Q&A with Tara Pringle Jefferson, Author of Bloom How You Must

Hey crew! 👋🏽 Welcome back to Thrivency’s weekly newsletter.

A quick story on how I connected with the special subject of today’s Community Voices Q&A. I spent several evenings last December browsing on Threads, where I hadn’t previously logged much time at all compared to my TikTok and Instagram habit. I guess I was getting all my doom-scrolling out the way before I attempted to cut back on social media at the top of this year. Key word: attempt.

But I must say, sometimes the algorithm does its thing and works for good. Because if it weren’t for that scrolling, I wouldn’t have crossed paths with Tara Pringle Jefferson.

Tara is an award-winning author and founder of The Self Care Suite, using her work to uplift and guide Black women who want to invest in their well-being. She had quite the 2025, ending the year with the release of Bloom How You Must and embarking on an eight-date book tour.

In today’s Q&A, Tara shares her path toward publishing her first book and what it taught her about generational healing.

Let’s dive in ⤵️

Was there a specific experience or observation that planted the seed for you to write this book?

The pandemic! Self-care had turned into a bit of a buzzword and I wanted to ground the conversation in our real life stories. We weren't able to gather as we had in the past for the Suite and I didn't want to confine our conversations to Zoom screens and Instagram captions. There is a deep, rich historical context for Black women on how we've survived and in some cases thrived through the years. I wanted to contribute to telling that story. Bloom was born!

What's one of the most surprising themes you noticed while conducting interviews with over 100 Black women?

I was struck by how vulnerable they were able to be with me. I tried my best to lay a good groundwork -- they knew what I was going to talk about and how I was going to handle confidentiality if they chose. I tried to be vulnerable with them as well and it made for a mutually beneficial conversation. They shared some beautiful details of their lives -- and some not-so-beautiful moments. Many were going through extremely difficult situations -- divorce, loss of a child, career interruption, etc. We talked about all of it. It reminded me that if Black women find a safe space to lay down their burdens, they will do so, even if it takes a little coaxing. (But we need to create the safe space first!)

Your book references examples of self-care and healing from several prominent Black, female figures throughout history (Toni, Rosa, Oprah, etc.). Can you share a person or story that resonated most with you personally?

I've always loved Toni Morrison, as we're both Ohio-born and bred. I adored researching her relationships with her peers (Sonia Sanchez, Toni Cade Bambara, etc) and how their reciprocal love enabled her to flourish as a single mother, writer and editor. There was one interview when she talked about Bambara showing up at her house with groceries and urged Morrison to get out the house and she would watch the kids. Even as Morrison recounted that moment 40 years later, I could tell it still registered as priceless. Morrison spoke to the "intimacy of knowing exactly what a sister needed before she could even articulate it." How beautiful is that!

We often discuss the harsh gendered and racial conditions that our mothers and grandmothers faced while they were coming of age. Are there any unique stressors that Black women of younger generations face today that previous generations actually may have not?

Research suggests that we're lonelier now than we were in previous generations, and that's in spite of social media connecting us with everybody on the planet. Our in-person lives have stagnated across the board and it's harder for younger generations to find those communities that hold us up when life gets hard. Many of the older women I interviewed talked about the community they had when raising their children and how they wouldn't have been able to make it without them. So many of the younger women are looking desperately for that type of community, to find people to do life with!

How did your experience founding The Self Care Suite inform this book?

The Self Care Suite turned 10 years old in 2025! That's a decade of gathering, conversations, and breakthroughs. Every chapter is filled with members of The Suite, these incredibly talented, supportive, generous women. I've learned so much from sitting side-by-side as we tried to figure out motherhood, perimenopause, marriage, emotional growth and career challenges. Community is the key for just about everything. I took that lesson and infused it into Bloom.

The book title and cover evoke imagery of flowers. Can you share your thought process behind that choice?

I recently started growing flowers and I am amazed how they grow without much help from me. I put them in good, well-drained soil with adequate light and water and they do exactly what they know how to do. They have the blueprint already. Black women need that reminder - put us in the right environment and we flourish, just as flowers do.

If this resonated with you, here are all the ways you can support Tara and check out this much-needed literary work:

If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, reach out to a loved one that you think should subscribe. We’ll meet you right back here on February 5 for the next edition of Wellness News You Can Use 🗞

Thrivency quick links: