Healing: The Act of Radical Self-Care

by Joi Lewis

More than ever, the world needs a message of healing. Healing offers radical self-care as a salve to help you hold heartbreak and hope. When you're an emotional laborer, healer, activist, community leader, or voice for change, the burden of oppression, trauma, and sorrow can seem never-ending. When you're facing nonstop heartache day-to-day, it's easy to wish for total numbness. But when you can't feel pain, you can't feel joy. Radical self-care and liberation coach Dr. Joi Lewis has one simple word for Healing. In Healing , Dr. Joi Lewis offers a powerful framework for all who want to uncover their heartbreak and reach for connection. The remedies in Healing will help you confront every aspect of your life that demands radical self-care. Dr. Joi's life-changing Orange Method (OM) inspires you to interrupt historic cycles of oppression and fully reclaim your humanity using practices for both self-care and community care. Healing is a path to transformation when your back is against the wall and you're buckling under the weight of everyday life. Joy is possible and unlimited. It's also worth reaching for. Healing is the beginning of your restorative journey back to you, your community, and your greater yet to be.

140 pages, Paperback

Published May 27, 2026

Reviews

[Hailey F]

Saw Dr. Joi as a keynote speaker for the runaway and homeless youth national conference in 2021. She inspired a new idea of radical self care. I loved learning about her background and some of the “how” in her teachings. This short book is a great guide to hitting refresh and establishing some boundaries around self preservation and elevation.

[Steven Finkelstein]

There are many community leaders, individuals involved in social justice, and others who fight the good fight. That’s important, but they also risk burnout. They are trying to make the world a better place, but to do so, they must subject themselves to endless pressure and negativity. These people don’t always know how to decompress, but they need to. This book teaches them how.

If you take the advice of this author, you will learn how to meditate, be mindful, and to find emotional liberation during the times when you need it the most. It’s crucial that you do these things, as the practice of self-healing will put you in a better physical and mental state to continue on the crusades that attracted you to their cause.

[May G.]

Resilience

The most valuable aspect of this book is its practical, everyday solutions for making social engagement sustainable in the long term. The idea that taking care of oneself is not a luxury, but an act of resilience and a political tool. Through a system that combines mindfulness, conscious movement, and emotional release, the text offers simple yet powerful rituals for regaining calm and presence amid chaos. It is an emotional survival guide that reminds us that well-being is a right and a necessity for continuing to build a more just world. A healing read that serves as a refuge for those who need to recharge their strength, reconnect with their own inner radiance, and remember that true freedom begins with healing from within.

[ZebraDebra]

Healing: The Act of Radical Self-Care is a vital self help read, and, as a woman, I find I benefit from it particularly. When things get tough, it is so easy to want to bury one’s head in the sand, but this guide gives one the tools to stand tall and take care of oneself. I love Dr. Joi Lewis’s “Orange Method”. It involves four steps, namely, meditation, mindfulness, conscious movement, and emotional liberation. Of these four, the two steps that assist me most are conscious movement and emotional liberation. It is so important to express one’s feelings rather than suppressing them. The movement guidance is wonderful. It gets me to engage my body in a liberating way. Five solid stars from me.

[Charlie R]

The phrase "self-care" gets used so much that it's almost lost its meaning. This book takes it back to something more serious. Dr. Lewis writes for people who are doing exhausting work. Her point is simple but important: you cannot sustain that work without also taking care of yourself. And the doing of that is not selfish. It's actually political. While reading, I kept thinking about how often we treat burnout as a personal failure instead of a systemic one. Lewis doesn't let you off the hook, but she also doesn't pile on. What I liked is how the way she writes is warm and direct at the same time, like someone who really means it when they say you deserve to be well.

[Serena]

I wanted to love this book more, but for me it just felt like it was missing something. I saw Dr. Joi at a work conference and absolutely loved her energy, her message, and just her general presence. I think if I hadn't seen her in person, I'd probably give this 5 stars - I just keep finding myself comparing the book to her physical presence, and the book just doesn't do it justice. If you ever have the opportunity to see her, do it! If you can't though, read this book!

[StephLynn]

I read this for an orientation/training as part of a "make sure your head is right" assessment. I really enjoyed the read! It was a good reminder to step back and evaluate how we take care of ourselves in order to achieve our goals or just get through the day. Plus, the way Dr. Joi shared action steps in the book was a great way to prompt some mentally healthy habits right away.

[Bethany Divakaran]

Dr. Joi provides an innovative and much needed definition of "self-care". This book speaks to important big picture concepts about how we care for ourselves and our communities, but also offers super practical methods. I feel that this is a book I will keep coming back to.

[Claire]

Dr. Joi Lewis is a great voice from my community. I am so thrilled she wrote this book. She outlines four simple practices and reminds us that we need to take care of ourselves so we can show up in the world.

[Reeve Klatt]

A very good starting point for some basic guidelines on self-care that goes much further than pampering yourself. Really appreciated Lewis' emphasis on trauma and communities of color. Definitely a must-read for activists! Also fun that she is living in st Paul!

[Mills College Library]

158.1 L6747 2018

[Kristina]

Easy read book on methods to improve your outlook on life. I feel this book is an easier form than 10% happier by dan harris. I enjoyed the personalization that the author gave the subject.

[Alisha L]

nice reminder

This read is like a gentle reminder to slow down and take care of yourself without feeling guilty about it. I liked this book because it has a message that is compassionate and empowering apart from grounded in real life challenges.
I think it's easy to connect with the ideas presented mainly because of the warm tone the author chose for this book. I'd recommend it.