This book is for young people like you, to help increase your social and emotional literacy (eq). Specifically, you will learn (or better understand) the concepts of safety, boundaries, consent, how to use "I feel..." statements, how to be a better listener, and the power of silence. You will also learn why gossip is harmful, the importance of self-awareness, and what to do when you have harmed someone or when you have been harmed by someone, and what to do when harm becomes abuse. Also included are emotion word definitions in alphabetical order. Coping and relaxation skills are spread throughout the book for you to learn as you go and not just in one specific section.
Coping skills: journaling and reflection sheets after every concept, where you can write about how the concept has shown up in your life, or to just write whatever you're thinking and feeling.
Relaxation skills: breathing exercises (deep breathing and triangle breathing), mindfulness exercises (using your five senses, the noun exercise, two questions exercise and the Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired (HALT) exercise) movement reminders, body response awareness exercises, coloring sheets, word searches, word jumbles.
*Parents are also welcomed to buy their own copy of this book to better understand how to communicate with one another and their kids. This book is the first of its kind. And we can all benefit from better emotional intelligence.
Finally, this book will help walk you through the process of understanding, defining and expressing your emotions, while using he / him pronouns throughout the text.
Walker, Lauren: - Lauren Walker is a lifelong Detroiter. She has previously worked for the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition as Community Outreach Director for the Gordy Howe International Bridge Project. A former Mothering Justice fellow with the Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan, she works on issues that affect Black women directly. You can currently find her as a Writer-in-Residence at the Detroit School of Arts for Inside Out Literary Arts. Lauren has been published in several literary journals and has one published collection of poetry, "Hard Candy".
Walker, Lisa: - Dr. Lisa Walker, PsyD has over 20 years of experience as a licensed mental health therapist. She owns a private practice based in Detroit, MI where she works to "remove the locks from mental health gatekeeping(TM)" via community education and collaboration, specifically in Black communities. She is a Reimagine Main Street(R) small business grant award winner, Blavity.org fellow and a SeekHer Scholar. Dr. Walker is an expert in trauma-informed care and social-emotional literacy. She specializes in somatic experiencing therapy where she works with clients to identify where in their bodies emotions are held and uses that space to expand the resource or work through the struggle. She is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Relaxation (EMDR) and BrainSpotting. Dr. Walker's favorite relaxation tool is exercise, specifically hiking and lifting weights.Dr. Walker was inspired to write the Black Kid/Girl/Boy Joy... books based on hearing one of her nephew's speak with his friends. They spoke with kindness and compassion with one another, but needed more understanding of social and emotional intelligence to deepen their discussions. One Saturday afternoon after thinking about how she could help, the idea for three separate books was born.
