Sammee and Tori join you after a *slight* hiatus with an update on their lives and the future of the podcast! Check it out! 

Grab the tissues again, and some icecream! In this final episode of our first season of Sisters & Sonder Sammee and Tori bring it back to where they started, with their great grandmother Norma. In this episode each sister shares about the day great grandma passed away, what that looked like for them and the grief that followed. Grief is a complicated emotion. Join the sisters in an episode of memories, tears and stories.

Rest in peace Shorty 1902-2010.
If you're interested here is a link to Norma's Obituary

As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

In this episode Sammee and Tori are joined by Sammee's friend Deanna  tells us the rest of her complex, challenging story about childhood trauma. **Content/trigger warning this episode includes conversations and mentions of sexual abuse/assault, sexual trauma, childhood trauma, family induced trauma, and religious trauma. Please be advised and seek any help you might need.

Some definitions:
Cognitive Processing Therapy: CPT is a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy that helps patients learn how to modify and challenge unhelpful beliefs related to the trauma.
Sexual Trauma/Abuse: is unwanted sexual activity, with perpetrators using force, making threats or taking advantage of victims not able to give consent.
Religious Trauma: Religious or spiritual trauma is a form of psychological abuse and brainwashing that inculcates the shameful message that we are sinful and must live in a constant state of penance and atonement to escape the ravages of hell and God's punishment.
Gaslighting: is a form of emotional abuse that's seen in abusive relationships. It's the act of manipulating a person by forcing them to question their thoughts, memories, and the events occurring around them. A victim of gaslighting can be pushed so far that they question their own sanity.
Generational Trauma: is a accumulation of neural network in the brain that are established by patterns in behavior and hormones. Trauma can be a very difficult thing to heal. The more engrained it becomes in family systems, the harder the chains are to break.

Brene Brown's book I Thought It Was Just (Me But It Isn't)

As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

In this episode Sammee and Tori are joined by Sammee's friend Deanna who has a complex, challenging story to share about childhood trauma. **Content/trigger warning this episode includes conversations and mentions of sexual abuse/assault, sexual trauma, childhood trauma, family induced trauma, and religious trauma. Please be advised and seek any help you might need.

Some definitions:
Cognitive Processing Therapy: CPT is a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy that helps patients learn how to modify and challenge unhelpful beliefs related to the trauma.
Sexual Trauma/Abuse: is unwanted sexual activity, with perpetrators using force, making threats or taking advantage of victims not able to give consent.
Religious Trauma: Religious or spiritual trauma is a form of psychological abuse and brainwashing that inculcates the shameful message that we are sinful and must live in a constant state of penance and atonement to escape the ravages of hell and God's punishment.
Gaslighting: is a form of emotional abuse that's seen in abusive relationships. It's the act of manipulating a person by forcing them to question their thoughts, memories, and the events occurring around them. A victim of gaslighting can be pushed so far that they question their own sanity.
Generational Trauma: is a accumulation of neural network in the brain that are established by patterns in behavior and hormones. Trauma can be a very difficult thing to heal. The more engrained it becomes in family systems, the harder the chains are to break.

Brene Brown's book I Thought It Was Just (Me But It Isn't)

As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

In this episode Sammee and Tori discuss, well rant, about how it really felt being a Black person in March-June as Black Lives Matter erupted. They let it all out. Grab the tissues and hide little ears (adult language used throughout episode) as Sammee and Tori get raw and open. Special love, shoutout and thanks to  Adrienne at Fempower Media  who mentored us to start this podcast after awarding us a scholarship through her Amplify Melanated Voices Scholarship. Without her podcast consulting, this podcast would not have happened. Check her services and podcast out at https://www.fempowermedia.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/fempowermedia/.


As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

In this episode Sammee and Tori discuss the N word and how powerful and hurtful it truly is.
Content warning, in the poem read during storytime with Sammee, the N word is said twice. There is also some adult language in this episode. Sistersandsonder.com

Poem: The Last Time I Used the N Word by Tony Gloeggler
Pocatello Highschool Retiring Mascot

As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out." Dr. Suess

Police brutality, especially toward Black and Brown bodies is an increasingly prominent problem and a difficult conversation to have but it continues to be an important one. In this episode we finish out or time discussing these issues with our grandpa. We are so grateful to have been able to have these conversations with him and look forward to many more. We hope this episode helps you start conversations, research and support for radical reimaging of our policing.

To learn more visit the links below:
No knock Warrants
Breonna Taylor
911 communication challenges
Police current training
Police Brutality Reports
Domestic Violence 

As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out."- Dr. Suess

sistersandsonder.com

In this episode, Sammee and Tori got to sit down with their grandfather to discuss the  Black Lives Matter Movement and how different his experience was as a White, older man in a small town in Idaho. He shares his past experiences watching other movements taking place as well as his current interactions and feelings towards today's movements. "Why fit in, when you were born to stand out" Dr. Suess www.sistersandsonder.com

Books Mentioned in intro:
The Hate You Give- Angie Thomas
White Fragility - Robin DiAngelo
So You Want to Talk About Race- Ijeoma Oluo

Available on Netflix:
13th
The Hate You Give

To learn more about:

Black Lives Matter
Breonna Taylor
Kent State Shooting
Malcolm X
Martin Luther King Jr
Pocatello Idaho March
Black Owned Business
Diverse Books for All Ages
Tolerance Education Resource
Silent March In Seattle
Contact you Senators


As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

The feeling of loneliness is one that can be heavy. It can also be one of freedom. Join us as Sammee shares a story of loneliness during a time that no one wants to be lonely. We have all been there. "Why fit in, when you were born to stand out" Dr. Suess
https://www.sistersandsonder.com/

Poem: Bryant Park at Dusk by Geoffry Brock
Photographer mentioned: Humans of New York

As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

As misfits, many of us have experienced times of not belonging, not fitting in, and not feeling welcome. In this episode Tori shares an experience of this very thing, not belonging. Sit back and enjoy the story of belonging. "Why fit in, when you were born to stand out" Dr. Suess. https://www.sistersandsonder.com/


As always, while Tori is a professional, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. If you need help, please reach out through one of the resources below. You are worthy of healing.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

https://www.nami.org/Home

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

Story read: Sneetches by Dr. Suess.