Living Well, Despite Catchin' Hell: The Black Woman's Guide to Health, Sex & Happiness

Sex, health, happiness and wealth...you know you want it! And there's no better time than now for having it all and 'gettin' it good! But sometimes factors get in the way, and it can be hell.

Disparaging images in the media. The subject of misogynistic lyrics and derogatory comments from famous celebrities and bloggers unknown. Colorism. The largest demographic of women who live as head-of-household and a growing shortage of marriage-minded (and marriage-worthy) Black men. These are just some of the ways Black women proverbially 'catch hell' in today's society.

As if the attack on their image and psyche isn't enough, Black women also disproportionately suffer from killer diseases such as diabetes, cancer, infant mortality, HIV/AIDS and more. Yet despite all the psycho-social attacks (the 'hell') Black women face, they have the lowest rate of suicide compared to other demographics and many live phenomenally well as cherished wives, trailblazing professionals and entrepreneurs.

But these struggles are rarely validated, and these successes rarely acknowledged. Living Well, Despite Catchin Hell is a book that does just that. It provides head-to-toe medical advice on heart disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, fibroid tumors and other medical diagnoses, and it acknowledges the direct effect such social rejection and attacks (the 'hell') that Black women experience on a near-daily basis have on their psyche and physical health. How some Black women hurt their own lives and well-being will also be examined.

The physician-author's groundbreaking 'Rejection Connection' flowchart clearly demonstrates how these social stressors significantly contribute to the continuing state of Black women s health. It serves as a much needed eye-opener, not only to women readers, but also to media executives, health professionals, sociologists and others who seek to understand and mitigate the causative factors adversely affecting today s Black woman.

With an upbeat approach (and with health as the common thread woven through each section), Living Well, Despite Catchin' Hell is professional medical advice, sexology, sociology, psychology, dashes of pop culture and hefty doses of personal responsibility. It is the one-source, go-to health reference Black women need in order to live healthy, happy, long and strong in the 21st century. (An E-book version will be available later this year.)