My work is based on the following books showcasing the work of highly respected and educated professionals I have/am studied/studying. I will continue to add to this list as my studies will be ongoing: 

• Even though I've only been doing this work since 2019, I have been  honored to have over 50 of our Black sisters trust me to talk to and receive help from me. As I help them, I am also utilizing the information they share with me to understand our needs better. These women are from the following the states and territory: Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Texas, New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico 

• My most powerful gift is that I am able to take life experience and translate it into educational currency. I am a Black woman DV survivor and single mother raising 2 co-surviving daughters. I was in the relationship for 11+ years before I knew it was abuse (he wasn't hitting me), 13+ years before I began working through ending the marriage, and nearly 15 years total before the divorce was final. I saw that of the 2 groups Black women needed help from, her own community was best positioned to help her overcome certain distinct issues Black women face that white women do not. Because I am a part of our community, and now have the textbook understanding to go with my experential knowledge, I am able to bring that knowledge to us in relatable ways

• I have also been researching through reputable online sources such as Centers for Disease Control (because DV is a health problem), National Domestic Violence Hotline, RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network), National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, VeryWellMind.org, PsychologyToday.com, Time, Safe and Together Institute, and many other resources like the ones below: 

  • Professor Jane Monckton-Smith's work in the UK in identifying and solidifying accuracy in the 8 stages of DV homicide. Her work proves that DV homicides begin with the history of stalking and control not incidences of violence; therefore, accurate stage identification facilitates disruption in the cycle before homicide occurs

  • Dr. Hillary Potter's work in the US through interviewing 40 Black women DV survivors. Her work illuminates the stark differences between Black women in DV and other women that society deems as "real victims", as well as coins the term dynamic resistance to clarify most Black women's reaction to DV based on our different cultural influences

  • Dr. Emma Katz's work in the UK around coercive control, post DV abuse through custody and visitation, and children being co-survivors not people exposed to violence. Her work is a guide to judges, attorneys, child protective services workers, and all mandatory reporters to more accurately dissect the true dangers long past the incidents of abuse to the mother, her relationships with her co-surviving children, and the co-surviving children's relationships with one another.

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Recommended Books: 

• In Control; Dangerous Relationships and How They End in Murder: Jane Monckton-Smith

• Battle Cries; Black Women and Intimate Partner Abuse: Hillary Potter

• Coercive Control in Children's and Mothers' Lives: Emma Katz