What if divorce didn’t have to become a battle?

In this episode of In The Black, Aracelli sits down with North Carolina family law attorney Manisha P. Patel to talk about what she witnesses every day when people are at their most emotionally overwhelmed and how choosing dignity, mediation, and collaboration can change the outcome for entire families.

Drawing from years of experience in custody, separation, adoption, and advocacy for children involved with social services, Manisha shares why so many divorces become unnecessarily destructive and what a healthier path forward can look like.

Her upcoming book, End Your Marriage Peacefully, was inspired by seeing what truly helps families move from chaos to clarity.

This conversation is for anyone navigating relationship strain, separation, or wondering if there’s a better way to walk through one of life’s hardest transitions.

Follow:

@lompp18

www.lawofficeofmpp.com

@intheblackpassionproject

What do you do when visibility becomes unsafe and everything you built has to change?

In this episode of In The Black, host Aracelli talks with Aaron, a prolific author of 40+ books, creative, and storyteller whose life and career were disrupted by cyberstalking, rapid changes in technology, and the need to protect his family.

Aaron shares what it was like to adapt in the digital age, how silence became strategy, and why returning to storytelling helped him reclaim purpose without sacrificing safety. This conversation explores reinvention, creative survival, faith, and what it means to keep creating when circumstances force you to rebuild.

This episode is for anyone navigating loss, reinvention, or the quiet strength required to move forward on your own terms.

Follow: @authoraaronryan

Website: dissonancetheseries.com

Bookstore: authoraaronryanbookstore

Follow: @intheblackpassionproject

What happens when anxiety and depression are carried quietly for years?

In this episode of In The Black, host Aracelli sits down with Brian Sachetta, author of the Get Out of Your Head®book series, to talk honestly about a decade-long battle with anxiety and depression and the moment he realized suffering in silence was no longer an option.

Brian shares how his personal healing journey led him to create a mental health platform dedicated to helping others feel less alone. Together, they discuss stigma, self-minimization, why asking for help is not weakness, and how small steps can create real relief.

Follow Brian at:

@getoutofyourhead

https://getoutofyourhead.com/

@intheblackpassionproject

Clutter is often treated as a productivity problem but for many people, it’s the physical aftermath of grief, loss, and survival.

In this episode of In The Black Podcast, host Aracelli, sits down with professional organizer Tina O’Keeffe to explore how emotional pain can manifest in our homes and how releasing physical items can support emotional healing.

Tina shares insights from her own dark seasons, along with the work she does helping clients climb out of overwhelming periods marked by tragedy, transition, or loss. Together, they discuss shame, identity, memory, and what it really means to rebuild a life after everything has changed.

This episode is for anyone who:
– Feels stuck or overwhelmed by their space
– Is navigating grief or major life transitions
– Wants a compassionate, realistic path toward healing
– Believes “being in the black” can start with small, intentional steps

🎧 Listen now and begin making room for what comes next.

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@stowandbehold

stowandbehold.com

@intheblackpassionproject

What happens when the life you worked so hard to build suddenly gets removed from you?

In this episode of In The Black, we explore the quiet but powerful moment many people face, when they devote their lives to their career to one day have it all end.

Through an honest conversation about loss and trusting creativity over certainty, this episode invites listeners to reflect on their own in-between season.

We talk about listening to inner nudges, releasing outdated versions of ourselves, and choosing alignment over approval, even when it feels risky.

If you’re standing at a crossroads, feeling disconnected from the life you built, or sensing that something more meaningful is asking for your attention, this episode is for you.

Follow:

@theroadtoelsewhere

@intheblackpassionproject

What if the life you’re trying to protect is the very thing standing in the way of the life God wants to build?

In this episode of In The Black Podcast, host Aracelli Kenyon sits down with John Hill for an honest conversation about surrender, what it really means to let go of the old version of yourself and trust God with who you’re becoming.

John shares how releasing control, identity, and expectations opened the door for a life more aligned, more grounded, and more meaningful than the one he was trying to force. This conversation isn’t about perfection or instant transformation, it’s about obedience, trust, and allowing growth to happen even when clarity feels distant.

This episode is for anyone who:
– Feels stuck between who they were and who they’re becoming
– Is struggling to release old patterns, identities, or expectations
– Is learning to trust God in seasons of uncertainty
– Wants to redefine what it means to be “in the black” spiritually and emotionally

Being “in the black” doesn’t always mean gaining more.
Sometimes it means surrendering first.

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@thegoodcontractorslist

https://thegoodcontractorslist.com/

@intheblackpassionproject

This Christmas Day episode of In The Black is a pause, a breath, a moment of reflection.

Through an original spoken-word poem titled “Let’s Jump,” this episode explores heartbreak, letting go, surrender, and the quiet trust that comes when we stop fighting the current and allow God to hold us.

This is a story about jumping together… and learning how to float when someone lets go. About trusting the water beneath you when you don’t know how to swim or where the shore is. And about discovering that peace can exist even in the unknown.

If you’re ending the year feeling tender, uncertain, or quietly hopeful, this episode is for you.

In The Black will return in the new year.
For now, may you rest. May you trust. May you float. Cheers.

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@intheblackpassionproject

Support:

@intheblackpassionproject

After being diagnosed with a life-changing brain tumor, Risa August was told to slow down and play it safe. Instead, she got on her bike and rode 1,845 miles from Canada to Mexico, redefining what strength, healing, and resilience could look like.

In this episode, Risa shares the story behind her award-winning memoir The Road Unpaved, how she turned one of the hardest seasons of her life into a journey of freedom, and what pushed her to become a TEDx speaker, Gestalt practitioner, and advocate for pituitary tumor awareness.

We talk about:
• Navigating a major diagnosis
• Rewriting your identity after crisis
• Choosing courage over limitations
• Her solo ride across northern Spain
• Living boldly while managing ongoing medical challenges

If you need a reminder that your story isn’t over and that you can still build a life that feels true and aligned, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Risa: risaaugust.com
Follow @intheblackpassionproject for more stories of purpose, resilience, and transformation.

Family court is not built for the faint of heart, especially when you’re fighting a narcissistic or abusive ex who knows exactly how to twist the truth. Many moms walk into court terrified, unheard, and unsupported… until they meet someone like Reneé Rodriguez.

In this episode, we go far beyond “custody tips.”
This is about the emotional, psychological, and spiritual war protective mothers face, and the strategy it takes to win.

Reneé shares:

✨ The moment she realized she was raising a child with a diagnosed narcissist
✨ Why high-conflict parents seem so “convincing” in court
✨ The shame and fear most mothers never admit out loud
✨ How mindset becomes your strongest weapon when everything feels stacked against you
✨ The exact framework she created after surviving her own custody nightmare
✨ What judges actually pay attention to (that nobody tells you)
✨ How women can begin to feel safe, grounded, and powerful again

This conversation is for you if:
✔️ You’re co-parenting with someone who manipulates, gaslights, or intimidates
✔️ You’ve felt dismissed by the legal system
✔️ You’re trying to protect your child while carrying trauma of your own
✔️ You’re tired of fighting alone
✔️ You want to understand how narcissistic abuse impacts the courtroom

Reneé’s wisdom is part strategy, part survival, part divine assignment. Her journey didn’t just change her life, it’s changing the lives of mothers everywhere.

If you’ve been searching for clarity, validation, or a path forward, this episode is the one you listen to first.

Connect with Reneé:
bestfootforwardllc.com
@bestfootforwardllc

Follow @intheblackpassionproject for Guest Spotlights and behind the scenes content.

I sit down with artist and American Ninja Warrior athlete Jenedy Paige for a powerful conversation about resilience, faith, creativity, and the courage to keep moving forward through life’s hardest moments.

Jenedy shares the story of losing her young son, how her unwavering faith in God carried her through grief, and how painting became a sacred outlet for healing and expression. We dive into the heart behind her artwork, her journey into American Ninja Warrior, and the lessons she’s learned about strength: physical, spiritual, and emotional.

At the end of the episode, Jenedy shares her beautiful answers to our signature “In The Black” questions:
• What it means to live in the black , free from the weight of the past and walking in God-given abundance
• What to do when you feel in the red , and how prayer, reflection, and God’s presence can guide you forward

This episode is for anyone seeking hope, purpose, and the reminder that grace is present even in our deepest challenges.

Explore Jenedy’s artwork and story at jenedypaige.com.

& follow her @jenedypaige

Follow for guest spotlights and previews:

@intheblackpassionproject