It is no secret that everyone wants and needs to feel seen, heard and valued by their families, communities and society at large, but too few people receive that unconditional love and acceptance. This harms our mental health and prevents us from fully embracing ourselves as the unique and worthy beings we are. And THAT is, in part, why I decided to write Rise and Thrive. I am a force for dismantling the lack of inclusivity that hurts diverse young people and their communities. It is how I led the creation of the first of its kind mental health study, The State of Mental Health in Youth (and Young Adults) of Color — SOMHYOC in 2023 and again in 2026 (our findings are available for free on my nonprofit website https://somhyoc2025.aakomaproject.org/).

This research, coupled with another 25 years of working IN communities, side-by-side with young leaders and their families, and my lessons learned for gold standard techniques to raise awareness about mental illness in diverse young people along with solutions for teaching people to recognize, make a plan and work on their mental health are all in my book, free of jargon, written in language that invites YOU into the conversation and gently pushes you to take an active role in caring for yourself.

And what exactly does healing look like through this lens of me and my work?

• I share practical, free strategies that you can start implementing RIGHT NOW. For example, in Mindset 3 – Make Space 4 U, I discuss the difference between depression and despair and I share mindfulness tools.
• I reveal how my ideas have been shaped by my own life experience. I always want young people to know that they’re not alone in their experiences with feeling ostracized, picked on or isolated, because I’ve been there too. I am open in sharing painful times in my own life as a young person with the hope that you will see yourself inside the pages of my book too.
• I describe how so much of our own cultures teach us incredible coping and life skills. I write in my book about something my brother taught me when we were both young adults early in our careers. He said, “sunshine is the best disinfectant” meaning that we can only heal the things we choose to see. It was such a meaningful statement, and it has grounded me throughout my life.

My intention with this book is to encourage you, to support you, to shower you with patient loving kindness. I offer a genuine look at how I approach mental health, self-concept and self-love and I offer up relatable thoughts for my readers to process. My hope is that you will find many things in my book to help you on your journey, back to YOU.

— Dr. Alfiee