Available for Pre-Order
Jahleeka Morris-Jones
From the housing projects of Dorchester, Boston to the finance floor of one of the world's biggest tech companies — a memoir about what it costs to build the life you were supposed to have, and what you have to put down to finally stay in it.
"The light in you was never lost. Survival buried it. Healing is the practice of uncovering it — not once, but every day, for the rest of your life."
— Shine, Dammit!™
About the Author
Jahleeka Morris-Jones grew up in the housing projects of Dorchester, Boston. Both parents were incarcerated at points in her childhood. At nine years old, she lied to a social worker to keep her siblings together — and didn't stop running until she was forty, sitting in a car on the 405, finally naming what she'd been carrying.
She is a finance professional at a Fortune 500 tech company, a former professional dancer on BET, FOX, and VH1, a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the founder of Softer Touch mentoring organization, and the author of Shine, Dammit! — a memoir about what survival mode costs and what healing actually looks like when you do it for real.
She holds a Master's degree from the University of Southern California. She lives in Hidden Hills, California with her husband TJ and their children Myjoi and Khari.
The Book
From the streets of Dorchester to the heights of corporate finance — Shine, Dammit! is a raw, unflinching memoir about what it means to be shaped by survival and then have to figure out how to put it down.
Written across 23 chapters anchored by Kendrick Lamar's discography, it moves through mentality, code switching, love(less)ness, guilt, the burden of Black motherhood, forgiveness of parents who were trying to survive themselves — and finally, the daily practice of healing.
For readers of Finding Me by Viola Davis, Becoming by Michelle Obama, and Heavy by Kiese Laymon.
Pre-Order NowThe Podcast
A personal essay read aloud, then lived in. Not an interview show — just Jahleeka, her stories, and the questions she's sitting with. 25–35 minutes. New episodes every two weeks.
Coming Soon
Why I Built This Show
The social worker couch. The 405 confession. Why the gap between those two realities is the entire show.
→ ListenMentality
What hypervigilance looks like once you have a career and a mortgage and it no longer makes sense.
→ ListenCode Switching
I submitted a job application as "Julie." Got a callback in seven days. That's the whole chapter.
→ ListenLove(less)ness
What grows in the absence of a template for love. And what it takes to build one as an adult.
→ ListenShine, Dammit
The full arc. The letter to the nine-year-old on the couch. The mUse poem read aloud.
→ ListenNew Episodes Every Two Weeks
Sabotage. The Burden. Acceptance. Guilt. My Mother, My Heart. Subscribe wherever you listen.
→ SubscribeJoin the Community
Subscribe and get more than a letter. Every month you'll receive a personal essay from Jahleeka — plus exclusive access to unfiltered video conversations with Black professionals speaking honestly about the themes in this work: survival mode, code switching, guilt, healing, love, and what it actually costs to build a life that looks nothing like where you started.
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✦ Free Essay
"5 Things I Had to Unlearn"
The five beliefs survival mode installed in me — and what dismantling each one actually looked like. Delivered immediately when you sign up.
▶ Exclusive Video Series
The Real Talk Sessions
Candid, unscripted conversations with Black professionals — in tech, finance, medicine, law, and the arts — speaking on the themes of this work. No corporate polish. Just the truth.
Code Switching
Survival Mode
Rest & Guilt
Healing
🔒 Coming Soon
Pre-Order
Shine, Dammit! is available for pre-order now, self-published and ready to ship as soon as it's off the press. Choose the memoir alone, or bundle in the companion journal and the leadership book — each tier includes everything above it.
"For readers of Finding Me, Becoming, and Heavy — and for anyone who survived something that was never supposed to break them."
Pre-Order Shine, Dammit!
Each tier includes everything above it.
Shine, Dammit!
The memoir alone.
+ The Journal
Guided prompts to sit with your own story.
+ A Love Ethic for Leaders
The full collection — memoir, journal, and leadership companion.
The Shine Circle
Ongoing monthly circle for continued support and connection.
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