Drink Water and Mind Your Business: A Black Woman's Guide to Unlearning the BS and Healing Your Self-Esteem

I’m starting 2026 with a lot more intention — especially around how I define my worth. For so long, we’ve been conditioned to believe that our value is tied to how much we give, how much we do, and how well we show up for everyone else. Especially as Black women, we’re often celebrated for our strength and service, while quietly being taught to neglect ourselves in the process. That kind of living may look admirable from the outside, but it’s exhausting on the inside.

This year, I’m choosing something different. I’m choosing rest without guilt, confidence without performance, and joy that doesn’t require permission. I want to feel good about who I am — not because of my productivity, my roles, or my appearance — but simply because I exist.

That’s why Drink Water and Mind Your Business is on my nightstand as I step into the new year. This book challenges the systems and narratives that have taught us to shrink, overextend, and earn our self-worth. It reframes self-esteem as something we already own, not something we have to prove or protect.

Through research, reflection, and real-life insight, Dr. Donna Oriowo offers a powerful reminder that self-worth lives in boundaries, self-trust, pleasure, and presence. This is the kind of read that makes you pause, breathe deeper, and start asking yourself better questions about how you want to live.

If you’re entering 2026 with a desire to protect your peace, honor your needs, and step into the most grounded version of yourself, consider this your sign to add it to your nightstand too. ✨📖