Season 1: Episode 2 Summary

Pleasant Harrison was told by her doctor that she wouldn't survive her cancer diagnosis. With no meaningful care offered, she turned to what her grandfather had taught her—herbal medicine, ancestral healing practices, prayer, and the land itself. She survived by trusting what her ancestors had already placed in her hands.

In this episode, we explore what Pleasant's story reveals about medical racism, medical neglect of Black women, and the ongoing Black maternal health crisis. I share my own maternal health story—navigating NICU trauma, being dismissed by physicians, and learning to trust my body's intuition when institutions failed me.

Pleasant's life illuminates the power of ancestral medicine, herbalism, spirit-led care, and the sacred relationship with land that Black women have always relied upon for survival. Together, we move beyond "grounding" into communion with land, herbs, spirit, and self—healing as a reciprocal, intuitive, and sacred act.

This is what it looks like to save your own life when the medical system says you won't.

Featured Oral History Clip: Ms. Pleasant Harrison

A Black herbalist and community caregiver who survived a terminal cancer diagnosis by relying on ancestral herbal medicine, prayer, intuition, and family-taught healing practices when doctors left her with no care and no hope.

Presence Practice

What part of your healing journey have you been afraid to claim?

Reflection Question: Where is your intuition—or the land—already whispering guidance that Western systems have ignored?

Want to go deeper? Join me on Patreon to continue the conversation, unpack these themes in community, and practice the tools shared in this episode. https://www.patreon.com/c/shawnamurraybrowne

If you’re ready for deeper integration, explore Cadence—my signature Liberatory Leadership Incubator for women leading in high-stakes environments: https://www.kindredwellness.net/cadence

This episode is also available as a video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E4LtaRbhoA. If you enjoyed it, please like, share, subscribe, and leave a 5-star review—your support helps this work reach those who need it.

Archival credit: Oral history excerpts courtesy of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University, Black Women’s Oral History Project.

Season 1: Episode 1

Anna Arnold Hedgeman and Bertha Cooley fought for racial justice inside the YWCA decades before "DEI" existed—and paid a steep price.

In this opening episode of Return to Presence, we examine Black women's burnout, workplace racism, and the health crisis created by being "the only one" in the room. We explore how racialized workplaces fracture Black women's health, the weathering hypothesis, and how capitalism and martyrdom culture demand we sacrifice our bodies for the work.

I share my own experience of burnout as a Black woman PhD student running a nonprofit and consultancy—the embodied martyrdom, chronic stress, inflammation, and mystery medical problems that came from overgiving and overworking.

Through their stories and mine, we explore what gets passed down: the beliefs that keep us stuck, the weathering that shows up in our bodies, and the mindset shifts and somatic healing practices that create space for something different.

We close with a guided release practice—letting go of what no longer serves us and beginning the return to presence.

Featured Oral History Clip:

Dr. Anna Arnold Hedgman (with attention to the legacy of Bertha Cooley)

A civil rights strategist, educator, and the only woman on the March on Washington planning committee, Anna Arnold Hedgman navigated race politics, gender bias, and organizational pressure with a clarity that shaped generations of Black leadership.

Presence Practice

Release an old mindset that keeps you tethered to overwork. Establish one small ritual this week—breath, movement, affirmation, or boundary—that honors your body’s wisdom.

Journal Question: Who affirms your convictions, not just your credentials?

Two Ways to go Deeper:

1.) Join me on Patreon to continue the conversation, unpack these themes in community, and practice the tools shared in this episode. https://www.patreon.com/c/shawnamurraybrowne

2.) If you’re a woman of color leader, explore Cadence—my signature Liberatory Leadership Incubator for women leading in high-stakes environments: www.kindredwellness.net/cadence

This episode is also available as a video on YouTube.

If you enjoyed it, please like, share, subscribe, and leave a 5-star review—your support helps this work reach those who need it.

Archival credit: Oral history excerpts courtesy of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University, Black Women’s Oral History Project.