms.

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THE BOOK

The pages of “Healing is the Revolution” invite readers into a discussion of the nameable and unnamable struggles African Americans face in a tense, high stress, and despairing existence in the United States. It begins by laying bare Black American history and why it continues to affect modern day African Americans mentally and physically.

Along the way it illustrates the effects of decades of compounding structural oppression, societal disfranchisement, and psychological backlash on individuals living in an environment where hate speech and hate-driven actions and policy are no longer underground.

But Healing is the Revolution does not stop there. It also pays equal attention to providing steps and opportunities for healing on the individual, family, and community level, revealing opportunities for action and motivation for change. Lastly, it guides the reader through inspirational and motivational activities to support this renewed and/or continued struggle. Part an intellectual book that informs and a self-help book that heals, Healing is the Revolution draws from Dr. Shervington’s intersectional career in public health and clinical and academic psychiatry.