Therapy for Black Girls — Session 444: End-of-Year Wisdom from Devi Brown & Dora Kamau

Date: December 31, 2025
Host: Dr. Joy Harden Bradford
Guests: Devi Brown (author, “Living in Wisdom”), Dora Kamau (meditation teacher, wellness expert)

Episode Overview

This special year-end episode is a heartfelt reflection on personal transformation, completion, and intentional healing as we close out one year and step into the next. Dr. Joy is joined by two influential voices—Devi Brown and Dora Kamau—to explore the wisdom gained from difficult seasons, the necessity of letting go, and gentle ways to nurture ourselves mentally and emotionally. Listeners are invited to release expectations, process unfinished business, and participate in a healing meditation designed to set intentions for the year ahead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Medicine of Completion (06:48)

• Devi Brown discusses the joy and relief of finally finishing her book after six years of holding the idea, emphasizing how completing a long-held project liberates creative and emotional bandwidth.

  • "As soon as that happened, I feel like I've been given access to, like, new layers of my own creativity, new layers of thought." — Devi Brown (06:48)

• Dr. Joy raises the importance of letting things come to a natural completion before always focusing on the "next thing."

• Quote:

  • "What about what needs to complete first? What about the things we've been carrying that need to be set down?" — Dr. Joy (05:46)

2. Divine Timing & Deep Sharing (07:43, 08:50)

• Devi attributes her journey to divine timing, noting that major life work—especially rooted in trauma and healing—rarely unfolds on a preferred schedule.

  • "God gave me the seed, the feeling. And it wasn't so much about getting it done right away. ... it was really about divine timing." — Devi Brown (07:43)

• Cultural Push Toward Instant Vulnerability: Dr. Joy comments on modern pressures to share unfinished stories, while Devi emphasizes metabolizing experiences before sharing publicly to avoid retraumatization.

  • "I believe deeply that every single thing that happens to each and every one of us serves purpose." — Devi Brown (09:55)

3. Permission to Shatter: The Value of Falling Apart (12:18)

• Black women have often been conditioned to “hold it all together,” but Devi argues that permission to “shatter” is essential for true transformation.

  • "I'm so grateful for the generations of resilience ... and at the same time, a lot of us alive right now, we're the first generation that's ever even had a chance to feel." — Devi Brown (13:34)

• Giving oneself space to fall apart isn’t a luxury but sometimes a necessity for discovering what’s worth rebuilding and what to release.

4. Developing Gentle, Authentic Wellness Practices (14:33)

• Dora Kamau’s Journey: Dora shares her unconventional start with meditation, hiding in her closet due to familial resistance, recognizing early on that mental and bodily safety are prerequisites for healing.

  • "I started to meditate, hiding in my mom's house, in my bedroom, in the closet... because she didn't want any meditating or chanting or Buddha, none of that in her house." — Dora Kamau (15:41)

• Key Insight: Healing isn’t picture-perfect or uniform. Wellness that actually works must be accessible, trauma-aware, and flexible.

5. Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (22:28, 23:58)

• Dora, drawing on her psychiatric nursing background, stresses the importance of safety, agency, and choice in mindfulness—especially for trauma survivors.

  • "It's such a privilege to be able just to close your eyes and to be with your body and your breath in such an intimate way. And for people who are living with trauma ... that's a really big thing." — Dora Kamau (22:28)

• Concrete Practice Tips:

  • Let people keep their eyes open or closed as feels safe.
  • Allow focus on external objects if connecting to the body is too difficult.
  • Normalize distraction and remind participants they’re the experts of their experience.
  • "If this does not feel good in any way, don't think that you need to be here to prove something to me or yourself." — Dora Kamau (23:58)

6. End-of-Year Reflection and Setting Intentions (26:23)

• Dora reframes New Year’s as a continuing journey, not a total reset, emphasizing reflection over self-pressure.

  • "I just see it as a continuation, not necessarily like a beginning and an ending, but... a continuation of like moment to moment, a series of moments." — Dora Kamau (26:23)

• She introduces the concept of "arrival fallacy"—the belief that happiness is achieved at a specific destination.

• Reflecting with compassion and pride for one’s progress fosters motivation and self-acceptance.

7. Guided Intention-Setting Meditation (33:10–40:49)

• Dora leads listeners through a meditation to envision the feelings they want to prioritize in the coming year, connecting to kindness, self-worth, and supportive boundaries.

  • Guided Prompts:
    • How do you want to feel in friendships, work, health?
    • What boundaries, thoughts, or actions support that feeling?
    • Offer self-affirmations:
      "I am deserving of a life filled with joy and happiness. I am worthy of good things. I trust the timing of my life." — Dora Kamau (Meditation, 36:06–40:00)

8. Final Wisdom & Community Reflections (40:49–44:48)

• Dr. Joy closes with a reminder:

  • "Transformation is not a destination. It's not something you achieve and then you're done. It's practice, a continuation, a series of moments strung together with intention and grace." — Dr. Joy (40:49)
  • Release pressure to be completely healed or “ready” by January 1st. Honor surviving, learning, and steady growth.

• Two (young) community voices, Jackson and Julian, share their end-of-year reflections and simple well-wishes, emphasizing hope, gratitude, and staying “locked in” for the new year.

  • "Keep going. Keep doing what you got to do. Always get better every day." — Jackson (43:33)
  • "I hope everybody is grateful for everything that they have in life." — Julian (44:43)

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "What about the things we've been carrying that need to be set down?"
  — Dr. Joy (05:46)

• "Completion...felt like all of this space came into my spirit and body."
  — Devi Brown (06:48)

• "Divine timing... God gave me the seed... it was really about finding new ways to romance my life."
  — Devi Brown (07:43)

• "Let myself be shattered... before I saw, you know, what is the rebuild? What is the learning?"
  — Devi Brown (09:55)

• "Generations of resilience... and at the same time ... we're the first generation that's ever even had a chance to feel."
  — Devi Brown (13:34)

• "I started to meditate… hiding… in the closet… because she didn’t want any meditating… in her house."
  — Dora Kamau (15:41)

• "It's such a privilege to be able just to close your eyes and... be with your body... for people who are living with trauma, that's a really big thing."
  — Dora Kamau (22:28)

• "Agency and choice are really big things ... reminding people that they have control over their practice."
  — Dora Kamau (23:58)

• "I just see it as a continuation, not necessarily like a beginning and an ending."
  — Dora Kamau (26:23)

• Affirmation from Meditation:
  "I am deserving of a life filled with joy and happiness. I am worthy of good things. I trust the timing of my life."
  — Dora Kamau (36:06–40:00)

• "Transformation is not a destination. It's practice."
  — Dr. Joy (40:49)

Noteworthy Segment Timestamps

• On Completion & Creativity: 06:48–08:50
• Divine Timing & Deep Sharing: 07:43–09:55
• Permission to Shatter: 12:18–14:33
• Dora’s Healing Journey: 15:41–16:48
• Trauma-Informed Practices: 22:28–25:21
• New Year Reflection & Avoiding Arrival Fallacy: 26:23–27:52
• Guided Meditation: 33:10–40:49
• Final Encouragements & Youth Reflections: 43:02–44:48

Conclusion: Gentle Wisdom for a New Year

Session 444 offers a balm for anyone carrying unfinished business, unprocessed pain, or unrealistic expectations at year’s end. Dr. Joy, Devi, and Dora remind listeners that true transformation is ongoing, permission is needed to both fall apart and to rest, and our healing journeys are uniquely our own.

Takeaways for the listener:

• Completion brings spaciousness for new creativity.
• Divine timing and patience with your own process are essential.
• It’s not only okay, but wise, to wait before sharing wounds not yet healed.
• Practices of wellness must be trauma-informed, gentle, and individualized.
• Choose intentions that prioritize how you want to feel, not just what you want to achieve.
• Allow yourself the grace to continue growing—no need for a hard reset.

You are exactly where you need to be. Keep taking very good care of yourself. Happy New Year.