Black pain: it just looks like we're not hurting

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In 2005, Terrie M. Williams, the New York public relations entrepreneur, detailed her battle with clinical depression in her pioneering magazine article Depress/on and the Superwoman. The article inspired people to reveal their secret battles with the obstinate disease, prompting Williams to delve deeper into the issue. In BLACK PAIN: IT JUST LOOKS LIKE WE'RE NOT HURTING (Scribner, $24), Williams explores depression in Black America, beginning with her own personal experience to other profound stories of great suffering and inspirational healing, including tales from singer Mariah Carey, supermodel Beverly Johnson and novelist Bernice L. McFadden. Below, Williams, a prolific public speaker, mentor and founder of the Stay Strong Foundation in New York City, which provides mental health outreach to youth, takes time from her busy schedule to talk with EBONY about BLACK PAIN.

EBONY: The details of BLACK PAIN are raw. Are you sounding the alarm bell?

WILLIAMS: Black people from all walks of life are enduring crippling emotional challenges that cause thousands of us to suffer from depression. Most of us do not have a clue what's causing some of our severe health problems, such as high blood pressure and heart disease. We don't understand why we don't have the strength to get out of bed, or why we feel suicidal, when from [the] outside [it looks as if] we have everything to live for. Depression plays a major role in every aspect of social misery, domestic and street violence, and child abuse. The list is endless ... There isn't one among us on the planet who is not dealing with the pain and disappointments we inherit from our parents and some childhood scars we have not spoken about. Many of those issues are keeping us from being our best selves and doing what we were called to do. We must begin to deal with these issues in order to grow. That's one reason, among many, why I wrote BLACK PAIN.

EBONY: What was the turning point for you in dealing with your own depression?

WILLIAMS: Coming out of the nine months of a devastatingly crippling depression. That was really the turning point for me--and that I am sitting here today clothed and in my fight mind talking with you (laughing). When I finally did share my story, I got over 10,000 letters from people telling me something about themselves that family and their best friends didn't know. That's depression. They were either suffering with some kind of pain, mental or physical, or there was something holding them back and they didn't recognize the symptoms. During this period of suffering, you lie because you don't know what's going on, or you're too embarrassed to tell anyone. You show up late to work, or you're absent, or unproductive. You're the walking wounded. That's the hidden face of depression that I'm trying to reveal.

EBONY: What can be done to help people?

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WILLIAMS: Awareness, awareness--awareness ... [Help] begins there. I deliberately wrote BLACK PAIN in very accessible language and reached out to real people, from [the celebrity] to the business professional to the gang-banger. My goal is for anyone who reads the book to see themselves, or someone that they know, and [letting them know] they are not on the ledge alone; they don't have to wear a mask. When we try to deny our true feelings, we become prisoners in our own mind ... it's dangerous ... We must share our stories with each other.

EBONY: Who is the target audience for the book?

WILLIAMS: I'd have to say that all Black people will benefit from the book because even if you don't personally suffer from depression, you know someone who [is suffering from the disease]. Problem is, they [are likely suffering in silence]. How many times do we write people off as "evil" or "crazy" and wind up avoiding them all together? ... I just want us to know what to look for.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale Group