Make Yourself Comfortable: A Playlist

There is healing power in music. Ask anyone who has ever gone through a break-up and depended on the blues to give sound to their pain. Ask anyone who has ever drowned out their frustrations belting out familiar lyrics with Alanis Morrisette (queue You Oughta Know) and Kelis (Caught Out There would be the one). Better yet, ask anyone who has tuned in to DJ D-Nice on IG Live during "quarantine" to dance and sing along with their favorite celebrities via social media. Music makes everything better.

One thing I love just as much as listening to music is creating playlists. It combines creating the perfect music mood and my obsession with list-making. Since we've been spending much more time indoors, I've been doing a lot of writing, reading, and listening to music. I've also cracked open 52 Lists for Calm by Moorea Seal. I absolutely loved filling out each list for the original book I got a few years back, so I knew using this book would be perfect for me during this time of searching for peace and trying daily to calm my anxiety over the unknown.

REVIEW | It's Not All Downhill From Here by Terry McMillan

I have been a Terry McMillan fan for years. I can remember sneaking through my mother’s books on her nightstand as a young girl in the 90s getting familiar with novels like Mama, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and Disappearing Acts. Secretly devouring these books late into the midnight hour by the small lamp in my bedroom fueled my love of reading. It’s Terry McMillan’s way of telling stories of family, love, and relationships that made me feel like I was growing into a part of a sisterhood no one had told me about. Flipping those pages was a rite of passage! I was reading things that I had only heard about while eavesdropping when my mama’s friends came by (because of course I was not allowed to be in the room). I have experienced so many stages of life through the lens of a fictional Terry McMillan character that resembled my mom, aunt, grandmother, and other loved ones. I’ve grown up on Terry McMillan novels and will brake for anything she pens, automatically.

 All of that brings us to my experience with It’s Not All Downhill From Here. I read the synopsis and couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy! I was fascinated by the premise of a 68-year-old owner of a beauty empire with a full life. I dived in head first with Loretha and could not wait to see what kinds of gems she would share in this read.