by Sonnee D. Weedn, Ph.D.

About the Book: Ten years ago, Marin County psychologist, Dr. Sonnee Weedn, was asked to treat a young, urban, African-American woman. Believing that as a white woman living in the reality of de facto segregation, she was not knowledgeable enough to treat this woman effectively in psychotherapy, she set about to learn more about African-American culture. This stimulated her thinking about African-American women. What was it about them that had allowed them to survive and thrive despite the double prejudice of racism and sexism? Some of them had overcome addictions and were living a life of recovery. She wondered about the historical implications of the confluence of the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement on this particular cohort of women, most who had come of age during law-enforced segregation.

She traveled the country for three years, interviewing African-American women, some famous and others unknown except in their own particular circles of influence. She studied these women to determine what encouraged them to transcend discrimination and other obstacles they faced in order to rise up and claim their destinies as powerful and altruistic women. Ultimately, she chose 31 of the women she interviewed to represent the seven strengths she identified as having sustained them and allowed them to flourish. The interviews with these women illustrate the strengths she identified. She believes that these seven strengths are the historical legacy of all African-American women today, and encourages all people, male and female, regardless of ethnicity to learn from their example to increase their own resilience and determination.

Therapists are increasingly called upon to treat people unlike themselves. Dr. Weedn believes that when this occurs it is an opportunity to expand our view of the world by expanding our worldview – two very different concepts. This can only be accomplished through personal experiences, which can be obtained in a variety of ways that increase understanding and appreciation for the richness of our diversity.

Buy the Book: Amazon; www.manyblessingsbook.com; or contact Dr. Weedn directly, 415.883.7758.