Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen
Subtitle: The Emotional lives of Black Women
Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen is a book that came out late last year and is written by Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler. It is part Part memoir, part self-help part academic nonfiction.
Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She has two decades of clinical experience helping people with stress, trauma, mood and anxiety conditions, and interpersonal strain. In her clinical practice she promotes holistic wellness through mindfulness and compassionate self-care. Inger’s scholarly work focuses on the role that social determinants of health play in mental illness and treatment, particularly in the Black community. She is an advocate for normalizing participation in mental health treatment and assuring that all individuals have access to high-quality, evidence based mental health care. Inger has written dozens of articles and other publications on trauma and mental health in the Black community and lectures widely on research about barriers to access and engagement in mental health treatment, mindfulness and strategies to improve mental health treatment participation and outcomes.
“If you want to get something done, ask a black woman”
In society Black women are beautiful, intelligent and capable —but mostly they embrace strong. Dr Burnett-Zeigler praises the strength of women, while exploring how trauma and adversity have led to deep emotional pain and shaped how they walk through the world.
Black women’s strength is intimately tied to their unacknowledged suffering. An estimated eight in ten have endured some form of trauma—sexual abuse, domestic abuse, poverty, childhood abandonment, victim/witness to violence, and regular confrontation with racism and sexism. Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen shows that trauma often impacts mental and physical well-being. It can contribute to stress, anxiety, PTSD, and depression. Unaddressed it can lead to hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, overeating, and alcohol and drug abuse, and other chronic health issues.
Dr. Burnett-Zeigler explains that the strong Black woman image does not take into account the urgency of Black women’s needs, which must be identified in order to lead abundant lives. It interferes with her relationships and ability to function day to day. Through mindfulness and compassionate self-care, the psychologist offers methods for establishing authentic strength from the inside out.
This informative guide to healing, is life-changing, showing Black women how to prioritize the self and find everyday joys in self-worth, as well as discover the fullness and beauty within both her strength and vulnerability.
This line from the book “Black people’s pain is always on a spectrum. There is always someone who has it worse off, and for that we should be grateful.”
It resonated with me so much because of how we are shamed into silence because someone else is suffering more. The author invites black women to heal because we know that before you can get past your trauma, you have to have it witnessed, acknowledged by society, your therapist, someone. Avoidance is a trauma response.
She preaches REST clinically and she likes what she calls nondoing in this society that is so fast-paced. Put rest on your checklist. She wants to give space and attention to Black women’s joy and will also focus her work on that in the future. The beautiful cover of the book was made by artist Sangai Malinga
These two quotes praising the book:
“Black women give and give and give to the point of emotional exhaustion. Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen lets us know how to break this unhealthy cycle by learning self-forgiveness, which through God’s help, leads to self-love and the power to say, ‘No, I come first in my life.” - Mary J. Blige
“Patience, courage, and perseverance are required in taking good care of yourself. You are worthy. You are important. Your song is part of a great symphony! Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen will help you find your instrument and melody.” - Jenifer Lewis, author of The Mother of Black Hollywood
It is definitely a heavy read, you will feel seen and understood by someone you have never met. You can take breaks, process what information evokes you and then resume when you are ready for it. I love this type of book and listened to it in one go, hoping the messages will sink into my brain.
Find all the details in the show notes, I hope you read the book. If you like this podcast, please subscribe, leave a review , reach on social media and share with your friends.
