In this fast-paced world, it is easy to get caught up in the chaos and lose sight of our well-being. Rikimah’s book, Total Wellness, provides millennial and Gen Z readers with the guidance and tools needed to lead a more balanced life.
Total Wellness takes a holistic and practical approach to wellness with a specific focus on the modern challenges facing Millennials and Gen Z, who make up the largest portion of the U.S. labor force, are raising their own children in an unstable and precarious climate, and facing a large amount of unprecedented hardships.
From wage stagnation to the laying bare of institutional racism, misogyny, homophobia, and ableism, to working within the framework of hustle culture, the Millennial and Gen Z generations have their own unique relationship with wellness. This book speaks directly to these challenges and creates an inclusive, holistic approach to wellness and balance.
Utilizing her extensive knowledge of the wellness field and her first-hand experience of movement activism work, Rikimah has created a unique wellness approach that tackles modern realities. Buy Now on Amazon https://amzn.to/3OJ6MIY
What inspired you to write this book?
I am a People Ops professional and wellness advocate. I worked in the movement, which landed me in the Chief of People and State Operations for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. That experience, while really exhilarating, took a lot out of me, which meant I wasn’t showing up as a parent, colleague, or friend in the way I wanted to be. I started consulting, which helped me become a more active driver in how my professional and personal lives affected each other, but I was still burning out. I did a lot of research, and reflection, and finally, I decided to fully invest myself and my family in a wellness-driven approach to our lives. It means we’ve traveled a lot, experienced a lot, and moved around a lot – but it also means that my kid and I are so much happier and healthier now than we were a few years ago. All of this is to say that I am now a wellness coach and advocate and I am trying to open the door to wellness for people who very often get left out of the conversations – namely Black and Brown folk, and definitely movement folk.
After the Bernie campaign, I reflected on all the things I wanted to be hearing from the people around me, specifically the people I was working for, the people who I brought value to as a Black woman who had come up in the movement. I wrote those things down because I wanted to make sure that other folks like me heard them – heard how important they were, how valuable and precious their time, effort, knowledge, and camaraderie were. That’s how I wrote my first book, kind of by accident – Real Talk: A Book of Love Notes for Black and Brown Womxn. After that, I didn’t really have a plan to keep writing. But in the last few years, I realized there was a lot that needed to be said about wellness for my generation, my peer group. We were raised by boomers who had a very different approach to work, family life, and personal wellness. That doesn’t work anymore – especially in nonprofit and movement spaces, where we are asking people to do the most and get the least. I wrote Total Wellness as I was figuring out how to create wellness education and support for my people, who I see struggling every day. So I first thought about creating a retreat, focused on holistic wellness. As I worked on that, the book just became another avenue for me to talk about wellness with people. In a retreat I can only bring 10-15 folks each time. I can put the book in the hands of everyone I meet or talk to – it is another way to be a wellness advocate.
How do you make sure the information for your nonfiction books is accurate and up to date?
Because Total Wellness is based on my own unique approach to wellness, I have the luxury of updating as I iterate in the rest of the work. There aren’t other people doing the work I’m doing – for Black and Brown folk, for movement folk. Through my coaching, through the retreats, through wellness travel, I get first-hand experience and direct feedback on what works and what doesn’t. So far I haven’t had the need to change anything in my books, but maybe there will be an update one day – at the rate things shift, that could happen.
What does literary success look like to you?
For me, it’s not about literary success, it’s about wellness. I’m firstly a wellness advocate. I wrote this book because I only have 24 hours in a day, I can only do so much coaching. I can only take 10-15 people on a wellness retreat. My desire to spread awareness around wellness to the people I think need it the most is what drove me to write Total Wellness and Real Talk. If I could get Total Wellness in more people’s hands, if I helped people just shift one thing in their day or their routine to make room for their own wellness, that feels like success to me.
Do you outline your books beforehand? Why or why not?
I do. I always create outlines to make sure that I feel as clear as possible about what I want to say, the order I want to say it in, etc. Making an outline helped me ensure that there weren’t parts I was missing and that I was including areas that really resonated for me.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned while writing?
I’ve learned not to let perfection get in the way. With both books I had to grapple with feeling like I could make a small tweak or do a little editing here or there, but that would keep the book in limbo forever. I know I could keep writing, keep editing, keep trying to find ‘perfection’. I had to learn to come to terms with the fact that it’s more important that these books are in the world, reaching people, than holding on to it because I think I should re-word a sentence.
What are some publishing tips?
You have to figure out if you need to go through a big publishing organization or if you would rather self-publish. For me, self-publishing made the most sense because the topic feels time sensitive and because I didn’t want someone else changing my words, etc. Part of why folks can relate to the book is because I was authentic in how I said things, the types of examples I used, etc.
How do you make non-fiction interesting and engaging while still being informative?
I write in my voice, I approach the books like I approach mentorship and coaching. What makes my approach to wellness successful is because I believe that showing care to others is at the root of wellness work. While we are responsible for our own wellness, wellness also needs to happen in community. Before I started doing wellness work professionally through my company, BWell365, I was the person checking in on everyone – I would have meetings outside so that we could walk to get smoothies or just sit in the park to make sure folks got some fresh air and nutrients. I’m the person who will check in on you when I know you’ve got something big to remind you to take care of yourself. So I just imagined I was talking wellness with my people, and I wrote exactly how I would put it across to them. Buy Now on Amazon https://amzn.to/3OJ6MIY
What is your favorite part of writing?
Dreaming up the content. Waking up one day with the right words. Feeling creatively inspired.
Was this topic suggested or was it something you were already interested in?
Wellness is something I am very passionate about, I started working on my wellness for me and my son, and then I realized I wanted to be a wellness advocate. I got into people ops work to help everyone be their best selves at work, and wellness helps me expand that. We need wellness at work, at home, with friends, family, as parents, etc. My passion for wellness advocacy inspired me to write the book.
Who will this book appeal to? What age range would you recommend it for?
This book is targeted at millennial and gen-zers because I’m a millennial with a gen z kid and I’m working with other millennial folks who are parenting gen z kids. This advice is for anyone who wants it, anyone who resonates with it, but I wrote it for this particular demographic because I could speak from first hand experience.
What is your next project?
I am currently working on launching my wellness brand, BWell365, that provides all kinds of wellness advice, coaching, and services, including wellness retreats, which have been amazing. Most of the folks who go on the retreat, which can be intensive, also have a copy of the book at home. They use it to share with their kids and family, or as a reference to re-visit some of the ideas or themes we went over on the retreat. We’re also doing coaching and wellness travel, which is less intensive than the retreats and are for groups and families to travel in line with their wellness and their values.
Talk a little bit about yourself. What is your background? What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
When I write, I write about my own lived experiences too. Today, I’m clear that people see a successful person and that’s what people want to hold on to. For me, when I write, I write from experiences I’ve had and I speak truth to power around ways that worked for me and others close to me. I never wanted to be someone writing only about the experience of others without having first hand knowledge – I always wanted to write from a place of authenticity and a place of comfort in writing about things that create vulnerability. I believes that when you can share those experiences, others are blessed because the truth is, you never know what people are going through. Wellness doesn’t have a race, a job title, etc. Everyone is touched by either being well or unwell and the name of the game is to strive to ensure that you’re able to live a complete and well life. If not for yourself, for the next generation currently watching each and everyone of us. Becoming a mom really pushed me into a space of accountability. Knowing that my son is watching everything from what I put in my mouth to ways I’m coping or not with stress – he’s watching and inadvertently learning along the way. I want him healthier. Wiser. Weller. All of it -because he should be using me as a stepping stone.
Do you have an author website or other platform where readers can find more information about you and your books?
I have info about myself and my wellness work on my website bwell365.org.
Through this interview, we learned about the challenges that these generations face and how Rikimah’s book can help overcome them. We hope this has piqued your interest in Total Wellness and motivated you to prioritize self-care and well-being in your daily life.
Living in a rapidly changing world, Millennials and Generation Z are struggling to find balance in life: balance between the professional and the personal, between friends and family, and between relaxation and realizing their future goals or finding their life purpose. The expectations society puts on them are stifling, and their well-being is suffering because of it-but it doesn’t have to be this way.
This book is dedicated to helping the younger generations overcome their wellness challenges and find their unique life balance, regardless of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. Through comprehensive explanations of emotional, physical, environmental, social, and even spiritual wellness, Total Wellness provides a step-by-step guide to improving the lives of younger generations as they take the first steps to independence. They, as we all, need all the background knowledge they can get to help them prepare for the bright but unpredictable future ahead of them.
Where can our readers learn more about you and your book/s?
Buy Now on Amazon https://amzn.to/3OJ6MIY
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