Hi, I’m Dana.

Nobody Told Me This is a biweekly newsletter I’m writing for Black women navigating 40 and beyond — and everything nobody warned us about. I started it because I was tired of looking for content that felt more attuned to where I'm at in life right now. I found everything too clinical, too generic, or too disconnected from how Black women move through this stage of life. The body changes. The relationships. The work of becoming the women we have looked up to. The questions our doctors don’t always answer. The cultural specificity of our lives that mainstream women’s content tends to lack nuance. So I’m writing the thing I wanted to read. Honest. Useful. Culturally specific. Sometimes funny. Sometimes hard. Always written like a sister at the kitchen table, not a lecture from a podium.

But, this newsletter is really a love letter to all Black women of any age. Whether you’re a twentysomething (who will, hopefully, be 40 one day) or you’re in your 30s rapidly approaching 40, this is still for you. Any guys, you’re welcome to pull up to our kitchen table. Learn how you can support your mama, your sisters, your aunties and any other special women in your life.

Every other Sunday, a new issue lands in your inbox. Each one has a personal note from me— a real reflection from someone whose in it. A main piece on something specific— menopause one week, partnership the next. Emotional labor. Community. Identity. Body. Work. The things we keep talking about with each other but rarely see reflected online. Useful things I’ve used or personally trust—books, resources, products, doctors, routines. And sometimes, conversations with experts, friends, and other Black women navigating the same stage of life. I’m not writing this as an expert. I’m writing it as someone in the middle of it, talking honestly with the people I trust, and bringing what’s useful back to you.

I’m the founder of AfroLA, a nonprofit newsroom based in Los Angeles. We produce independent journalism that centers the lives of Black Angelenos and Black communities more broadly, with a focus on solutions, accessibility, and stories that mainstream media tends to miss. Nobody Told Me This is the newest publication in AfroLA’s editorial portfolio—and the one that feels the most personal. It’s me writing about what I’m in the middle of, in a voice I don’t always get to use in the rest of my work.

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