In the Company of My Sisters

“The first self-help book by a psychotherapist to examine the realities of black women’s lives and their shared problems.”—Midwest Book Review

“Practical, hilarious, and common sense advice for self-care and self-recovery.”—Common Boundary

“Black women are exposed to ‘distorted messages about our ethnicity and our femaleness,’ notes Boyd, a Seattle psychotherapist. To countermand these messages, she offers this affectionate mix of feminist analysis, pop psychology and sisterly wisdom written in a colloquial style and interspersed with anecdotes and questions drawn from her ‘sister circle’ support group of friends. ‘Our basic teaching tells us that thinking and doing for ourselves is ‘selfish’,’ observes Boyd, who recommends ‘self-care’…. Healing the black woman’s self-image must, Boyd stresses, be both an individual and collective act.”—Publishers Weekly

“This is self-help and more. Issues such as sexuality, religious beliefs, racial discrimination, and domestic violence are addressed candidly…. What Boyd offers is a message to all women—regardless of race or color—that ‘we are not our wounds of the past, and if we allow our wounds to define our present lives, we forfeit the opportunity to live our lives in the here and now.’ This is a very important addition to self-help collections.”—Library Journal

“This is more than good advice, it is about growing into your skin and loving that skin, along with the woman inside it.”—Barbara Brown, The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women