"Through a blend of irrefutable scientific data and deeply moving personal narratives, Inger Burnett-Zeigler’s Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen takes an unflinching look at the sources of Black women’s pain and explodes the myth that our strength comes without sacrifice. This book invites us to be our whole, authentic selves—capable, yes, but also vulnerable and deserving of love and care. Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen is an offering, an affirmation, a balm, and a roadmap to transformation and real healing—A gift to Black women everywhere."
'Listen to Black women' and 'Black Girl Magic' are common phrases these days. Inger Burnett-Zeigler reveals what is unsaid about the Strong Black Woman — she needs to tend to her own individual health. This book is affirming and full of lessons.
Patience, courage, and perseverance are required in taking good care of yourself. You are worthy. You are important. Your song is part of a great symphony! Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen will help you find your instrument and melody.
Black women give and give and give to the point of emotional exhaustion. Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen let’s us know how to break this unhealthy cycle by learning self-forgiveness, which through God’s help, leads to self-love and the power to say, ‘No, I come first in my life.” — Mary J. Blige
"Through a blend of irrefutable scientific data and deeply moving personal narratives, Inger Burnett-Zeigler’s Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen takes an unflinching look at the sources of Black women’s pain and explodes the myth that our strength comes without sacrifice. This book invites us to be our whole, authentic selves—capable, yes, but also vulnerable and deserving of love and care. Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen is an offering, an affirmation, a balm, and a roadmap to transformation and real healing—A gift to Black women everywhere." — Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar and We Are Each Other's Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land & Legacy
“Patience, courage, and perseverance are required in taking good care of yourself. You are worthy. You are important. Your song is part of a great symphony! Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen will help you find your instrument and melody.” — Jenifer Lewis, author of The Mother of Black Hollywood
“In this excellent debut, clinical psychologist Burnett-Zeigler provides a road map to help Black women find “a healthy balance between strength and vulnerability.” She begins by articulating the connections between systemic racism and sexism, generational and childhood trauma, and the prevalence of negative individual physical and mental health outcomes for Black women. Blending personal anecdotes, case studies, and questions for reflection, Burnett-Zeigler helps readers identify if they are acting “from a space of trauma”—such as by using common coping mechanisms like embracing a facade of “being strong—and to envision proactive choices instead. In the book’s second half, she addresses obstacles Black women face in accessing and making the most of mental health treatment—such as lack of coverage and skepticism toward practices—and provides tips for dealing with both. Ultimately, Burnett-Zeigler demonstrates how the idea of the “strong Black woman” can be both helpful and harmful, and lays out ways for readers to eliminate “what no longer serves” them. This thorough analysis effectively pulls back the curtain on the emotional and health barriers Black women face to suggest practical strategies for change.” — Publishers Weekly
“'Listen to Black women' and 'Black Girl Magic' are common phrases these days. Inger Burnett-Zeigler reveals what is unsaid about the Strong Black Woman — she needs to tend to her own individual health. This book is affirming and full of lessons.” — Natalie Y. Moore, author of "The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation"
05/03/2021
In this excellent debut, clinical psychologist Burnett-Zeigler provides a road map to help Black women find “a healthy balance between strength and vulnerability.” She begins by articulating the connections between systemic racism and sexism, generational and childhood trauma, and the prevalence of negative individual physical and mental health outcomes for Black women. Blending personal anecdotes, case studies, and questions for reflection, Burnett-Zeigler helps readers identify if they are acting “from a space of trauma”—such as by using common coping mechanisms like embracing a facade of “being strong—and to envision proactive choices instead. In the book’s second half, she addresses obstacles Black women face in accessing and making the most of mental health treatment—such as lack of coverage and skepticism toward practices—and provides tips for dealing with both. Ultimately, Burnett-Zeigler demonstrates how the idea of the “strong Black woman” can be both helpful and harmful, and lays out ways for readers to eliminate “what no longer serves” them. This thorough analysis effectively pulls back the curtain on the emotional and health barriers Black women face to suggest practical strategies for change. (June)
10/01/2020
In Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen, clinical psychologist Burnett-Zeigler explores the price Black women pay for submerging their pain behind the conventional image of Black female strength (65,000-copy first printing). Following Craig & Fred, which detailed former U.S. Marine Grossi's rescue of a shaggy stray from Afghanistan, Second Chances lets him introduce the inmates—mostly veterans—who redirect their lives by training dogs in the nonprofit America's Vet Dogs program at Maine State Prison (50,000-copy first printing). Director of the International Heart and Lung Institute, Gundry continues his best-selling "Paradox" series with The Energy Paradox, explaining that we are exhausted and brain-fogged owing to immune malfunction (150,000-copy first printing). Boasting more than two million Instagram followers, holistic psychologist LePera offers a path to self-healing using tools of mental, physical, and spiritual health to show us How To Do the Work. Known as the Minimalists to the millions of fans who follow their website, podcasts, and Netflix presentations, Nicodemus and Millburn pose a simple question in Love People Use Things: How might your life be better with less? Known as the laundry evangelist—he owns the Mona Williams boutique at Mall of America, where he holds Laundry Camp—Richardson shares his sought-after tips on cleaning clothes while showing that doing laundry can be fun. Laundry Love! Okay, I'd rather be reading, but clean laundry is great (125,000-copy first printing).
2021-04-24
A clinical psychologist looks at the interior lives of Black women.
Burnett-Zeigler sets out to “examine the parts of the strong Black woman prototype that continue to serve us—such as compassion, loving care for others, community orientation, determination, resilience, self-assuredness, faith in God, joyfulness—while leaving behind the parts that no longer serve us—suppressing emotion, denying our needs, [and] being reluctant to set boundaries.” Religion is central to the author’s view of Black women and her worldview in general. She describes her own experience of becoming a Christian in detail, and across the 256-page text, the word “God” appears more than 60 times. She notes that 83% of Black adults say that they believe in God, and 73% say that they pray daily. Her narrative is rife with platitudes (“we have to wipe our tears aside and keep it moving”) and generalizations that exclude many nonreligious Black women: “Above all, [Black women] never forget to give praise and honor to God for all that He has done for them.” In one shocking passage, the author presents Halle Berry’s suicidal thoughts as a cautionary tale, with suicide and loss of faith in God deemed “one of the deadliest sins in the Black community.” To write that “Scripture also promises punishment if one harms oneself” reads as harsh and—especially coming from a mental health professional—irresponsible. Conspicuously absent is any mention of sex other than sexual trauma, violence, and dysfunction, and Burnett-Zeigler also ignores Black LGBQT+ women: “Today’s strong Black women are climbing professional ladders, while also taking care of their husbands, children, and extended family members.” Some Black Christian heterosexual women may find encouragement and validation in these pages, but this “guidebook for healing” offers more proselytizing than comfort.
Barely scratches the surface of the emotional complexities of Black womanhood.