This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Tara Roberts, author of the memoir, Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home, and Belonging. It’s an epic story of Tara fulfilling her childhood desire of becoming a writer commingled with her active decision to embrace a past she’d always run from.

A storyteller, adventurer, and traveler, Tara is now an explorer in residence at National Geographic where she continues the work she’s done since 2016 as a scuba diver working with groups like Diving With a Purpose to map and document slave shipwrecks. 

I first was introduced to Tara’s work through her award winning podcast with Nat Geo Into the Depths and then had the pleasure of coaching Tara for her TEDTalk.

In this conversation, Tara goes deep about the trauma she experienced that made her fear becoming a writer. Plus, how she confronted and healed her own feelings of shame around Blackness and identity. And, the grace she had to find for herself and others when she was not embraced on the continent of Africa. 

Mahogany Books

Mentioned in this episode:

Rate & Review

Thanks for listening, family! Please do us a solid and take a quick moment to rate and/or leave a review for this podcast. It will go a long way to making sure content featuring our stories and perspectives are seen on this platform