From regarded mental health expert Nicole Russell-Wharton, a guide to disrupt family patterns and heal from inherited trauma so you can break the cycle of silence for generations to come

What if one conversation was able to redirect a person’s life and create a ripple effect of healing that spans generations? It took a near-death experience for mental health expert Nicole Russell-Wharton to realize that after 35 years, she didn't know the body she was living in. After being diagnosed with a rare life-altering genetic condition that others in her family had, Nicole couldn't understand how everyone remained silent. “I’ve suffered through many things in silence over the years,” says Russell-Wharton. “It wasn’t until I started collecting data on generational issues like poverty and trauma that I had this awakening: our healing challenges are rooted in our families’ silence and psychological pathology.”

It's the silence that's harming us.

“Generational silence” is a term applied to families who have experienced suppressed thoughts or repressed emotions for at least two generations. In this book, Nicole speaks from personal experience about how slavery left an intergenerational impact on her family’s emotional and physical health, and it invites readers to explore the legacy of their own family history. This book will help you explore:

• The cycle and impact of issues like substance abuse, religion, racism, education inequality, and parenting
• Research, practical tools, and exercises to begin to explore your family history and open up conversations
• The root of silence in your own life, so you can break the cycle for generations to come

Breaking Generational Silence will help you begin to break the cycle of silence, find the courage to face your family challenges, and become your own best advocate.

*Ships in 7-10 Business Days*

From Dawoud Bey and Lorna Simpson to Sondra Perry and Kerry James Marshall, a multiethnic group of artists explores what it means to be seen, not seen or erased in the world through formal experimentations with the figure

Going Dark brings together a multigenerational group of contemporary artists who engage the "semi-visible" figure—representations that are partially (or fully) obscured, including, in some cases, literally darkened—and suggests that the concept of going dark is a tool that has been used by artists for decades to probe enduring questions surrounding both the potential and the discontents of social visibility. Across mediums—painting, photography, sculpture, video and installation—Going Dark names, charts and makes meaning of the semi-visible figure, arguing for its significance in contemporary art as a genre of unique conceptual and formal power. More than 125 works in all of these mediums by more than 25 artists are featured.
Essays by such curators as Legacy Russell and Jordan Carter, and professor Abbe Schriber, among others, contextualize the histories that inspired these works. In addition, four award-winning poets and three acclaimed graphic designers have contributed works.
Artists include: American Artist, Kevin Beasley, Rebecca Belmore, Dawoud Bey, John Edmonds, Ellen Gallagher, David Hammons, Lyle Ashton Harris, Tomashi Jackson, Titus Kaphar, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Tiona Nekkia McClodden, Joiri Minaya, Sandra Mujinga, Chris Ofili, Sondra Perry, Farah Al Qasimi, Faith Ringgold, Doris Salcedo, Lorna Simpson, Sable Elyse Smith, Stephanie Syjuco, Hank Willis Thomas, WangShui, Carrie Mae Weems and Charles White.

Join us for a montly children's storytime at Kindred Stories. Each Story time will celebrate a special book and be read by a wondertful community mementer. IT also includes a story time. 

Featured Book: Daisy Helps With The Dress 

Featured Reader: Antonia Adams 

EVENT DEETS

When: Saturday, September 26 @ 11 AM CST 

Where: Kindred Stories (2310 Elgin St. Houston, TX 77004)

How: 

• RSVP ONLY to reserve your spot and let us know you are coming.

ABOUT DAISY HELPS WITH THE DRESS 

When Daisy tries to help with her cousin’s wedding, her misguided assists almost ruin the big day, until she finds a way to pull the dress—and her family—together in this charming picture book by award-winning author Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich.

Daisy loves helping her family and she knows the best kind of helpers never wait to be asked. That’s why she doesn’t ask before adding finishing touches to her family’s special reused, re-tried, remixed things, like a leftover broccoli topping for Auntie Fontie’s cakes or a good bath for Nana DJ’s “back-in-the-day, rusty, dusty” vintage albums—much to their chagrin.

But what Daisy wants most is to help give her cousin Simone’s recycled wedding dress a little razzle dazzle. She knows just what the vintage dress needs: a little glitter here, a few stickers there to give the dress some flair.

But Daisy’s cousin Simone and the rest of the family are not so happy with her decorations. Can Daisy make things right and help find Simone a new re-lived, re-loved wedding dress?

*please note Ryan Dennis and Assata Richards will no longer be moderating. 

Celebrate the first monograph dedicated to Rick Lowe's art practice! 

EVENT DEETS

When: Wednesday, May 22 at 7PM

Where: The Eldorado Ballroom (2310 Elgin Street, HTX, 77004)

How: RSVP ONLY to save your seat. RSVP WITH BOOK to get a copy of Rick Lowe's book. Limited books will be available onsite.

ABOUT THE BOOK

 
Houston-based artist Rick Lowe is widely known for his pioneering contributions to the development of “social practice art,” work that landed him a MacArthur fellowship in 2014. What few people realize is that he was originally trained as a landscape painter. In recent years, Lowe has increasingly turned back to painting, producing complex multi-panel and quasi-abstract images that are deeply rooted in thirty years of work creating “social sculptures,” recalling the urban fabric of cities around the world that have formed the backdrop of many of his community-based art projects. This book, which brilliantly reproduces Lowe’s paintings, is the first dedicated to the work of this important American artist, focusing on his painterly practice and its origins in his work in the public sphere.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Rick Lowe was born in 1961 in rural Russell County, Alabama, and lives and works in Houston. 

Collections include the Brooklyn Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS; Menil Collection, Houston; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the UBS Art Collection. Solo exhibitions include Art League Houston (2020–21). He also participated in Documenta 14, Athens (2017). 

Among Lowe’s numerous community art projects are Project Row Houses, Houston (1993–2018); Watts House Project, Los Angeles (1996–2012); Borough Project (with Suzanne Lacy and Mary Jane Jacob), Charleston, SC (2003); Small Business/Big Change, Anyang Public Art Program, Korea (2010); Trans.lation, Dallas (2013); Victoria Square Project, Athens (2017–18); Greenwood Art Project, Tulsa, OK (2018–21); and Black Wall Street Journey, Chicago (2021–). 

In 2013 President Barack Obama appointed Lowe to the National Council on the Arts, and in 2014 he was named a Mac Arthur Fellow. Lowe was a Visiting Fellow at the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society from 2019-2021. He is currently a professor of interdisciplinary practice at the University of Houston.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNERS

Ryan N. Dennis is Senior Curator and Director of Public Initiatives at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH). Her recent projects include Leonardo Drew’s City in the Garden (2020), Betye Saar: Call & Response (2021), Dusti Bonge: Piercing the Inner Wall (2021), and organizing CAPE Artist-in-Resident Shani Peter’s Collective Care for Black Mothers and Caretakers with the local Jackson community. She is the co-curator of the critically acclaimed exhibition, A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration. Prior to joining the MMA, she served as the Cura­tor and Programs Director at Project Row Houses (PRH) in Houston, where she worked with over 100 BIPOC artists to exhibit their work in the shot-gun houses, she led the creation of the 2:2:2 Exchange Residency Program with the Hyde Park Art Center in Chi­cago and established Project/Site, a temporary, site-specific, commission-based public art program. In 2017, she launched the PRH Fellowship with the Center for Art and Social Engagement at the University of Houston’s Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts. Dennis earned her master’s degree in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute with a focus in Curatorial Practice. Her writings have appeared in online and print catalogs, journals and publications nationally and internationally. She has been a visiting lecturer and critic at a number of art schools and institutions and has taught courses on community-based practices and contemporary art at the University of Houston. Most recently she was the co-curator of the 2021 Texas Biennial titled A New Landscape, A Possible Horizon (2021) and the guest art editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts.

Assata Richards is a native of Houston, Texas and received much of her education in East Texas in the community known as “County Line”. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Houston, she earned a Master’s and PhD from Pennsylvania State University in Sociology with a concentration on political and community participation, research methods and mass incarceration. After serving as a faculty member at University of Pittsburgh, Assata returned to her community of Third Ward in Houston, Texas, where she is living and working with Project Row Houses and serving as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston. As a scholar and community organizer, she is fulfilling her lifelong commitment to social change and justice. Assata also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners for Houston Housing Authority, as a appointee of Mayor Annise Parker.

Celebrate the release of Cooking From Scratch with Toya Boudy! This specially curated event will feature a food and beverage tastings that perfectly complement the conversation and bring the book's flavors to life.

EVENT DEETS

When: Thursday, July 16 @ 7 PM

Where: Kindred Stories (2310 Elgin St, #2, Houston, TX 77004)

How: RSVP Only ticket to reserve your seat and participate in the event, or select RSVP with Book to receive a copy of the book while supporting the author and our store programming. Both ticket options include a tasting portion of the gumbo featured in the book and a specially curated. 

*Please note that outside copies of the book will not be allowed in the bookstore, and you will not be eligible for the signing/photo line. All tickets are nonrefundable. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Toya Boudy is a New Orleans chef, artist, poet, television personality, and storyteller whose work lives at the intersection of food, culture, and community. Known for her warm, approachable teaching style and deep respect for culinary tradition, she uses food as a way to preserve memory, share wisdom, and bring people together.

Her cookbook journey began with Cook Like a New Orleanian, followed by Cooking for the Culture, both of which celebrate the flavors, techniques, and spirit of New Orleans while honoring the broader cultural influences that shape Southern cooking.

Her third cookbook, Cooking from Scratch, continues that mission with an even deeper focus on foundational kitchen skills, recipes, remedies, pantry building, and practical household knowledge. It is designed as a modern guide to self-sufficiency in the kitchen—teaching readers not just what to cook, but how to build confidence and create from the ground up. The work also pays homage to the legacy of early Black culinary pioneers such as Malinda Russell, whose contributions helped shape American cookbook history.

Her work continues to center food as culture, memory, and a way of building and sustaining community.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Michelle Wallace is a Houston-based chef, pitmaster, and tv-personality originally from St. Louis. Her passion for food began while studying Healthcare Administration at Texas Southern University.  Houston's rich culinary diversity shaped her approach to how she cooks today. She pursued formal culinary training at The Art Institute of Houston and expanded her global perspective while studying abroad in China.

Once settled in Houston, she trained under renowned chef Mark Holley at Pesce and cooked privately for various professional athletes. In 2017, she joined forces with legendary pitmaster and James Beard Nominated, Greg Gatlin, spending over six years honing her craft. Drawing from a childhood love of sandwiches, Wallace developed smoked creations that earned statewide acclaim.

In 2023, Wallace launched B’tween Sandwich Co., specializing in comfort food, smoked meats, and traditional fare for creative sandwich lovers. That same year she competed on Bravo’s Top Chef (Season 21), making it to the Top 6 and earning the coveted Fan Favorite title. She has also competed on Food Network’s BBQ Brawl (Season 3) and appeared on Food Network’s Bobby’s Triple Threat (Season 4), taking on Bobby Flay’s Titans in the secret kitchen arena. Additional notable appearances include Food Network's Flavortown (Season 1),  Netflix’s High on the Hog docuseries (Season 1) and BET’s The Recipe: Juneteenth Celebration. Wallace is also a resident expert contributor to online publications Tasting Table and Mashed and you can listen to her talk food on the Houston Matters Podcast: The Full Menu via Houston Public Media.