Run It Back Tuesday w/ Alex Elle

We're talking about self-care and healing for Black women, with Alex Elle, on the last episode of The Black Woman Be Whole podcast takeover of the BeReal Podcast! Alexandra Elle is an author & wellness consultant living in the Washington, DC metro area with her husband and children. Writing came into her life by way of therapy and the exploration of healing through journaling. Quarterly, Alex teaches workshops and retreats centered around assisting others in finding their voices through storytelling, poetry, and narrative writing rooted in truth without shame. Her mission is to build community & self-care practices through literature & language. Alex is the author of multiple books and journals, most recently After the Rain and In Courage Journal: A Daily Practice for Self Discovery  Alex begins the episode by talking about what has changed since she was last on the show. Her book that was published in October, After the Rain, is already in its sixth printing. She discusses how the pandemic has drawn people to her messages of self care, and how her book has impacted the changing mental health landscape during coronavirus. Alex explains how the book is written to show Black women that they are not alone and other women are experiencing similar struggles in life. We discussed the Strong Black Woman identity and how that impacts us. To close off the episode, Alex recounts a recent experience she had with a white reader. Alex was told to not strictly identify as a Black author because it makes her works less universal. Alex goes on to explain how this made her realize that she must hone in on her identity as a Black author because self-care for Black women is necessary. For more information on Alex Elle, visit the links below: Website: https://www.alexelle.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex_elle/ For more information on Black Woman Be Whole, check out the links below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackwomanbewhole/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackwomanbewhole/