Tony Award winner and two-time Emmy Award winner Courtney B. Vance is best known for her roles in The Hunt for Red October and The Tuskegee Airmen.
On Saturday, he put aside his acting talent to talk about his mental health and his latest book, “The Invisible Ache: Black Men Identifying Their Pain and Reclaiming Their Power,” at the University of Chicago's Black Men's Mental Health and Wellness Symposium. .
The keynote speaker has co-authored what he calls a “love letter to black men,” in which he details his own struggles and the loss of his father and godson to suicide.
He said part of the journey was realizing that things could get better if you reached out to others.
“Today I'm just a mess, but if I can fix my mess, I might have a brighter tomorrow,” says Vance, who alternates book chapters with psychologist Robin Smith. said. “You have to have faith that these things will happen.”
Vance first went through the process of finding a therapist, meeting with eight different professionals before finding the one that was right for her. Part of what made the nearly year-long ordeal drag on, he said, was that he initially thought he had to find a therapist who matched him physically.
“Sometimes I think therapists need to be like me,” Vance says.[But] As soon as I shook her hand, I knew I was home. ”
Dr. Robin L. Smith and actor Courtney B. Vance, who wrote the memoir “The Invisible Ache,” speak at the African American Alumni Committee symposium in Edith Abbott Hall at the University of Chicago's Hyde School. Park is welcomed on stage and given a hug.
One of the chapters in his book is titled “Black Boys Don't Cry,” which he has long held to be contributing to the mental health crisis currently facing Black men and boys. It refers to the concept.
The expectation of not expressing sadness or seeking help for depression is something he, like his father, has struggled with, and it has led him to try to deal with things differently. he said.
“I've lived with this pain my whole life. It's okay to take some time,” Vance said. “I'm not going to reconcile. I had to reconcile because his father was responsible and sacrificed everything. He did what he knew how to do, but that's another thing. It was about the generation of
Sam Hill and his brother attended Saturday morning's talk and said Vance's experience with generational bias and expectations resonated with them.
He said they made a conscious effort to make sure the younger men in her life knew it was okay to show emotion and say things like “I love you.”
“Our father didn't really talk about things,” Hill said. “Some of the things we didn't grow up with, we wanted to break down that wall.”
Vance wiped tears from his eyes and ended the discussion with bittersweet but hopeful words.
“if [my father] I could hold out just a little longer,” Vance said, trailing off, his voice hushed. “We have all experienced moments of despair, but if we persevere, we will overcome it. … Find your people, find your village, find your health. It is up to us, the living, to survive. I am.”
