Mara Brock Akil spent 30 years building worlds on screen, and her debut novel asked her to go somewhere screenwriting never did. Mara joins Dr. Joy to talk about The Revelation of Dionne Daphne, the story she first tried to tell in the ’90s, and what it took to give a character her own experience with childhood sexual abuse. She also gets into the friendships that hold us until we can hold ourselves, the urgency that comes from facing your own mortality, and how compartmentalizing went from a survival skill to something she’s learning to put down.

Dr. Joy and Mara discuss:
Moving from screenwriting to a novel, and why the book left her nowhere to hide
How she supported herself while writing, from weekly therapy to her mother who always picks up the phone
Fasting during her last major writing stretch and promising herself she’d give the advance back if she didn’t love the book
Why she wanted readers to look at their shame and put it down
The two-week wait for an HIV test in the ’90s and how it shaped Dionne’s story
Why she calls girlfriends our surrogate parents, and what she understands now about Girlfriends that she didn’t 25 years ago
What she thinks women her age gained from a generation that paused for their mental health
The readers who wished the book had a trigger warning, and why she sees it differently
Compartmentalizing as a survival skill and learning presence instead
Her relationship with God and creating as co-creation
What’s coming in season two of Forever

Content note: This episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse.

About the Podcast

The Therapy for Black Girls Podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed Psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions of ourselves.

Resources & Announcements

Want to reflect on this conversation in community? Join us inside our Patreon community where we’re unpacking this episode together.

You can now catch episodes of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to get new episodes every week. 

Did you know you can leave us a voice note with your questions for the podcast? If you have a question you'd like some feedback on, topics you'd like to hear covered, or want to suggest movies or books for us to review, drop us a message at memo.fm/therapyforblackgirls and let us know what’s on your mind. We just might share it on the podcast.

Grab your copy of Sisterhood Heals.

Connect with Dr. Joy on Instagram. 

 

Where to Find Our Guest

Instagram

Grab your copy of The Revelation of Dionne Daphne

 

Stay Connected​


Is there a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Submit it at therapyforblackgirls.com/mailbox.

If you're looking for a therapist in your area, check out the directory at https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/directory.

Grab your copy of our guided affirmation and other TBG Merch at therapyforblackgirls.com/shop.

The hashtag for the podcast is #TBGinSession.

 

Make sure to follow us on social media:

Instagram: @therapyforblackgirls

Facebook: @therapyforblackgirls

 

Our Production Team

Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Gabrielle Collins

Director of Podcast & Digital Content: Ellice Ellis

Producer: Ndeye Thioubou 

Production Assistant: Bria Mosley

Mara Brock Akil spent 30 years building worlds on screen, and her debut novel asked her to go somewhere screenwriting never did. Mara joins Dr. Joy to talk about The Revelation of Dionne Daphne, the story she first tried to tell in the &rsquo;90s, and what it took to give a character her own experience with childhood sexual abuse. She also gets into the friendships that hold us until we can hold ourselves, the urgency that comes from facing your own mortality, and how compartmentalizing went from a survival skill to something she&rsquo;s learning to put down.
Dr. Joy and Mara discuss:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Moving from screenwriting to a novel, and why the book left her nowhere to hide</li>
<li aria-level="1">How she supported herself while writing, from weekly therapy to her mother who always picks up the phone</li>
<li aria-level="1">Fasting during her last major writing stretch and promising herself she&rsquo;d give the advance back if she didn&rsquo;t love the book</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why she wanted readers to look at their shame and put it down</li>
<li aria-level="1">The two-week wait for an HIV test in the &rsquo;90s and how it shaped Dionne&rsquo;s story</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why she calls girlfriends our surrogate parents, and what she understands now about Girlfriends that she didn&rsquo;t 25 years ago</li>
<li aria-level="1">What she thinks women her age gained from a generation that paused for their mental health</li>
<li aria-level="1">The readers who wished the book had a trigger warning, and why she sees it differently</li>
<li aria-level="1">Compartmentalizing as a survival skill and learning presence instead</li>
<li aria-level="1">Her relationship with God and creating as co-creation</li>
<li aria-level="1">What&rsquo;s coming in season two of Forever</li>
</ul>
Content note: This episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse.
About the Podcast
The Therapy for Black Girls Podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed Psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions of ourselves.
Resources &amp; Announcements
Want to reflect on this conversation in community?&nbsp;Join us inside our&nbsp;<a href="https://community.therapyforblackgirls.com/">Patreon</a>&nbsp;community where we&rsquo;re unpacking this episode together.
You can now catch episodes of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@therapyforblackgirls">YouTube</a>. Be sure to subscribe to get new episodes every week.&nbsp;
Did you know you can leave us a voice note with your questions for the podcast? If you have a question you'd like some feedback on, topics you'd like to hear covered, or want to suggest movies or books for us to review, drop us a message at<a href="https://memo.fm/therapyforblackgirls">&nbsp;memo.fm/therapyforblackgirls</a>&nbsp;and let us know what&rsquo;s on your mind. We just might share it on the podcast.
Grab your copy of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sisterhoodheals.com/">Sisterhood Heals.</a>
Connect with Dr. Joy on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hellodrjoy">Instagram</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Where to Find Our Guest
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/marabrockakil">Instagram</a>
Grab your copy of <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/20534/9780593597774">The Revelation of Dionne Daphne</a>
&nbsp;
Stay Connected​<a href="https://click.convertkit-mail.com/27uv20p9mpioh8edr34s8ug63w344hg/58hvh8ug08p6wzc6/dGhlcmFweWZvcmJsYWNrZ2lybHMuY29tb3JibGFja2dpcmxzLmNvbS9wYXRyZW9u" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.convertkit-mail.com/27uv20p9mpioh8edr34s8ug63w344hg/58hvh8ug08p6wzc6/dGhlcmFweWZvcmJsYWNrZ2lybHMuY29tb3JibGFja2dpcmxzLmNvbS9wYXRyZW9u&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1748492695474000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0jCyXCs32ITtLc68f4b9DW"> </a>
Is there a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Submit it at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/mailbox">therapyforblackgirls.com/mailbox</a>.
If you're looking for a therapist in your area, check out the directory at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/directory">https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/directory</a>.
Grab your copy of our guided affirmation and other TBG Merch at&nbsp;<a href="https://therapyforblackgirls.com/shop">therapyforblackgirls.com/shop</a>.
The hashtag for the podcast is&nbsp;#TBGinSession.
&nbsp;
Make sure to follow us on social media:
Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/therapyforblackgirls">@therapyforblackgirls</a>
Facebook:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/therapyforblackgirls">@therapyforblackgirls</a>
&nbsp;
Our Production Team
Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford &amp; Gabrielle Collins
Director of Podcast &amp; Digital Content: Ellice Ellis
Producer: Ndeye Thioubou&nbsp;
Production Assistant: Bria Mosley

The Therapy for Black Girls podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible version of ourselves.

Therapy for Black Girls

Session 489: The Revelation of Dionne Daphne with Mara Brock Akil

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d1251848-0020-4178-ad1c-b4ff0037370b/transcript