Rise.

This piece unravels the myth of the “strong Black woman.” At a time when I was expected to hold it all together, I chose to fall apart. Each symbol—a hospital bed, orange curtains, a bare back, a window—marks a moment of surrender, reflection, or quiet faith. The cross and garden offer glimpses of something beyond pain: healing, divinity, rest. I created this to reclaim softness, to say that strength can look like breaking. That even in stillness, Black women are whole. This work is a return to self, spirit, and the freedom to feel it all.