While I’m traveling this week, I’m bringing back a listener favorite: You’re Never Alone in a Black Bookstore.

This isn’t just about books. It’s about belonging!

I'm Ama-Robin, your guide on this storytelling journey.

Black bookstores are more than shops—they are sanctuaries, places where we’re seen, celebrated, and reminded that our stories matter. This YAIT Story takes you inside one of those spaces.

In this immersive Village episode of You Ain’t Imagining This!, I will guide y'all inside a Black-owned bookstore—a space where history lives, wisdom flows, and the Black community thrives. Through storytelling, reflection, and real conversation, we will explore how these bookstores are more than stores—they’re classrooms, healing grounds, memory keepers, and hubs of joy.

This YAIT Story is a glimpse of what that space will feel like: safe, welcoming, and filled with voices that remind us we are never alone.

And yes, when YAIT Town opens very soon, there will be a Black Bookstore waiting for you there.

This YAIT Story is a glimpse of what that space will feel like: safe, welcoming, and filled with voices that remind us we are never alone.

And yes, when YAIT Town opens this month, there will be a Black Bookstore waiting for you there!

As you listen, I’d love to know: What’s a Black book, author, or bookstore that has held you, taught you, or carried you through? Share your reflections with me on [Substack link] or [Instagram link] so we can keep building our library of love and resistance together.

📚 Got a favorite Black bookstore or book? Share it!

💬 Let’s talk about the spaces that hold us—and how we can protect, support, and remember them.

Follow @AmaRobinTells on Instagram so you don’t miss what’s next: YAIT Town!

You’re never alone in a Black bookstore.

You ain’t imagining this.

Coping can keep us alive — but it also can come at a terrible cost.

In this Believe Black People episode, Ama-Robin shares a personal story of survival coping, connects it to the weight that we as Black people have carried for generations, and names the truth: resilience is not permission, and survival is not freedom.

Together, we’ll move from survival coping to empowered personal and collective coping. You’ll hear truth-telling, an empowering meditation, and practical steps to release the burdens we were never meant to carry.

Because coping is not consent.

And you ain’t imagining this.

How to Carry Less and Live More: A Black Empowerment Choice

This episode is a modern folktale that asks: What are we carrying, and what might it feel like to finally set it down?

I’m Ama-Robin, your storyteller and guide at You Ain’t Imagining This — the sanctuary where we name the chaos of living Black in white spaces and remember that we don’t have to carry it alone.

It’s a story meant for reflection and meditation, with river sounds and a calm, steady pace — an invitation to rest your body, quiet your mind, and imagine release. Afterward, we’ll explore what this means for how we cope, both individually and as a community.

And stay tuned — this story is also a doorway into the coming of YAIT Town, a sanctuary of porches, gardens, rivers, and libraries where we learn to carry less and live more.

Because coping is survival. But survival isn’t the end of our story.