Letting go is never simple—especially for Black people living in predominantly white spaces-- where we’ve been expected to carry more than our share and to do it quietly.

But what if letting go is not abandonment, but liberation? What if it’s an act of love?

In this warm, reflective episode, Ama-Robin invites you into three immersive stories —slow-paced, story-driven, and deeply rooted in Black cultural truth.

✨ Story 1: Dreams Left at the Door A woman returns to the porch where she first dreamed big, and grieves the pieces of herself she left behind.

✨ Story 2: Auntie’s Place A neighborhood elder helps visitors release the pain they’ve been told to forget, through ancestral ritual and quiet resistance.

✨ Story 3: Laying It Down at the Door One woman reflects on the sacred art of not carrying everything—not for everyone, and not forever.

Each story reminds us that letting go isn’t erasure—it’s making room. It’s how we reclaim our breath. And how we practice self-love that is not Eurocentric, individualistic, or shallow—but cultural, communal, ancestral, and real.

This episode includes:

• Grief and rage naming rituals

• Ancestral practices of release

• Black psychology of emotional weight

• A Beyond the Story reflection on self-love and sacred release

At the end, you’ll hear a short breathing cue and reflection to help you ease into your own ritual of release.

📍 You ain’t imagining this. And you never had to carry it alone.

Here are a few simple, sacred practices to support your release:

🕊️ Name & Water Ritual Whisper the name of what you’re releasing into a bowl of water. Pour the water out under an open sky.

🔥 Burning the Lie Write down a false belief or racist message you were told. Burn the paper safely and say: “This no longer belongs to me.”

🌿 Herbal Holding Hold a grounding item—like a smooth stone or fresh herb (basil, rosemary, or sage). Say aloud: “This is heavy. But I am not alone.”

📓 Journaling Prompt What have I been asked to carry that never belonged to me? What am I ready to lay down at the door?

Alafia, fam! 

“Some circles can’t be saved. But new ones can be born.”

In this third episode of the Black Healing Summer session,  Ama-Robin invites you to slow down and breathe as she takes you on a journey through an insightful folk tale. You'll hear about an African village's sacred circle disrupted by an outsider’s influence, leading to important lessons about the strength--and fragility--of our own sacred spaces.

Ama-Robin draws a powerful connection to our present realities, shedding light on the importance of protecting our circles and knowing when it’s time to rebuild.

Stick around for the 'Beyond the Story' segment, where you'll dive deeper into these themes and reflect on your own sacred spaces and boundaries.

Remember, sometimes it's okay to walk away to protect your peace.

“This isn’t just a story. It’s a mirror—and a warning.”✨💫

Three Reasons to Tune In:

🥁 Immerse yourself in a beautiful folk tale that carries deep truths.

🌟 Learn how to recognize and protect your own sacred spaces.

 💬 Reflect on your own circles and consider what keeps them whole.

If this resonates with you, be sure to subscribe and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

You deserve to feel safe, in rhythm, and connected. See you there!

What if you had a space where you could breathe, release, and remember who you are—no explanations, no performance, just presence?

In this episode, we step into The Black Healing Room—a sanctuary we can carry with us, anywhere.

This is Part 2 of The Black Healing Summer Session—a season-long journey into rest, release, and renewal.

You’ll experience a special Comforting Moment guided visualization to help you imagine your own healing space. And in the Beyond the Story segment, Ama-Robin explores the importance of both individual and collective Black healing—and the radical, liberating power of daydreaming.

✨ Come as you are. ✨ Take what you need. ✨ You ain’t imagining this.

In this first episode of The Black Healing Summer Session, host and storyteller Ama-Robin invites you into a powerful reflection on what happens when we stop carrying everything alone.

Through an immersive story, she shares the experience of a Black woman professional who finally decides to lay down the invisible burdens she’s been holding: perfectionism, hypervigilance, and the relentless pressure to prove herself.

In the Beyond the Story segment, Ama-Robin reads Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask,” and explores how generational expectations to stay “strong” have shaped—and strained—our spirits.

✨ 3 Things You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• A moment of quiet liberation in a work parking lot that becomes the start of real healing

• A reflection on how ancestral wisdom helps us unlearn what exhausts us

• Simple, powerful practices to release what you no longer want to carry

This is the beginning of The Black Healing Summer Session—a season-long journey into rest, release, and renewal.

Come as you are. Take what you need. And remember: you ain’t imagining this.

🎧 If this story resonates, subscribe, share, and join us for the full series.

Juneteenth has passed—but we’re not moving on. Because we still don’t have full freedom. And we damn sure don’t have true liberation.

This Believe Black People episode of You Ain’t Imagining This! was generously loaned by the Espresso Talk Today team—and we thank them deeply for this offering.

In this powerful audio celebration, you’ll hear: 📖 An original, fact-based Juneteenth story read by Marlene Slaughter 📜 A historical reflection from Elder Mel, reading a rare first-person account from her great-grandaunt Miss Rosina Hoard—who had been enslaved in Texas 💬 A deep, unflinching discussion about what Juneteenth means, how it’s been commercialized, and what still needs to change for Black folks in the U.S.

This is more than a commemoration. It’s cultural clarity. It’s remembrance. It’s resistance. And yes, it’s a celebration too—featuring the voice of Nina Simone singing “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free.”

🖤 Come as you are. Take what you need. And don’t let this day—or what it stands for—be forgotten.

This is more than memory. It’s a reminder: you were never alone.

In this special Juneteenth bonus episode of You Ain’t Imagining This!, storyteller Ama-Robin guides you through a quiet, powerful tale about coming home, being expected, and the radical love embedded in one simple ritual: the porchlight.

This immersive story takes you on a long drive home through California’s dust belt—toward a light left on without fail. It’s about more than safety. It’s about belonging. The kind passed down through generations. The kind that says: we’re still here, and we’re waiting for you.

After the story, stay for a Beyond the Story reflection where Ama-Robin explores the deeper meaning of these everyday rituals in Black life—and why they still matter as acts of protection, presence, and resistance.

✨ Released in honor of Juneteenth, this bonus episode is a tribute to the ways we care for one another, even in silence.

🖤 Come as you are. Take what you need. And if someone needs to feel seen today—share this with them.

Sometimes peace sounds like laughter, a sizzling grill, and an uplifting playlist.

In this Comforting Moment episode of You Ain’t Imagining This!, storyteller and empowerment coach Ama-Robin invites you into a sensory sanctuary—where the familiar sounds of a Black cookout become a place of rest, memory, and gentle joy.

Comforting Moments are short, grounding episodes designed to offer you space to breathe, reconnect, and feel held amid the chaos. This one brings you to the heart of the cookout—not just as a party, but as a cultural ritual. A space where our joy, presence, and survival come together in rhythm and rest.

The episode closes with a Harambee ritual, a Swahili chant meaning Let’s pull together, to remind you that you are never alone in this journey.

🖤 Come as you are. Take what you need. And if someone needs the sound of belonging—send this to them.

This isn’t just a story—it’s a homecoming.

In this immersive episode from You Ain’t Imagining This!, Black empowerment storyteller Ama-Robin takes you straight to the heart of a Black family reunion. From the sound of folding chairs and the smell of sweet potato pie to bold debates on reparations and land, The Reunion is a vivid, truth-telling experience about what it means to gather, to remember, and to resist through joy.

Want to hear the entire meditative story? Click here!

This isn’t just a story—it’s a homecoming.

In this immersive episode from You Ain’t Imagining This!, Black empowerment storyteller Ama-Robin takes you straight to the heart of a Black family reunion. From the sound of folding chairs and the smell of sweet potato pie to bold debates on reparations and land, The Reunion is a vivid, truth-telling experience about what it means to gather, to remember, and to resist through joy.

This story will move you. The Beyond the Story segment will ground you. And the sacred reminder at the end? You’re not imagining it—we’re still here.

✨ Listen if you need: — A dose of cultural nourishment — A reminder that Black love is real and revolutionary — A moment to breathe, remember, and feel held

Created by and for Black folks navigating a chaotic world, this episode invites you to come as you are, take what you need, and know that you belong here.

Subscribe and share with someone who needs the light.

Black books aren't just being banned—they’re being erased. Quietly. Systemically. From classrooms, libraries, and publishing houses. In this Believe Black People episode, Black empowerment storyteller Ama-Robin breaks down how erasure works—and how we fight back.

This isn’t about asking for space. It’s about reclaiming it.

Join the Canon of Black Books Challenge and help rewrite the shelves.

Subscribe. Share. Build the canon. Because we ain’t imagining this.

Ama-Robin's Black Literary Canon

• Beloved by Toni Morrison

• Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin

• Kindred by Octavia Butler

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley

• The Miseducation of the Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson

#MyBlackCanon

#BlackBookCanon

#BlackLiteraryCanon

#BuildTheBlackShelf

#BlackBooksMatter