Intergenerational Healing and Grief Provider Resources
A curated collection of books, quotes, podcasts, writing prompts, and creative and somatic practices to support grounding, healing, and moving through grief.
Reads
Books
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What it Takes to Heal
Prentis Hemphill
A transformative framework for healing that centers embodiment, community, and justice, guiding us to reconnect with our bodies, articulate our deepest longings, and engage in collective action
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The Wild Edge of Sorrow
Francis Wheeler
An Invitation to embrace grief not as a burden to be avoided but as a transformative force that deepens our connection to life, love, and the world around us -
Rest Is Resistance
Tricia Hersey
A powerful call to reclaim rest as a portal to liberation, healing, and imagination -
Emergent Strategy
adrienne maree brown
A guide for navigating change through nature-inspired, relationship-centered practices -
The Book of Delights
Ross Gay
Short, luminous daily essays that help you notice the joy tucked into ordinary life -
The Altar Within: A Radical Devotional Guide to Liberate the Divine Self
Juliet Diaz
Practices and perspectives rooted in ancestral wisdom for personal transformation -
The Pain We Carry: Healing from Complex PTSD for People of Color
Natalie Y. Gutiérrez, LMFT
A compassionate guide addressing trauma and offering healing strategies
Articles & Blogs
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Is it burnout or is it a moral injury?
Jen Leland
An inquiry into the nuanced distinction between burnout and moral injury, highlighting the impact of systemic failures on provider well-being -
Grief Belongs in Social Movements. Can We Embrace It?
Malkia Devich Cyril
Beautiful and empowering reflections on intergenerational trauma, community, and coming to terms with death in movement building -
What is Ancestral Grief and How Can Somatic Therapy Help You Process It?
Downtown Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy as a practice to honor, process and release inherited burdens and connect with ancestral wisdom -
Doorways Towards Healing: Mending Our Wounds
Oriana Ides
An emphasis on the importance of healing and collective care by creating spaces that honor grief and trauma, fostering resilience and renewal for care providers. -
Beyond Youth Resistance: Telling the Whole Story
Dr. Meagan Corrado
Strengthening our efficacy by promoting an environment where clients feel seen and supported in their journey toward recovery -
Naming A Thing: A Case For Feeling
Dr. Noor Jones-Bey
Learn how creative writing can serves as a vital practice to process grief and trauma, fostering self-awareness and collective healing
Poetry, Quotes & Affirmations
We discern that the urge of the times is not to fix a broken system, but to acknowledge our inherent power to summon other worlds.
We know a way. Our cultures teach us that in turning to each other, we become disruptive to old realities and hospitable to new ones. Because we will not co-create the world by proxy, we need to turn to ourselves again.
Bayo Akomolafe
We're tied at the ankles.
We cannot cross until we carry each other,
all of us refugees, all of us prophets.
No more taking turns on history's wheel,
The sea will not open that way.
This time that country
is what we promise each other,
our rage pressed cheek to cheek
until tears flood the space between,
until there are no enemies left,
because this time no one will be left to drown
and all of us must be chosen.
This time it's all of us or none.
Aurora Levins Morales; Red Sea. 2022
My community has the power to heal
I have the power to heal
Healing is my birthright
And I will make healing
And joy
And pleasure
And liberation
The center of my life.
And so it is…
BEAM (Black Emotional And Mental health Collective)
Listens
Audiobooks
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You Are Allowed to Rest
Tricia Hersey (The Nap Ministry)
A grounding reminder that rest is not a reward—it’s a right. -
Braiding Sweetgrass
Robin Wall Kimmerer (read by the author)
Listening to Kimmerer’s voice brings her poetic storytelling and deep reverence for the Earth into even deeper resonance.
Podcasts
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Homecoming
Dr. Thema Bryant
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For The Wild
Ayana Young
Conversations at the intersection of ecological renewal, decolonization, and spiritual connection. -
The Latinx Mental Health Podcast
Ana Hernandez and Alejandra Spector
Discusses mental health topics relevant to the Latinx community, featuring interviews with professionals and advocates.
Rituals
Journaling
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Letter to Future You
Write a letter to yourself in September. What do you hope you remember? Release? Nourish?
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Coming Home to “Self” Prompts
What does safety in my body feel like?
Where in my life am I being invited to soften?
What does being resourced mean to me?
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Creating Joy Manifestos
Watch and follow along as Shirley guides you through this reflection process using the workbook Shirley Johnson and Oriana Ides created
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Honoring the Four Sacred Directions within Us
Jesus Solorio outlines the Four Sacred Directions and connects them to our lived experiences.
Art-based Practices
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Heart Like A River
Follow along as José González shares his thoughts connecting ecology to our experiences with community and crisis leadership. Draw, illustrate, or paint your responses to his prompts
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Getting to Our Grief: Utilizing Poetry to Metabolize Grief
Niki Magtoto
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Mini Altar for Summer Grounding
Create a small, intentional space with objects that soothe or inspire—stones, candles, dried flowers, affirmations, Photos.
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Metamorfosis: Co-Creating Dra. Dulce's Love Journal
Dra. Dulce Lopez provides space for the creation of a “Love Journal” (her original creation) that might assist individuals on their life journey toward self-empowerment, healing, and well-being.
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Mourning is the Work
A series of six art-based practices to support the metabolization of grief:
Breath and Body-based Practices
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Morning Grounding Practice (5–10 minutes)
Start the day with a hand on heart, deep breathing, and a question: “What does my body need today to feel steady?”
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Body Scan Practice
UCLA Health
A brief body scan to support noticing, naming and attending to your somatic needs
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Gratitude Walks
Once a week, take a slow walk with one question in mind: “What around me is trying to offer comfort?” pay notice to what surfaces
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Metta
Oriana Ides leads a “Metta” meditation practice, also known as loving kindness, which is something we can always offer ourselves as we mend our wounds
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Self-Holding
Oriana Ides leads us through the self-attuning practice of “Self-Holding” as an opportunity to ground yourself.
