Courtney B. Vance is co-writing a new book about Black men and mental health, People magazine reports.
Grand Central imprint Balance will publish The Invisible Ache: Black Men Identifying Their Pain and Reclaiming Their Power, co-written with Dr. Robin L. Smith and Charisse Jones, this fall. The press describes the book as “a moving combination of memoir, psychology, and practical tools [that] offers Black men guidance and support for reclaiming mental well-being and finding whole, full-hearted living.”
Vance, the actor who has appeared in television series including Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lovecraft Country, lost his father and his godson to suicide. He met with Smith, the psychologist and author of the books Hungry: The Truth About Being Full and Lies at the Altar: The Truth About Great Marriages, after his godson’s death.
Balance says that in the book, Vance “explores issues of grief, relationships, identity, and race through the telling of his own most formative experiences. Together, Courtney and Dr. Robin provide a guide for Black men navigating life’s ups and downs, reclaiming mental well-being, and examining broken pieces to find whole, full-hearted living. Self-care is an act of revolution. It’s time to revolutionize mental health in the Black community.”
The Invisible Ache is slated for publication on Nov. 7.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
