Rev. Jesse Jackson spent decades fighting for civil rights and economic justice. As a child watching him on television, I didn't understand policy. I understood his voice.

After news of his death on February 17, 2026, I found myself revisiting what his work meant, not just the speeches or the presidential campaigns, but the deeper question at the center of it all: who gets access, who gets dignity, and who gets to eat.

In this episode of Better Said Than Written, I reflect on the roots of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the link between school lunch and economic justice, and what hunger teaches you when survival is not theoretical.

This episode is personal. It's about what I didn't understand as a child, and what I understand now.

What's your fondest memory of Rev. Jesse Jackson? Feel free to send your thoughts through the link below.

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This episode is for anyone navigating visibility, relevance, and self-worth in the workplace as time moves forward.

Maybe you’ve noticed the subtle shifts. The comments that land differently. The unspoken expectations about how you should look, sound, or show up.

Maybe you’ve questioned whether experience still counts the way it used to, or whether aging has quietly become something you’re expected to manage, conceal, or apologize for.

This episode features a powerful Social Media Essay by performance coach Melanie Cheeseman, who writes candidly about gray hair, gendered double standards, and what women are told to surrender as they grow older.

At the center of it all is this reminder: “Wisdom. Experience. Confidence. These are things we gain, not lose, with time.”

If the world has ever made you feel otherwise, I hope this episode offers a pause and a reframing.

If you’re holding on to your grey or covering it up, if you’re negotiating what aging looks like in your work life, or if you’re simply sitting with these questions, you’re not alone.

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Want to share a Social Media Essay that deserves to be heard? -> tamikacody.com/contact

This episode is for anyone feeling overwhelmed by wellness culture, conflicting health advice, or the constant pressure to optimize their body.

Maybe you’ve tried the supplements. Maybe you’ve followed the trends. Maybe you’re doing everything “right” and still not feeling well.

In this episode of Better Said Than Written, I share a Social Media Essay written by Dr. Pamela Buchanan, whose words cut through the noise and ask a simple but confronting question: what if the answer isn’t more but less?

At the center of this reflection is a reminder many of our grandmothers already understood: “Your body doesn’t need a hack. It needs food.”

We explore ancestral wisdom, modern burnout, and what it means to return to nourishment as care, especially while navigating midlife, perimenopause, and changing relationships with our bodies.

If this episode stirred something for you about food, wellness, aging, or the lessons passed down through generations, take a moment to sit with it. You don’t have to fix anything today.

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In this episode of Better Said Than Written, host Tamika Cody reflects on a single line that stopped her in her tracks:

“There are two sources of goals: goals created out of inspiration and goals created out of desperation.”

The quote comes from chapter nine of Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen, a book that gained widespread attention in 2024.

What begins as a quiet reflection turns personal. Tamika revisits a vulnerable journal entry she once shared publicly, recorded just weeks before losing her dream job. In hindsight, she recognizes how desperation shaped the goals she was holding onto and how clarity arrived not through achievement, but through release.

This episode invites you to pause and answer the following question honestly:

Are the goals you’re chasing rooted in inspiration, or in fear?

Feel free to reach out with your answers. https://www.tamikacody.com/contact

This episode is for anyone sitting in the middle of their journey, not at the beginning, not at the finish line, but somewhere in between.

Maybe you’ve taken breaks you didn’t plan.

Maybe your progress hasn’t looked linear.

Maybe you’ve been carrying quiet doubt while still showing up when you can.

In this episode of Better Said Than Written, I reflect on a Social Media Essay inspired by Doechii and written by Kasey Brown, a reminder that impact doesn’t always come from polished success, but from the courage to be seen while becoming.

At the center of this reflection is one line that stayed with me:

“Your biggest impact might not be in your success… but in showing others how you got there.”

If you’ve been afraid to share your process, your pauses, or your unfinished chapters, let this episode be permission, not to rush, but to continue.

Want to connect? Want to share a Social Media Essay that deserves to be heard https://www.tamikacody.com/contact

In the previous episode; Not Grieving, Just Noticing, Tamika shared the complicated story of her father, SD, and what it means to hold space for someone who was never really there. But two weeks later, while watching his funeral streamed from Dominica, something shifted.

As she studied the faces of family in the front pews, Tamika couldn’t see herself in them, and an instinct told her to search deeper. Against her siblings’ advice, she ordered a DNA test. What she found cracked her story wide open: the truth of her real father, hidden for decades by a single misread letter.

This episode traces the journey from a funeral livestream to a DNA match that changed everything, guided by the words of James Baldwin: “Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.”

SHOW NOTES

Share Your Thoughts:

If this episode resonated with you:

You can share your thoughts here → www.tamikacody.com/contact

Or leave a voice message or send a text to 2O2.57O.4554

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You can also find her on Twitter: @tamikacody

What would you do if someone from your past, someone you never really knew, landed in the hospital, and you suddenly found yourself feeling... something?

In this deeply personal solo episode, I unpack a message from my sister that stirred up more than just a laugh. It’s a short story about complicated family ties, unexpected emotions, and the weight of what’s left unsaid.

Guided by a quote from Hunter S. Thompson, this episode explores the quiet ache of longing, the edges of forgiveness, and the surprising power of naming what never was.

“You can’t miss what you never had.”

Show Notes

Share Your Thoughts:

If this episode resonated with you:

You can share your thoughts here → https://www.tamikacody.com/contact

Or leave a voice message or send a text to 2O2.57O.4554

Follow or tag Tamika on Twitter: @tamikacody

How do you feel about second chances?

How do you feel about starting over?

Maybe you had a dream to become a veterinarian. Or a goal to start a nonprofit. Maybe you have always wanted to travel outside of the country. I’m sure there’s something that once made your heart race just thinking about it. But just like everyone else, life happened. Doubt crept in. And that dream was placed on the back burner, got buried under the weight of “what-ifs” and “maybe laters,” or worse…you threw your dreams away because someone said they were unrealistic.

If that sounds like you, I want you to write down this following quote from George Eliot:

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

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Want to connect? Want to be a guest on the show?

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Want to take part in the Story of Survival series?

Email your entry to [email protected]

Or put pen to paper and keep the USPS in business by mailing your entry to:

Stories of Survival

P.O. Box 39072

Washington, D.C. 20016-9072

This episode is for those who are struggling with life. Maybe you’re feeling lost. Maybe your soul is weighed down and it feels like an elephant is sitting on your chest. Maybe you’ve been battling depression, feeling like the darkness is just too much.

Desmond Tutu once said: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

You might be saying to yourself, “I don’t see any light right now.” And that’s cool…I don’t expect you to ignore the darkness. But I do expect you to know that even if you can’t see the light yet, it is there.

Want to connect? Want to be a guest on the show?

https://www.tamikacody.com/contact

Want to take part in the Story of Survival series?

Email your entry to [email protected]

Or put pen to paper and keep the USPS in business by mailing your entry to:

Stories of Survival

P.O. Box 39072

Washington, D.C. 20016-9072

Every once in a while, I come across a speech that inspires me to take action.

The other day, while scrolling on TikTok, I stumbled on a speech by Rolonda Watts. For those of you who don’t know, Rolonda had her own talk show back in the mid 1990s. The syndicated show ran from 1994 until 1997.

Now I must admit, at first glance I didn’t recognize the face but the voice, I definitely knew. After consulting with Google, I quickly paired the voice to the face I finally remembered. This entire discovery is actually quite ironic because in her speech, Rolonda briefly shared that she herself has gone through several reinventions.

But the part that got me in my feelings is when she gave this simple advice, “if you don’t like something change it.”

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Want to connect? Want to be a guest on the show?

https://www.tamikacody.com/contact

Want to take part in the Story of Survival series?

Email your entry to [email protected]

Or put pen to paper and keep the USPS in business by mailing your entry to:

Stories of Survival

P.O. Box 39072

Washington, D.C. 20016-9072