Photo:Nick Onken, Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing, Balance,Matthew Jordan Smith
Nick Onken, Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing, Balance,Matthew Jordan Smith
Courtney B. Vance and Dr. Robin L. Smith are advocating for their community’s well-being in their new bookThe Invisible Ache: Black Men Identifying Their Pain and Reclaiming Their Power.Vance, the Tony and Emmy-Award winning actor, known for his roles in Nora Ephron’sLucky Guy, FX series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and61st Street, nowset to airon The CW Network, and Smith, bestselling author and former “Therapist-in-Residence” onTheOprah WinfreyShow,“seek to change the discourse around mental health for Black men,” according to an announcement from the book’s publisher.“We have to find a way to [experience] joy,” Vance told PEOPLE in a recent interview. “It’s a part of life, that death is a part of life, and pain is a part of life, and suffering is a part of life. The question is, what are we going to do?”
Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing, Balance
Matthew Jordan Smith
“What we want [the book] to do is allow people to find themselves in Courtney’s story,” Smith told PEOPLE. “But most importantly, [we want to] equip people with how to extricate themselves from…the emotional shackles and prisons that Black men and boys have been placed into.”Literature has long played an integral part in Vance’s life (his first book, entitledFriends: A Love Story, was published in 2009 and co-authored with his wifeAngela Bassettand writer Hilary Beard.) He credits his mother, Leslie, a former librarian, as another inspiration behindThe Invisible Ache, both for promoting a love of literacy and for encouraging him to go to therapy. The lessons Vance learned echo throughout the book.“That’s what we have to recognize, that we may not be able to see our way [clearly], but there is a path, there is a way,” he stated. “And if we just give ourselves over to it, we can do more. That’s why this story…is one story of many that potentially could save a life.”
Nick Onken
The Invisible Acheis “a vital and urgent response to the trauma that haunts so many Black boys and men, and a resource for those who love them and are committed to their overall health and wellbeing,” according to its publisher. It is also a celebration of joy and vulnerability amidst an often covert mental health crisis; a nod to the book’s title. Dr. Smith emphasizes the importance of these acts as a right, not a privilege.
source: people.com
