Library Journal Reviews

Mindfulness teacher Clarke's book opens at a violin vigil for slain Black violinist Elijah McClain, a scene has become all too familiar in recent years—a peaceful gathering or protest that turns violent, leaving attendees shaken, traumatized, and confused. The author relied upon a learned breathing technique to guide her through the chaos and through her continued attempts to process that event and the other traumas she faces as a Black woman. What results is this useful guide to the "white, hippie stuff" that many Black people assume cannot help them. The book is broken into sections about challenges that many Black people face on a regular basis—microaggressions, accessing quality health care, hostile work environments, racial profiling; these are paired with concrete mindfulness techniques (with inclusive images) to use in those situations. Readers will appreciate that the book doesn't shy away from difficult topics but helps digest and explore them. Clarke also provides easy-to-follow breathing and mindfulness practices to help bring some peace and clarity. VERDICT Though aimed at Black readers, other people of color (or those looking to better understand the Black experience in the U.S.) will benefit greatly from Clarke's book. This is an essential and timely addition to a library's self-help section.—Whitney Bates-Gomez

This practical guide features 33 mindfulness exercises centered on healing for the Black community, each focusing on the systemic challenges that people of color face and designed to deal with the emotions these experiences create. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

This practical guide features thirty-three mindfulness exercises centered on healing for the Black community, each focusing on the systemic challenges that people of color face and designed to deal with the emotions these experiences create. - (Baker & Taylor)

A thoughtful, inclusive, and vividly illustrated guide to help Black people—and all people of color—heal from racial trauma using vital tools from an expert in mindfulness, meditation, and breathwork.
 
It is your right to survive. It is your right to thrive. Mindfulness and breathwork will help you do just that.
 
Racism is more than just an interpersonal experience. It is a systemic injustice that affects the lives of Black people, and all people of color, in countless ways. Doctors and psychologists have discovered the wide-ranging—and often devastating—effects of racism on one’s emotional, physical, and mental health, from high blood pressure and heart problems to anxiety and depression. Yet studies show that mindfulness, meditation, and breathwork can significantly reduce these issues. This is where Zee Clarke comes in.
 
In this powerful book, Clarke draws on her professional expertise and her lived experience as a Black woman to share mindfulness exercises, breathwork practices, and meditative tools centered on healing from and surviving racial trauma. Filled with deeply personal stories highlighting the many systemic challenges that people of color face, this mixture of guide and memoir offers thirty-three practical techniques based on the emotions elicited from these experiences. Whether you are coping with police brutality, racial profiling, microaggressions, or even imposter syndrome, Black People Breathe gives you the tools to process these complex feelings physically, mentally, and emotionally. Though this collection was created to facilitate healing for communities of color, it also offers allies insight into the discrimination and inequity that these communities face, creating a space for deeper empathy and the inspiration to drive change.
 
Beautifully designed with gorgeous, vibrant illustrations,?Black People Breathe takes a radically inclusive approach to mindfulness, allowing communities of color the opportunity to embark on a journey towards racial healing. - (Random House, Inc.)

Founder of Reclaiming Flow, Zee Clarke leverages her toolkit of meditation, breathwork, yoga, and much more, to teach people of color how mindfulness can improve their well-being at work.  She has trained Black employees at leading brands like Facebook and The North Face, and she teaches Black people across the nation who have never meditated before how to use mindfulness tools to heal from microaggressions, racism, and the anxiety, fear, and self-doubt that often can occur as a result. - (Random House, Inc.)