When Lildonia Lawrence speaks about wellbeing, she does not mean scented candles and self-care Sundays. She means justice. She means safety. She means survival — and moving beyond it.
An equality, diversity and wellbeing specialist with more than 15 years of experience, Lawrence has built her career supporting racialized communities through anti-racism, ally ship, inclusive leadership and trauma-informed culture change. But it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, while working with frontline NHS healthcare professionals, that something shifted.
In one-on-one conversations with exhausted workers still in their scrubs, she noticed a pattern. Professionals of color were not only battling a global health crisis — they were carrying the invisible weight of microaggressions, othering, cultural conflict and unprocessed racial trauma.
That realization became her book, Back Yourself: A Wellbeing Guide to Healing From Racial Trauma.
“I realized we needed a resource that supports our community to look after ourselves — mind, body and spirit,” Lawrence said.
Rooted in her own experience as a Black, mixed-heritage woman with Bajan heritage, Lawrence centers Caribbean and wider global majority communities in conversations about healing. The book explores microaggressions, colorism, transgenerational trauma and the lasting physical and psychological effects of colonization.
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Each chapter combines case studies with reflective exercises, creating space for readers to move at their own pace. It is not simply a book about naming harm — it is about building psychological safety and reclaiming agency.
Lawrence’s approach is deeply intersectional. She understands that racial trauma intersects with gender, culture, professional spaces and generational history. Her work challenges organizations to move beyond performative inclusion toward meaningful culture change — while also equipping individuals with practical wellbeing tools.
During the writing process, Lawrence herself experienced racial hostility in a public space. The incident shook her — but it also reaffirmed the urgency of her message.
“There are moments when your resolve is challenged. I had to decide whether I would shrink — or use my experience to help others feel less alone.”
As a trained yoga instructor and movement practitioner, Lawrence integrates embodied healing into her philosophy. For her, decolonizing wellbeing means remembering practices that existed long before colonial systems disrupted them.
“There is nothing inherently wrong with the Caribbean body. Many of the conditions we see are rooted in colonization, subordination and systemic racism.”
That clarity is what makes Back Yourself timely — particularly for Caribbean communities still navigating the long shadow of colonialism. By connecting readers back to culturally grounded healing practices and reframing narratives around racialized health, Lawrence’s work offers something powerful: permission to heal without apology.
In a world where racial trauma is often politicized or dismissed, Lildonia Lawrence’s message is simple but radical — back yourself.
“Back Yourself: A Wellbeing Guide to Healing from Racial Trauma” was released on April 15th, 2025, and is available for order here.
