Stories of Hurt That Heal (with Kim Coleman Foote)

May 8, 2026

On the Liberation is Lit podcast, host Tayler Simon talks with New Jersey author Kim Coleman Foote about her lifelong journey as a writer, the family storytelling that inspired her historical fiction, and how her novel Coleman Hill uses both tragedy and humor to humanize relatives and explore intergenerational trauma rooted in slavery. Foote discusses researching family history, using imagination when records are missing, and how writing helped her gain empathy without excusing harm, while challenging normalized cycles of violence. She shares grounding practices like taking breaks, prioritizing mental health, and accountability, and previews her upcoming book Saltwater Sister, which moves between the 18th century and 1999 to examine the Dutch role in the slave trade, repeating history, Ghana, and reparations. The episode closes with community-impact advice: start small by building respectful relationships with neighbors.