Monica A. Coleman's Blog, page 7
July 18, 2017
We Die Daily
We die daily.
This is what I told a student in the summer continuing education class I teach on Process Theology as Spiritual Liberation.
She asked, “What about life after death?” And my first response, without much thought came in these three words:
“We die daily.”
“And,” I continued, “we rise again.”
It’s a core principle of what I study, teach and experience: change involves loss.
Things always change. We change. We grow. We evolve. We have new experiences. So do those around us. We aren’t wh...
We Die Daily
We die daily.
This is what I told a student in the summer continuing education class I teach on Process Theology as Spiritual Liberation. She asked, “What about resurrection?” And my first response, without much thought came in these three words:
“We die daily.”
“And,” I continued, “we rise again.”
It’s a core principle of what I study, teach and experience: change involves loss.
Things always change. We change. We grow. We evolve. We have new experiences. So do those around us. We aren’t who...
May 21, 2017
Racism and the Invisible Struggle of Mental Health in the Black Community
This is why we don’t talk about depression.
Sherri Williams writes in SELF magazine and cites some words from me! So cool!
I sat on the floor in the bedroom and thought long and hard about it. How could I affix that belt to the door and wrap it around my neck to take my life? I was overwhelmed with sadness and guilt and I wanted it to end. I also thought it would be easier for everyone if I wasn’t here.
My single mother had three kids, but our landlord said she could only have two children livi...
March 23, 2017
Los Angeles Review of Books lauds Bipolar Faith
Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn truly floored me with this review of Bipolar Faith in the Los Angeles Review of Books
NOT SINCE MAYA ANGELOU’S I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has an autobiography chronicled an African-American woman’s journey from trauma to joyousness as boldly and vividly as Monica A. Coleman’s Bipolar Faith. Coleman — a professor of theology and African-American religions at the Claremont School of Theology and an ordained elder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church — delv...
February 22, 2017
A Faith That Liberates T-Shirts Available
I’ve been wearing this t-shirt on the #BipolarFaith tour and many of you have asked how you can get one too. So now you can. I’m making these available for a limited time: until FEBRUARY 25!
Soft t-shirt, 100% cotton, short sleeved and long sleeves and youth sizes!
The post A Faith That Liberates T-Shirts Available appeared first on Monica A. Coleman.
February 10, 2017
NOT ALONE on Seat Syllabus
Honored to see that my book NOT ALONE: REFLECTIONS ON FAITH AND DEPRESSION is mentioned in #SeatSyllabus from women of color under age 30. Based on the “Seat the Table” album by Solange, Seat Syllabus is curated by Candice Benbow, Elle Magazine and Melissa Harris-Perry and the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University .
Thank you all and Solange for putting self love and self care to the forefront!
Not Alone in #SeatSyllabus
The post NOT ALONE on Seat Syllabus appeared first on Mo...
February 3, 2017
Bipolar Faith on Los Angeles Review of Books Radio
LA Review of Books Radio
So honored to be in conversation with Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn with Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB) about #BipolarFaith. We had a lively conversation on a lot of the things that didn’t make it into the book and why there’s so much music in the book. Shouts out to my writing inspirations and the AME Church.
Check it out here (my part starts at 28:05)
The post Bipolar Faith on Los Angeles Review of Books Radio appeared first on Monica A. Coleman.
January 19, 2017
Bipolar Faith Receives 2017 Silver Illumination Book Award
2017 Illumination Award
Honored that BIPOLAR FAITH has received a 2017 Silver Illumination Book Award in the Biography/ Memoir category for the year’s best new titles written and published with a Christian worldview.
The awards are designed to honor and bring increased recognition to the year’s best new titles written and published with a Christian worldview.
This year’s 81 Illumination Award medals went to books from 26 US states, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The diversi...
October 22, 2016
Religion Dispatches Interview on Bipolar Faith
“History and culture and race and family and genetics and trauma and fear all factor into what cause mental health challenges. Class, education and privilege may make a difference with accessing healthcare, but they don’t protect one from the angst of these conditions.”
Interview with Religion Dispatches of University of Southern California about Bipolar Faith. Sharing some of my motivations and behind-the-scenes perspectives on the intersection of depression and faith.
The post Religion Dis...
October 16, 2016
Bipolar Faith feature in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jennifer Frayer-Griggs wrote a great feature in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“You can die of grief.” This is the first sentence of the Rev. Monica A. Coleman’s memoir, “Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman’s Journey With Depression and Faith.” And with that first sentence, Ms. Coleman knits together her experiences of family history, the legacy of the horrors of slavery and the Jim Crow South, and the thread of emotional brokenness that has been woven throu...
