5 Jul 2017 — 1“I'm glad you've grown and are finding your way. But how am I supposed to celebrate growth that happened at my expense? What am I to ma… - Candice Marie Benbow

1 Nov 2023 — Knowing I'd willingly accept responsibility if it meant starting over. But we're never supposed to say that out loud. It betrays all nouveau ..

Many women I met during my time in the academy were very good to me. But in the wake of everything I lost, I wanted to reclaim parts of me with some semblance of wholeness before everything was burned in the fire. To do that, I needed to reconnect with people who knew me before I began chasing whatever success I thought I'd find being an acclaimed Womanist scholar. I need the people who knew me when my dreams were big, and my spirit and heart were unbroken.

It’s an open letter to toxic lovers and the baggage left over when unloving, unhealthy and uneven relationships end. For Black women, relationships often come at the expense of their own well-being. “We pay with our bodies,” Benbow writes. “Sometimes our lives. And even in that trauma, we still find ways to sow deeper into the love we have for you, hoping it will get better.”