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Generational Healing
I wrote this piece to highlight the urgency and importance of generational healing. It speaks to the reality that trauma does not always end with one person—it can be passed down quietly through behaviors, beliefs, emotional patterns, and survival habits. When wounds go unaddressed, they often reappear in future generations in different forms, such as unhealthy attachments, toxic relationships, fear of vulnerability, or distorted views of education, success
LaQuaia Thomas
Jun 92 min read
Confessions of a Lonely Girl - Victory Boyd
I saw Victory Boyd perform with her siblings at Detroit’s Majestic Theatre in November 2018. The Broken Instrument album had just dropped. Her performance alone was captivating and left me wanting to know more about the artist I had just seen in my Facebook feed earlier that
Martti Peeples
Jun 95 min read
Mom: Her Courage Still Speaks
I was about eight years old when my mom gathered her six girls on the living-room sofa in our Arkansas home to tell us some “very important news.” My oldest sister and I listened intently while my four little sisters were squirming and uninterested.
Mom sounded excited. “We’re moving North! We’ll live there from now on,” she told us. “Your father
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
May 266 min read
A Mother’s Bond: A Tribute to Thelma Mason
The bond I shared with my mother was truly unmatchable. We had a unique and special relationship that I will forever cherish. My mother was the real deal—she spoke with wisdom, honesty, and truth. That is what I loved most about her, and it’s what so many others admired as well. She had a genuine spirit, always loving and caring for others, often going above and
Dawn Sadler
May 262 min read
The Blueprint
My mother has been one of the most defining forces in my life—not simply because she gave me life, but because she taught me how to live it.
To know me is to know that my mother’s voice lives in my head daily. In fact, anyone who knows me well has probably heard me stop mid-conversation and say, “My mother always says…” before repeating one of the many practical truths, warnings,
Mardi Woods
May 194 min read
Mother's Day
My mother, Dawn, is a woman who gives love freely—but too often forgets to give that same love back to herself. For 37 years, she has been a hairstylist, blessing others through her gifted hands. But her work has never been limited to the salon. Her life’s greatest artistry has been in how she loves.
She has been the best mom—caring, present
Aliyah Sadler-Brown
May 192 min read
Detroit’s Black Reading Month
I remember watching movies like Roots in my youth and being so moved by the passion and desire our ancestors—enslaved people—had for reading. While I thought I loved reading, I realized their longing was much deeper.
The risk of being caught learning to read could have been enough to stop many, but it didn’t. They knew
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
Sep 25, 20252 min read
Book Review: Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
Published late last year, Entitlement by Rumaan Alam has been on a few “best of” lists this year--earning praise from authors such as Roxane Gay and Rebecca Makkai--and it’s very well done, if
Laurie Fundukian
Jun 17, 20253 min read
Book Review: The Women by Kristen Hannah
I don’t remember being taught much in school about Vietnam. The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World Wars I and II were covered, but
Laurie Fundukian
Mar 18, 20255 min read
Book Review: Wellness by Nathan Hill
Wellness is a beautiful book, with so many themes I had to slow down my pace while reading in order to take it all in. At its heart, it seem
Laurie Fundukian
Jan 7, 20253 min read
My Parade
Some years ago, I read a headline that made me smile: “Detroit Wins—America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Named No. 1 in America.” It had been
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
Jan 3, 20254 min read
A Tale of Bell
“I do daywork” is what I remember hearing her say. It would be a few years before I knew what that was and more than a few decades before I
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
Dec 30, 20244 min read
Book Review: True Gretch by Gretchen Whitmer
This September, with construction all around metro Detroit and the election looming, it was a good time for me to read Governor Gretchen Whi
Laurie Fundukian
Oct 7, 20244 min read
Take Me to the Water
My childhood in the South didn't include “the talk” about being pulled over, but instead about being pulled under.
Hot summer days made swi
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
Sep 12, 20246 min read
Seeing the Moment
Looking back on random moments can add new perspectives. I recently ran across something I wrote five years ago. I could never have predicte
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
Aug 14, 20243 min read
What We Do
I have always loved the movie It’s a Wonderful Life; the title, Jimmy Stewart’s acting, and especially the overall message which has stuck w
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
May 19, 20243 min read
Here We Are Again
Back when vinyl records were the way to listen to music, nothing was worse than a scratched record or album. The needle would get stuck in a
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
Mar 19, 20244 min read
Hoarding: My Way
Now that I’m in my sixth decade of life, I can admit to my unique habit of hoarding. Except for a couple of things, I finally stopped in my
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
Feb 28, 20244 min read
Seeing AI
I've been a lover of books ever since first learning to read. Growing up, my favorite places were school and the public libraries.
Delphia Simmons (Founder of Thrive Detroit)
Feb 2, 20244 min read
Book Review: Tom Lake, A Novel by Ann Patchett
Tom Lake, Ann Patchett’s latest novel (out last year) has a lovely Michigan connection, along with nods to Chekov and Thornton Wilder.
Laurie Fundukian
Jan 29, 20243 min read