The Whole Five-Fifths Podcast is pressing the pause button.Season One is wrapping up and we are taking a moment to catch our breath... So now you can get caught up!Expect another bonus episode before we publish EP 014 -- Episode 1 of Season Two!!

In this episode, we come full spiral to a place similar to where we began this season. Our guest and host acknowledge the enduring impact of slavery (and its aftermath) on generations of people, and continue along the journey toward reclaiming wholeness. How can we heal from the past and present wounds inflicted by structural racism? What else is possible when it comes to healing?Meet Dr. Jameta Nicole Barlow, an esteemed writing professor with an advanced degree in public health. She's been researching and writing about the effects that racism, capitalism, and other oppressive systems have had on Black people in the United States and around the world. She created writehealing as a creative approach to resolving trauma. Dr. Barlow is also a doula, a yogi, and a healer with a mission to remind us all that we belong and, therefore, we are worthy of healing for ourselves and on behalf of the Seven Generations.Dr. Barlow is currently serving as an assistant professor of writing at The George Washington University. She holds a PhD in psychology from North Carolina State University and a MPH in maternal and child health from GW. She completed her undergraduate education at Spelman College. Connect with Dr. Barlow via her website, JametaBarlow.com.

Our last guest offered us some insight into her experience as a transracial adoptee. This week, we continue our exploration into this realm. In a society designed to ensure that people of color feel "othered," what do prospective parents need to know when considering adopting a child of a race or culture different from their own?Enter our next guest, Delois Pearsall, LMSW, a professional adoption counselor who specializes in transracial and transcultural adoption. Delois lets us in on what happens behind the scenes when family members of different races merge. She stresses the importance of helping adopted children cultivate a strong sense of personal identity, while  supporting the adoptive parents in their capacity to hold the space the children need to thrive.Through her work at Adoptions Together, Inc., Delois provides psycho-educational and attachment based therapy to families who are considering adopting children placed with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. She provides transracial and transcultural adoption training to prospective parents, and she co-facilitates support groups for children and parents who are impacted by transracial and/or transcultural adoption. Delois earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland.

The road ahead on our journey continues to take twists and turns, leading us to unexpected places. Meet Chrystina Gilgeous, MS, L.Ac, M.Ac, a Black woman, raised by a loving white family, mostly in small towns populated by mostly white people. How did the construct of race impact her? How did she make sense of her Blackness without mirrors? And without "armor" as she describes in this episode.In spite of her arduous childhood as a Transracial Adoptee, or perhaps because of the way she grew up, Chrystina's compassion and empathy for others blossomed into a career path that includes many forms of healing modalities. Her perpetual curiosity about life and fellow humans has opened her up to a lifetime of learning and seeking. Listen to her stories and be reminded that everything in life is not as it appears on the surface.Chrystina Gilgeous is currently serving as a health professional versed in Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, creative wellness programs, wellness coaching, preventative care, stress management and health education with a focus on delivering culturally competent health and wellness programs to minority and underserved populations. She holds a Master of Acupuncture and certificate in Chinese Herbal Medicine from the Maryland Institute of Integrative Health. She also earned a B.A. and M.S. from The American University.

Simone Pollard, MBA, is the Founder of The Stretch Room, an interactive, online, instructor-led experience that helps participants reap the benefits that come with regularly stretching the body.At this stop along our healing journey, Simone is here to remind us that we all have the right to take up space and stretch into places not originally designed for BIPOC. We discuss  navigating the landscape of micro-aggressions, and taking our seat at the table. Simone shares her stories of often finding herself to be the only Black woman in her field and how her very existence in some spaces is an act of resistance.In addition to running The Stretch Room, Simone is a consultant with The Pollard Collective. She is a strategist and a problem solver who collaborates with executives, institutional leaders, program/product managers, and marketers globally to evaluate products/programs and position them for success. She is also a classically trained dancer and a wellness enthusiast. Simone earned her MBA from The University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Virginia.

We resume the journey with Tiffany Green, Executive Coach and Psychotherapist, who has made it her mission to help women prevent themselves from experiencing burnout. In this highly informative episode, Tiffany outlines the warning signs of burnout in ourselves and how we can identify the conditions that can lead to burnout in the workplace. We discuss how and why women of color are more likely to experience burnout than their white counterparts.Tiffany works with high achieving, goal-oriented women and notices common patterns in her clients that, if left unchecked, can result in unnecessary suffering on all levels -- mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Tiffany, along with her business partner, has developed the She Thrives Master Program, a leadership coaching program that utilizes proven strategies and techniques to help women thrive personally and professionally. The program provides tools, insights, and resources that allow women to have fulfilling careers without sacrificing their personal lives. You can take the online assessment to determine if your job and lifestyle are putting your wellbeing at risk.Tiffany Green, LPC, MAPC, MDiv, MBA,  is the Founder and Co-CEO of She Leads Academy. She earned master's degrees in both pastoral counseling and divinity from Loyola University Chicago, as well as an MBA and a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri- Columbia.

Another pit stop before we set sail again on our journey toward reclaiming our wholeness. In this special bonus episode, your host, Leah, shares her reflections on episodes 007 and 008 "Meet the Parents." As one of Leah's teachers used to say, "our lives are personal, not private." Yes, we all have stories that are personal and shape us into who we are. AND, our lives are inextricably intertwined. What affects the parts affects the whole. Listen to this episode and get a sense of how this healing journey is impacting your host. Join her as she comes to a new understanding of how she's relating to same questions she's asking of her guests.Ultimately, it comes down to this: How can we, individually and collectively, transcend racism through healing?

This time, we make the second of two pitstops along our journey and visit with Leah's dad. In contrast with the way her mom was raised, Leah's dad grew up in urban areas and went to all-Black schools. Find out what it was like for him to experience segregation and how he faired  when times began to change.This episode will help you learn a little more about the host through the eyes of her father. Hear his perspective on the differences between living in Washington, D.C. versus the South. Find out his version of the story about how he met Leah's mom. And listen as Leah challenges her dad's views on "Black Supremacy."

We make the first of two pitstops along our journey to visit with Leah's parents. This time, we meet Leah's mom, who shares her personal story of growing up in an affluent, all-white suburb of Washington, D.C. with limited contact with people of color. Learn how she ventured away from the influences of a racist father and eventually married outside of her race.This episode will help you learn a little more about the host through the eyes of the woman who raised her. It also provides one octogenarian's account of her experience of the changing landscape of race relations throughout her lifetime.

In this episode we meet another practitioner of holistic healing, Dr. Rachelle Dixon. Through this guest, we make our way to Latvia, via Tennessee. (Right about now is when you say, ' hold up... say what?')Yes, that's right, Dr. Rachelle was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. We learn that she is a professionally trained dancer and the daughter of talented musicians -- an African-American father and a mother who immigrated to the United States after escaping from Latvia after World War II.  Through the fiercely tenacious spirit of her ancestors, she learned how living a good life is a form of resisting oppression. This is a world view and a life practice that she passes along to her patients and others with whom she shares her deep wisdom.Rachelle’s specialties include working with sexual, gender, and racial minority populations in addition to providing trauma-informed care. Rachelle holds a Master of Acupuncture and Doctorate of Oriental Medicine, as well as a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Western herbs from the Maryland University of Integrative Health. Rachelle has also been trained by Yvonne Henderson in Usui-Tibetan style Reiki, and is a graduate of her rigorous Goddess School Priestess training program. You can learn more about her on Rachelle on her Amazon Grove website.Listen to this episode to the end to hear more from your host, Leah, as she opens up about her own ancestral connections. Find out where Leah and Rachelle's treatment philosophies intersect as they vibe on what healing and holistic health means to them.