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The Joy of the Disinherited: Essays on Trauma, Oppression, and Black Mental Health
Could being Black in America make you sick?
Over the last decade, Kevin Dedner has been on a mission to explore this powerful and troubling question, shining an unconventional spotlight on the impact of racism on mental health. In his debut book, The Joy of the Disinherited, Dedner articulates his call for urgent We must knock down the invisible barriers that make it harder for Black people to get the mental health care they need and deserve.
Building on American author and civil rights leader Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited, widely considered a manual of resistance for the oppressed, Dedner uses Thurman’s teachings to come to terms with the impact oppression has had on his own mental health and the mental health of Black Americans, digging into family stories as examples of the legacy of unresolved generational trauma of the disinherited.
As a public health professional who has spent his career working on high-profile issues, Dedner uses his autobiographical essays to highlight the latest mental health research, while simultaneously interrogating the invisible barriers he has encountered along his own mental health journey. Dedner weaves together research, personal storytelling and a powerful sense of our shared history to drive the conversation about the future of mental health care for the Black community and other underserved groups ever forward.
Over the last decade, Kevin Dedner has been on a mission to explore this powerful and troubling question, shining an unconventional spotlight on the impact of racism on mental health. In his debut book, The Joy of the Disinherited, Dedner articulates his call for urgent We must knock down the invisible barriers that make it harder for Black people to get the mental health care they need and deserve.
Building on American author and civil rights leader Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited, widely considered a manual of resistance for the oppressed, Dedner uses Thurman’s teachings to come to terms with the impact oppression has had on his own mental health and the mental health of Black Americans, digging into family stories as examples of the legacy of unresolved generational trauma of the disinherited.
As a public health professional who has spent his career working on high-profile issues, Dedner uses his autobiographical essays to highlight the latest mental health research, while simultaneously interrogating the invisible barriers he has encountered along his own mental health journey. Dedner weaves together research, personal storytelling and a powerful sense of our shared history to drive the conversation about the future of mental health care for the Black community and other underserved groups ever forward.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2021
8 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 9, 2021
What a wonderful soul-searching biography . I couldn't put it down. Every American, black or white should be required to read this book. Any child that looses a father to drugs is affected deeply and the author writes about his experience with his heart and soul. He bares all and comes out on the other side . He shows hope where there is none and is pro-active in his own situation, when many aren't.
A great gift for any young AFrican American male. And I'm an old white woman:)
A great gift for any young AFrican American male. And I'm an old white woman:)
January 9, 2022
Add it to your list and move it to the top!
Kevin Dedner shares his story so transparently in the spirit of creating a better world for future generations while actively pursuing better outcomes for this generation. I needed to hear this story, his story.
Kevin Dedner shares his story so transparently in the spirit of creating a better world for future generations while actively pursuing better outcomes for this generation. I needed to hear this story, his story.
March 2, 2025
This book didn’t actually take me as long as it says to read. I started it when I was given it by friends in the States who have worked with the author but then other things in life took over and I went back to it more recently and finished it relatively quickly. This is mainly because it’s a really enjoyable read I opening heartfelt true to life with commentary on really important factors that need to be spoken about and need to be taken into account when it comes to mental health particularly for minority groups and especially safer males. It’s written in such a compassionate way that it draws you and you want to keep reading you want to understand and make sense of things for the authors perspective and includes really important contextual factors such as racism oppression discriminated behaviours, politics spirituality religion family.
I myself working in the NHS in mental health and I would recommend this book to anyone working in mental health and in particular people who have come under mental health services particularly black males in the hope that there will be some destigmatising and will provoke thoughtful conversations with the professionals who work with them :)
I myself working in the NHS in mental health and I would recommend this book to anyone working in mental health and in particular people who have come under mental health services particularly black males in the hope that there will be some destigmatising and will provoke thoughtful conversations with the professionals who work with them :)
May 30, 2024
From the first pages, I knew this book was divinely sent to me. I’ve been on a journey for several years now of reclaiming who I came to this world as BEFORE the trauma.
Kevin telling his story gave language to the emotions and experiences of a large part of my life. After reading just a few pages, tears of thanksgiving poured down my face because another level of healing was occurring and I recognized it.
As I read, memories resurfaced causing me several times to put the book down. I was a witness to the arising emotions and began processing them in real-time.
By, the end of the book I felt lighter, more free, and closer to my original divinity.
I’ve known for some years now, people, experiences, books, songs, etc. come into our lives at a particular time for a particular reason.
The Joy of the Disinherited was a gift and an answered prayer. I am forever changed.
Thank you Kevin.
LT Wilson
Kevin telling his story gave language to the emotions and experiences of a large part of my life. After reading just a few pages, tears of thanksgiving poured down my face because another level of healing was occurring and I recognized it.
As I read, memories resurfaced causing me several times to put the book down. I was a witness to the arising emotions and began processing them in real-time.
By, the end of the book I felt lighter, more free, and closer to my original divinity.
I’ve known for some years now, people, experiences, books, songs, etc. come into our lives at a particular time for a particular reason.
The Joy of the Disinherited was a gift and an answered prayer. I am forever changed.
Thank you Kevin.
LT Wilson
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews