Glory Edim

Author, Glory Edim joins Dr. Thema to share her homecoming journey in understanding the roots of her perfectionism and the path to self acceptance and worthiness. Glory talks about the role of books as a coping strategy, imagination activator, and source of comfort and liberation. From the departure of her father to her experience as a single mother, Glory shares a powerfully transparent testimony. Glory Edim is a writer, literary advocate, and the founder of Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), a nationally recognized community and literary imprint dedicated to celebrating and publishing the voices of Black women writers. Founded in 2015, WRBG has grown from a book club into a cultural platform that amplifies diverse narratives and fosters dialogue at the intersection of literature, identity, and social change. Edim is the editor of the Well-Read Black Girl anthology and the author of the memoir Gather Me (2024), a reflective exploration of self-discovery and the transformative power of books. Through her writing and editorial work, Edim continues to champion literacy, representation, and Black literary traditions. Don't forget to get her book and like, subscribe, comment, and share.

What started out as a T-shirt (the now-viral “Well-Read Black Girl” phenomenon) followed by a book club, has since transformed into a literacy festival, a publisher imprint and an international community, all thanks to the vision of Glory Edim, founder of Well-Read Black Girl. In today’s episode, we chat about how she turned her love of literature into a global organisation, why reading is pivotal for joy and wellness, and the one book every woman should read before turning 40. Find out more about Glory and Well-Read Black Girl here Connect with Be Well, Sis: Instagram – @bewellsis_podcast Substack – bewellsis.substack.com Follow, rate, and share this episode! We’re supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Head over to www.stjude.org/bewellsis right now and sign up to be a monthly donor. Together, we can make a real impact. Want to get in touch? Maybe you want to hear from a certain guest or have a recommendation for On My Radar? Get in touch at hello@editaud.io with Be Well Sis in the subject line! Have your own Not Well, Sis rant to contribute? Click here to send it into the show! Be Well, Sis is hosted by Dr Cassandre Dunbar. The show is edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward. Our Production Manager is Kathleen Speckert. Be Well, Sis is an editaudio collaboration. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

From Well–Read Black Girl Books, a "wise and witty, unflinchingly honest and insightful" (Maaza Mengiste) novel that delves into the secret lives of three women on the eve of Eritrean independence. The year is 1991. Eritrea is on the verge of liberation from Ethiopian rule and in Washington, D.C.’s tight-knit Eritrean community, change is in the air. Thirteen-year-old Lydia and her family are grappling with what peace after decades of war might mean for their future, just as they welcome Berekhet—a distant cousin newly arrived from Ethiopia to attend medical school in the States. With him comes a barrage of new ideas Lydia must confront for the first time, about the stories of nationhood and family she was raised on. Meanwhile her mother, Elsa, a former rebel fighter, and the family matriarch, Mama Zewdi, must grapple with regrets long buried in the time their country has been at war. Elsa’s path from Eritrea to D.C. was paved with courage and loss, and figures from her past on the front lines of battle begin to resurface. Mama Zewdi, who runs a successful injera business out of her apartment, finds herself reexamining her place in their little family for the first time, while Lydia, emboldened by Berekhet, becomes committed to uncovering the secrets of her and her mother’s past—including the truth about her father, who was martyred in the war. A loving ode to an immigrant community on the cusp of a new age, I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For boldly asks: How does our past define our present? And what stories must we let go of to be truly free? Bsrat Mezghebe received an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. Her writing has appeared in Guernica, The Paris Review , and the anthology Well–Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves . She lives in the Washington, D.C. area. Mezghebe is in conversation with Glory Edim , a literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Edim's leadership, WRBG has grown into a nonprofit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator's Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Edim has contributed to the literary landscape with her bestselling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves , and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library and her recently published book Gather Me . PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781324092490?ic_referral=w35TuygLK6dGBEunTTaOCMhMAjrAkQzlIdg1SDOrRPkwM6tpLGTRc2pjSi4Jp_F73YPlTYO7V8QoVvkqdfIshzha-dcZM_RTx1l7Yc44MCqQCoOXNFdRqmws_VcrQH8dBQJfcbM

This event will be in partnership with the Washington Literacy Center . Even before they were recognized as citizens of the United States, Black women understood that the fights for civil and human rights were inseparable. Over the course of two hundred years, they were at the forefront of national and international movements for social change. From worldwide travel and public advocacy in the global Black press to their work for the United Nations, they courageously and effectively moved human rights beyond an esoteric concept to an active, organizing principle. In Without Fear , acclaimed historian Keisha N. Blain tells the story of these Black women through the lives and experiences of a diverse cast--from the well-known, like Ida B. Wells, Madam C. J. Walker, and Lena Horne, to those who are still less known, including Pearl Sherrod, Aretha McKinley, and Marguerite Cartwright. Without Fear is an account of their aspirations, their strategies, and their struggles to combat systems of oppression. Keisha N. Blain is professor of Africana studies and history at Brown University. She is a Guggenheim, Carnegie, and New America Fellow, and author--most recently of the National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Until I Am Free . She lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Blain is in conversation with Glory Edim , a literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Edim's leadership, WRBG has grown into a nonprofit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator's Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Edim has contributed to the literary landscape with her bestselling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves , and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library and her recently published book Gather Me . https://politics-prose.com/book/9780393882292?ic_referral=ejWvnxOF5prvZw5FY-3FFvkr7spiAOuUeYO9KUax3fYwM7PThGJfMII9N__BVEP9nUtql5vop7C3ZfbMRYPGM7c1os3vpcy76L7WFpzHDlKIoqYD6IHusEGs8DaHF5cWI7qyYB4

Betty Jean, the author's grandmother, had a house along a bayou in Texas, a home paid for and run without a man by her side. This home served as the center of Bonét's family's universe, the one place that was a constant through all of life's changes. Mama Connie, one of Betty Jean's eleven children, vowed that her life would be different. And in many ways it was: she got married, lived in suburbia, and built a life resembling the American dream. But when it came to raising children of her own, she was more like Betty Jean than she cared to admit. But, like her mother before her, Connie's sweat was the founding salt of her own universe. Today, Sasha Bonét navigates all aspects of being a mother--escape, promise, burden, assent, and rebellion--not just for the women in her family who came before her, but for Black women with whom society is acquainted, too: figures like Nina Simone, Betty Davis, and Darnella Frazier, who filmed the murder of George Floyd. Generations of Black women have borne children, borne the burdens of events untold, and borne witness to unspeakable trials. The Waterbearers carries this history, its fierce eloquence capturing a masterpiece of life written by an author who is intimately acquainted with how Black women have passed down knowledge and culture. Sasha Bonét doesn't just present genealogical lineages but illuminates the cultural and societal connections of strong Black women who have built legacies and changed the world, sometimes in the most mundane of moments. The fierce eloquence of this story confirms Sasha Bonét as a voice we all now need to hear. Sasha Bonét is a writer and cultural critic based in New York City. Her criticism and essays have appeared in The Paris Review , Aperture , New York Magazine, Vogue , and BOMB , among other publications. Bonét is a professor of creative writing for Columbia University and Barnard College. Bonét is in conversation with Glory Edim , a literary taste maker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Edim's leadership, WRBG has grown into a nonprofit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator's Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Edim has contributed to the literary landscape with her bestselling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves , and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library and her recently published book Gather Me . https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593536087?ic_referral=KvBAtADa3ExrKjON0E7GBBJ_PqcPBKlNilJsAMuNWIEwM2CPdLycNu3a1ccinqvsy85qA5S-RLPXhcuIGjlcJlBQ8bS9QG8ajJyGg3ojDwIeqgs00vi888TXR_jAWPwpmi9EqjU

Are you going through a period in your life when things feel "off"? Do you struggle to find joy in happy moments? Are you walking around feeling numb? Do you feel restless when you aren't busy or empty when you are sitting still? We all know what can't-get-out-of-bed depression looks like. But there's another, lesser-known side of depression that is hidden. Those of us with High-Functioning Depression (HFD) usually don't act the way we think a depressed person might. On the surface, we seem fine: We are succeeding at work, pulling our weight at home, and carrying on with our typical social life. Yet behind that mask of productivity we are barely surviving, and certainly not thriving. And we may have no idea why, or what to do about it. In High Functionin g , Dr. Judith Joseph draws on original research, client cases, and her own personal struggles with HFD to demystify this poorly understood condition. Her five simple tools--the Five V's--will help you understand the science of your happiness and empower you to reclaim your life and joy. -Validation: Acknowledge and accept your emotions about past traumas and present pain -Venting: Let out the frustrations and anxious energy bottled up inside -Values: Identify the purpose and priorities that matter most -Vitals: Slow down to listen to your brain and body and monitor the six vital signs of emotional functioning -Vision: Plan for and celebrate successes, milestones, and everyday joy By following the Five V's, we can put an end to self-sacrificing and self-sabotaging, calm our inner turmoil, and go from merely functioning to truly living. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9780316577298?ic_referral=E1F1CIW3qdSrY4kRInBHLyn8Hpt2T2T3GWELMiW4q1IwM_X3OoA7hg-1h0NZqnvF4e5N2mBAo8od28QMmc5JjRhnEBaHCMGxGuPqjC7FVqV7U9DpPy-8MTMtgH3JxwVxVi7WHI8 Judith Joseph MD, MBA , is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and researcher who specializes in mental health and trauma. She is the founder of and chief investigator at Manhattan Behavioral Medicine, New York City's premier clinical research site, a clinical assistant professor in child and adolescent psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, and chairwoman of the Women in Medicine Board at Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. As one of social media's favorite psychiatrists, Dr. Judith gets over 15 million views a month. Her Instagram, full of funny, role-playing videos and revealing insights, got more than 10 million impressions and her TikToks were viewed more than 5 million times just last month alone. She holds an undergraduate degree from Duke as well as a medical doctorate and master's in business administration from Columbia. Dr. Joseph is in conversation with Glory Edim . Edim is a literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Edim's leadership, WRBG has grown into a nonprofit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator's Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Edim has contributed to the literary landscape with her bestselling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves , and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library. The conversation is moderated by Talia Cadet . Cadet is a content creator and influencer with an au

Faruq Zaidi, a young journalist processing the recent death of his father, a devout Muslim, takes the opportunity to embed himself in a cult called "the nameless." Based in the California redwoods and shepherded by an enigmatic Vietnam War veteran named Odo, the nameless adhere to the 18 Utterances, including teachings such as "all suffering is distortion" and "see only beauty." Faruq, skeptical but committed to unraveling the mystery of the nameless, extends his stay over months, as he gets deeper into the cult's inner workings and alluring teachings. But as he gets closer to Odo, Faruq himself begins to unravel, forced to come to terms with the memories he has been running from while trying to resist Odo's spell. Told in three seamlessly interwoven threads―Faruq's present-day investigation, Odo's time as an infantryman during the Vietnam War alongside three other Black soldiers before the formation of the movement, and a documentary script that recounts the nameless's clash with a Texas fundamentalist church― O Sinners! examines both longing and belonging. Ultimately the novel asks: What is it that we seek from the people we admire and, inevitably, from one another? PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593597446?ic_referral=W5o3TEG9o8qSvVeavd-ydfqicH5iZFLsqGcIDRQ-soYwMy-oEW2_qey6l7424CQ6M1yenE4zswYl9UGotlcxd9jDmLWMvDoDb1i_4bZ-STOLqRhr4ZwiKqi70myqo0XVAvQPyA Nicole Cuffy is the author of Dances, longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. Cuffy has an MFA from The New School and is a lecturer at the University of Maryland and Georgetown University. Her work can be found in the New England Review; The Masters Review, Volume VI (curated by Roxane Gay); Chautauqua; and Blue Mesa Review. Her chapbook, Atlas of the Body, won the Chautauqua Janus Prize and was a finalist for the Black River Chapbook Competition. She lives in Washington, D.C. Cuffy is in conversation with Glory Edim , a literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Edim's leadership, WRBG has grown into a nonprofit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator's Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Edim has contributed to the literary landscape with her bestselling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves , and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library and her recently published book Gather Me. *recorded 3/22/2025

On her second birthday in 1967, Bernice McFadden died in a car crash near Detroit, only to be resuscitated after her mother pulled her from the flaming wreckage. Firstborn Girls traces her remarkable life from that moment up to the publication of her first novel, Sugar . Growing up in 1980s Brooklyn, Bernice finds solace in books, summer trips to Barbados, and boarding school to escape her alcoholic father. Discovering the works of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, she finally sees herself and her loved ones reflected in their stories of "messy, beautiful, joyful Black people." Interwoven with Bernice's personal journey is her family's history, beginning with her four-times enslaved great-grandmother Louisa Vicey Wilson in 1822 Hancock County, Georgia. Her descendants survived Reconstruction and Jim Crow, joined the Great Migration, and mourned Dr. King's assassination during the Civil Rights Movement. These women's wisdom, secrets, and fierce love are passed down like Louisa's handmade quilt. A memoir of many threads, Firstborn Girls is an extraordinarily moving portrait of a life shaped by family, history, and the drive to be something more. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593184974?ic_referral=REZTfrFZ9-USTGhIzfbUOWA69mMcBAktSUZkrySl3xUwM-JIp8wJseEWLDClGIPBobWG5k582k0xsq_QwpYGaQtOAwzZgsFrJ40exzmPqVqDgFx1UIDt_7pnmpUoX9V9r5vT_Q Bernice L. McFadden is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Tulane University and the author of several critically acclaimed novels, including Sugar, The Warmest December, Loving Donovan, Nowhere Is a Place, Glorious , Gathering of Waters (a New York Times Editors' Choice and one of the 100 Notable Books of 2012), The Book of Harlan (winner of a 2017 American Book Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction), and Praise Song for the Butterflies (long-listed for the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction). She is a four-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of three awards from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. McFadden is in conversation with Glory Edim , a literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Edim's leadership, WRBG has grown into a nonprofit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator's Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Edim has contributed to the literary landscape with her bestselling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves , and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library and her recently published book Gather Me . *recorded 3/6/2025

Books can seduce you. They can, Sarah Chihaya believes, annihilate, reveal, and provoke you. And anyone incurably obsessed with books understands this kind of unsettling literary encounter. Sarah calls books that have this effect "Life Ruiners". Her Life Ruiner, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, became a talisman for her in high school when its electrifying treatment of race exposed Sarah's deepest feelings about being Japanese American in a predominantly white suburb of Cleveland. But Sarah had always lived through her books, seeking escape, self-definition, and rules for living. She built her life around reading, wrote criticism, and taught literature at an Ivy League University. Then she was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, and the world became an unreadable blank page. In the aftermath, she was faced with a question. Could we ever truly rewrite the stories that govern our lives? Bibliophobia is an alternately searing and darkly humorous story of breakdown and survival told through books. Delving into texts such as Anne of Green Gables, Possession, A Tale for the Time Being, The Last Samurai , Chihaya interrogates her cultural identity, her relationship with depression, and the intoxicating, sometimes painful, ways books push back on those who love them. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593594728?ic_referral=aZlMb8ysIebzFtvcbDHymh67vJu4LDHpR0SSgUbs2kcwMziuzB4UZ2XzRVPpRjI3HPfwGLF1bQS7Ey_QenzwVoRBAsJuK2MigtQoEuZjOjahmCY2umzDRMcDTT05ZMd8spQxOg Sarah Chihaya is a book critic, essayist, and editor. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, New York magazine, The Atlantic, and The Yale Review , among other places, and she is the co-author of The Ferrante Letters: An Experiment in Collective Criticism . She has taught at Princeton University, New York University, and UC Berkeley. She is currently a contributing editor at Los Angeles Review of Books and lives in Brooklyn. Chihaya is in conversation with Glory Edim , a literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Edim's leadership, WRBG has grown into a nonprofit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator's Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Edim has contributed to the literary landscape with her bestselling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves , and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library and her recently published book Gather Me . *recorded 2/8/2025

Gather Me by Glory Edim is a memoir that centers on reading, writing and the way literature can shape us and make us feel seen. Edim joins us to talk about why she wrote this book, the importance of an author's voice, the many works that shaped her as a reader and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app Featured Books (Episode): Gather Me by Glory Edim Well-Read Black Girl by Glory Edim <span c

In this episode, meet the founder of Well-Read Black Girl Glory Edim, media consultant and former DJ and television host Elliot Mintz, and artist and public speaker Dylan Scholinski. Hear how each of these authors prepared physically (and mentally!) to record their audiobooks, and what they are most excited for listeners to hear. Gather Me by Glory Edim: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576457/gather-me-by-glory-edim/audio We All Shine On by Elliot Mintz: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743169/we-all-shine-on-by-elliot-mintz/audio/ The Last Time I Wore a Dress by Dylan Scholinski: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/348319/the-last-time-i-wore-a-dress-by-dylan-scholinski-with-jane-meredith-adams/audio

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/572983 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me Author: Glory Edim Narrator: Glory Edim Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 8 hours 5 minutes Release date: October 29, 2024 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: A “dramatic [and] ingeniously crafted” (Los Angeles Times) memoir of family, community, and resilience, and an ode to the power of books to help us understand ourselves, from the renowned founder of Well-Read Black Girl. “A beautiful portrait of a full life that has been buoyed by an expansive and ever-growing love for words and for language.”—Hanif Abdurraqib, author of There’s Always This Year “She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.”—Toni Morrison, Beloved For Glory Edim, that “friend of my mind” is books. Edim, who grew up in Virginia to Nigerian immigrant parents, started the popular Well-Read Black Girl book club at age thirty, eventually reaching a community of half a million readers. But her own love of books stretches far back. Edim’s father moved back to Nigeria while she was still a child, marking the beginning of a series of traumatic changes and losses for her family. What became an escape, a safe space, and a second home for her and her brother was their local library. Books were where Edim found community, and as she grew older she discovered authors and ideas that she wasn’t being taught about in class. Reading wherever and whenever she could, be it in her dorm room or when traveling by subway or plane, she found the Black writers whose words would forever change her life: Nikki Giovanni, through children’s poetry cassettes; Maya Angelou, through a critical high school English teacher; Toni Morrison, while attending Morrison’s alma mater, Howard University; Audre Lorde, on a flight to Nigeria. In prose full of both joy and heartbreak, Edim recounts how these writers and so many others taught her how to value herself by helping her to find her own voice when her mother lost hers, to trust her feelings when her father remarried, and to create bonds with other Black women and uplift their stories. Gather Me is a glowing testament to how the power of representation in literature can gather the disparate parts that make us who we are and assemble them into a portrait of discovery.