How to Cure Childhood Anxiety, One Sam Cooke Album at a Time

When Dad routinely came home after midnight, only music soothed my childhood soul

Bassey Ikpi
ZORA

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A photo of a young black girl sleeping with her head on her dad’s lap.
Photo: John Fedele/Getty Images

MyMy early memories of life, growing up in Stillwater, Oklahoma, are fraught. We were immigrants and my parents were full-time students working multiple jobs while trying their best to parent a child they could barely understand…

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