You Ain’t Imagining the Hustle—And It’s Hurting our Health!
Release Date: 08/14/2025
Sounds of Safety: The Front Porch
You Ain’t Imagining This!
Sounds of Safety is a gentle audio offering rooted in the Black tradition of the front porch—a place of watching, listening, resting, and belonging. You’ll hear everyday porch sounds: distant voices, footsteps passing by, wind in the trees, birds, quiet movement, and moments of silence. Nothing demands your attention. Nothing needs fixing. This is an invitation to let your body remember what it feels like to be safe enough to simply be. You can listen while resting, after a difficult moment, or as part of winding down—allowing your nervous system to soften and your breath to settle....
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Umoja: A Comforting Moment for Feeling Connected
You Ain’t Imagining This!
This Comforting Moment marks the first day of Kwanzaa — Umoja, the principle of Unity. In this gentle gathering in the Umoja Cafe in YAIT Town, we pause to remember that we were never meant to carry life alone. YAIT Town is a living sanctuary built through story, reflection, and shared breath — a place you can return to for rest, truth, and connection. Alongside Comforting Moments like this one, You Ain’t Imagining This! offers: Immersive and Sensory Stories that invite you into Black spaces, memories, and moments. Believe Black People episodes that name and challenge racism and the...
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We Carry the Light: A Comforting Moment for Dark Winter Days
You Ain’t Imagining This!
On the longest nights of the year, we gather on the Front Porch in YAIT Town to remember that we don’t face the darkness alone. We Carry the Light is a gentle, Comforting Moment centered on Black joy, ancestral presence, shared hope, and the quiet warmth we give one another — even when the world goes dim. Comforting Moments are short, restful episodes meant to be used however you need them: while resting, walking, sitting in the dark, or simply breathing. These are pauses, not lessons — places to land, soften, and be held. You’re always welcome here — come join us on the Front Porch....
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The Wintering Room: A Story to Help You Rest This Winter
You Ain’t Imagining This!
In this YAIT Town Story, we step inside Nommo Books and discover the mysterious Wintering Room — a sanctuary that appears only in December. This fictional tale carries real and relevant truths about rest, darkness, and cultural wisdom. Ama-Robin, a Black empowerment storyteller, guides us through a mystical yet grounded journey that reminds us: winter isn’t a season to push through; it’s an invitation to soften, breathe, and reclaim the pace nature intended.
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The Day of Gratitude: You Have a Place Here
You Ain’t Imagining This!
Come on into YAIT Town for a celebration unlike anything you’ve ever heard! This is not Thanksgiving. This is The Day of Gratitude — a reimagined gathering rooted in Black joy, ancestral presence, and the flavors of the Diaspora. One long table stretches from the Front Porch to the Community Garden, covered in jollof rice, mac and cheese, plantains, root vegetables, and stories carried across oceans. In this special episode, you’ll walk with Ama-Robin between the chairs, greeting neighbors of all ages — the elders with their laughter and wisdom, the children asking brilliant questions,...
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An Espresso Talk on How to Feel Good Today
You Ain’t Imagining This!
Join me on the Front Porch! Today, we slow down together and learn a simple, powerful practice for rewiring the mind toward what nourishes us. Using four steps — seeing the good, naming the good, staying with the good, and claiming the good — we explore how neuroplasticity becomes a tool of healing, resilience, and liberation for Black folks living in predominantly white spaces. With Auntie Octavia by our side and sweet tea in hand, we talk about why our brains have been trained to scan for danger, why that’s not a flaw but a survival skill, and how learning to gather the good can shift...
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Welcome to Nommo Books- Finale: Behind the Story
You Ain’t Imagining This!
In this final audio walkthrough of Nommo books, we'll go behind the story of the past audios and why we built Nommo Books in YAIT Town.
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Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 2 : The Boy Who Wouldn't Leave The Library
You Ain’t Imagining This!
Listen to this Nommo Books Story about the boy who wouldn't leave the library
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Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 3: My First Visit
You Ain’t Imagining This!
Nommo Books — The First Visit I remember the first time I stepped into Nommo Books. The air was warm, thick with the smell of paper and cardamom tea. Rain had followed me all the way from the corner, and when I closed the door behind me, the city seemed to exhale and go quiet. Inside, the light was soft and amber. A record player somewhere in the back was spinning a Coltrane ballad that wrapped itself around the room–I could tell it was a record because of the distinct crackling sound! I love hearing the sax and the crackling. I stood for a moment just to listen. Otherwise, the store...
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Welcome to Nommo Books - Part 1: An Entrance Walk-through
You Ain’t Imagining This!
Let me welcome you to the warm and peaceful hub that is Nommo books with this audio walk-through experience. In this first part, we step inside and breathe in the scent of coffee and sandalwood. Books line the shelves like friends waiting to be introduced, Sometimes you’ll even find a handwritten note tucked inside — a quote, an affirmation, a reminder that you belong. Nommo Books is more than a bookstore; it’s a heartbeat of memory, resilience, and imagination
info_outlineIn this Espresso Talk, storyteller Ama-Robin names “the Hustle” for what it is—a survival pattern of overwork and over-achievement born from our history. It is stealing our rest, our joy, and even our health. From the based-in-truth story of Miss Josie Mae to the groundbreaking research of Dr. Sherman James, we explore how constant high-effort coping wears us down and how we can choose freedom instead. You’ll walk away with tools to slow down, reclaim your breath, and live in alignment with your body, spirit, and community.
You’ll get in this episode:
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Real-life examples of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual hustle
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How hustle culture damages our health and spirit
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Practical steps to slow down and protect your well-being
Bonus: Grounding Ritual for Release
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Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes if it feels safe.
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Place your hands over your heart.
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Inhale deeply for a count of 4. Hold for 2. Exhale for 6. Repeat three times.
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Whisper or think: “I am more than what I do. I am enough as I am.”
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Imagine placing the weight you’ve been carrying into the earth beneath you, knowing it can hold it.
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Open your eyes when you’re ready, carrying only what’s yours to carry.
Learn More & Support Black Scholars
In this episode, we mentioned the powerful work of several Black researchers, writers, and organizations who are helping us live longer, healthier, and more liberated lives. Their work supports us—let’s support them back.
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Dr. Sherman James – Epidemiologist and creator of the John Henryism Active Coping Scale, a tool for understanding how high-effort coping affects health, especially in Black communities. Learn more about his research and take the scale here.
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Tricia Hersey – Founder of The Nap Ministry and author of Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto. Her work reclaims rest as a form of resistance and a healing right for Black people. Learn more here.
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The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) – An organization dedicated to advancing Black-centered psychology, mental health, and community well-being. They remind us that our history and culture are core to our psychology. Learn more and support their work here.