Ghanaian American writer Meri Nana-Ama Danquah sits down with host Chloe Aftel to discuss immigration, mental health, and self preservation. They talk about Danquah’s experience having learned about her undocumented status as an adult, and how that severely impacted not only her life, but her mental health. She remarks on the irony of the fact that though she was highly regarded and often asked to speak on issues of mental health, she wasn’t able to speak on one of the key causes of her own depression due to the danger it would put her in. They discuss her writing process, noting that she writes about her experiences not to ruminate but to give other people the opportunity to understand and dissect what it means to exist as a person whose identity and life experience is inherently intersectional.

Highlights:

Danquah talks about her own experience being an immigrant who spent many years of her life undocumented and how though the modern day anti immigrant rhetoric is both frightening and harmful, it’s also something that has always existed
They discuss her writing, with her stating that she believes that writing involves both responsibility and a willingness to tell the truth
They talk about California Proposition 187, an initiative that passed in 1994 that aimed to prohibit undocumented immigrants from accessing healthcare, social services, and education
Danquah discusses the suicide rates amongst activists and stresses the importance of self preservation and self care, and how community building is an inherent part of that
Danquah brings up the topic of gender identity and healthcare, going into depth about her own experiences with menopause, endometriosis, and the stigma that surrounds those topics

Biographies:

Meri Nana-Ama Danquah is an acclaimed Ghanaian American author, editor, journalist, and public speaker who is best known for her memoir entitled Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression. Born on September 13, 1967 in Accra, Ghana, Danquah would immigrate to the United States at the age of six, three years after her mother had immigrated. She eventually learned as a young adult that she was undocumented, despite having come legally. After coming to terms with this information and following the birth of her daughter, Danquah relocated to Washington DC where she would then come to understand that she had been suffering from clinical depression, something she would start exploring more in her writing. She went on to be chosen by the National Health Association to act as spokesperson for their campaign on Clinical Depression. She then went on to earn her Master of Fine Arts degree from Bennington College and has taught at various universities across the globe.

Chloe Aftel has spent her career working in commercial photography, photojournalism, and film. She’s an established name in modern photography with work featured in The New York Times, Mother Jones, Playboy, Dazed & Confused, Vogue Germany, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, and more. Aftel has photographed victims of sexual violence, reported on COVID 19's impact on the trans community, and gained access as the first reporter in COVID wards of the West Coast’s hardest-hit hospitals. She has covered underground abortion providers, the impact of gender pronouns on daily life, and clergy abuse. Aftel's first book, Outside & In Between, is an award-winning anthology covering gender non-conforming people across the United States.

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