alexander hardy 🇵🇦

Mama, I made it. Shoutout to living. #39

What meals or dishes remind you of joyful memories or traditions involving a deceased loved one? What songs would you include on a playlist dedicated to them? There’s space to reflect on this and more inside the grief & loss resource I developed for @gogetsomejoy after my mom passed last year: “Each of us has felt grief’s ashy-knuckled grasp at some point in our lives. There’s no right way to mourn, no standard timeline for grieving, and no rules for navigating life after loss. If you or someone you know has been impacted by any form of loss or navigated a time of uncertainty or spiritual ashiness, you should check out or share our digital resource, “griefKit: Crowdsourced tools and considerations for raggedy times.” It answers the question, “How can we use joy to navigate grief and loss?” Lovely folks across Janet Jackson’s Internet contributed articles, essays, books, communities, podcasts, music + playlists, poems, toolkits, recipes, and more to help folks navigating (or supporting someone navigating) raggedy times. There is space to add your own resources, color, reflect, and cultivate your own creative expressions of joy. And a book (& a playlist) by @issamas , resources by @_beamorg , yoga by @iamyoginicole , dance class w/ @dancetheatreofharlem , words by @tonjastidhum , pernil by @senseandedibility and much more. There is so much love inside. You can browse the full resource by section or download the 57-page griefKit at GetSomeJoy.com/griefKit (link in our bio). ❤️ Cook or order the dish associated with this joyful memory. Write about it? ❤️ Tag, fax, DM, call, email someone who might could benefit from this. ❤️ Repost this on your IG page or Stories w/ a link to GetSomeJoy.com/griefKit ❤️Include the griefKit on mental health resource pages/roundups on social, newsletters, or sites ❤️ Ask me how to bring a joy-infused grief & loss writing workshop to your school, org, or community #mentalhealth #grief #griefandloss #mentalhealth #wellness #writing

May 5 Mental Heath Check-In with my writerly friends Andrew Ricketts (@messagebored ) & Donte Gibson (@itsdonte ). Read Andrew’s work @ bigblackcommentary.substack.com Read Donte’s work @ donte.substack.com. Read my work @ marinate.substack.com. #getsomejoy

need like 10 more days to eat my way across Puerto Rico. #alexgottaeat

Mi primera vez en Puerto Rico. celebrating @kyraknox_ , recharging, finding joy. #getsomejoy

okay, so I love my life right now. I’m moving, learning, teaching, bartering, loving & being loved, planning, taking care of my health, wearing crop tops, getting finer, facilitating & cultivating resources in Spanish, thawing out for hoochie short season, living in gratitude for the genius of Dorothy Ashby & Ahmad Jamal, trying new tings creatively and culinarily and [otherwise], and falling in love with dance again. my back and knees are raggedy hoes at times, but still I rise. the [undiagnosed neuroextravagance] & executive dysfunction are whipping my ass at the moment but I am working on my Systems and have support and lots of meals and hugs and hunching and adventures to look forward to. And there are more and more “I’m so glad i didn’t kill myself” moments these days. shoutout to living. ❤️

Today I talked to some amazing 5th & 6th graders at Rochdale Early Advantage Charter School (REACS) Career Day about joy and mental health and using your passions and experiences to make their communities less raggedy. We talked about homelessness and recovery and supporting their friends and families navigating grief and when they feel the happiest and how they can take care of their own mental health. They had great questions. One pair of students had a whole sheet of question they were passing back and forth. They asked about people who refuse help, methods for supporting grieving friends, how to deal with parents who can’t regulate their emotions. And they were on my NECK about wanting fried chicken stickers and why I didn’t bring them any of the empanadas they had read about through their research. We talked about ways they could use their passions to support their communities and families and why mental health is important for them, their teachers, and friends. They inspired me so much. And had a lot to say about dealing with their parents’ STUFF. One girl said mental health is important because “sometimes, our parents don’t know how to deal with their emotions and we gotta figure it out by ourselves.” Whew. Beautiful day. Shoutout to the babies. #getsomejoy #LiteraryTherapyWritingProgram

Printed 150 of @gogetsomejoy ’s grief resource, “griefKit: Crowdsourced tools and considerations for raggedy times,” this week with the generous support of Uncle Lorhland and @c_napoleon . These 28-page guides have books, communities, music, journaling prompts, poetry, storytelling activities, food-based rituals + more for navigating loss and destabilizing transitions. So far, I’ve shared this batch at @hello.darnell ’s book launch at @sparrowfunerals and with Uber drivers, a bartender, 3 neighbors, and a nice lady wearing a trio of legendary ladybug brooches on the B46 bus. I feel like I’m sharing a piece of my mom each time I share a griefKit. Let me know if you need one or a few or a bunch? We plan to share them around Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, with friends + fam navigating raggedy times, and with leaders we connect with later this month at @nmachiv ’s Regional CBO Summit Midwest in Detroit. Aiming to print another batch by the end of the month. Request for support loading. Standby. #getsomejoy

I’m so proud of @hello.darnell . Last night, Darnell convened folks for a night of connection, reflection, and conversation at @sparrowfunerals to celebrate the launch of his gorgeous new book, “Never Can Say Goodbye: The Life of a Death Doula and the Art of a Peaceful End,” now available where you get your books. Darnell invited us to reflect on our lives and write our story. He invited me to lead a reflection and I created space for us to celebrate ourselves and each other. And I moderated a chat with Darnell and Sparrow’s Erica Hill about supporting people at the end of their lives, taking care of themselves in the process, what they’ve learned from the dead, and how many for us are already doing death doula work. And the book is good as hell! Darnell wrote some beautiful, devastating sentences in there. You gotta read it. And share it. I shared some of @gogetsomejoy ’s GriefKits, received some great hugs, and met all kinds of wonderful people supporting their communities and families in beautiful and raggedy times. Shoutout to @andresflava1 for the delicious cake and the pics. And shoutout to that 🔥🔥 quesadilla @ @homemadetaqueria that blessed our souls after all those heavy emotions. ❤️ #getsomejoy

I first heard @hello.darnell speak at Endwell 2023. I clearly remember him talking about how anyone who has sat with a person who is dying is doing the work of a death doula and how everyone has a story. As a filmmaker and story teller in my life before Sparrow, that resonated. And who isn’t curious about someone who writes TV shows for kids?! Cut to end of last year I went to an event in LA and Darnell was on the panel. Afterwards we got to talking, which led to more conversations which led to Sparrow hosting the launch of his first book ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’. His book is personal. It’s familiar and it feels like home. Please join us for conversation facilitated by writer, cook and mental health advocate, Alexander Hardy @coloredboy . Followed by a writing session led by Darnell. We all have stories and Darnell will inspire us to start to get those stories out of our minds and on to a page. It promises to be a night of inspiration, connection and meaningful conversation. THURSDAY NIGHT 2/12/2026 6PM

NYC FRIENDS! I’m so excited to be moderating this beautiful conversation between Darnell Lamont Walker and Erica Hill this Thursday, Feb 12 to celebrate the release of @hello.darnell ’s new book, “Never Can Say Goodbye: The Life of a Death Doula and the Art of a Peaceful End.” 📣📣 Available errywhere Tuesday, Feb 10 📣📣 Join us at Sparrow Contemporary Funeral Home (161 Driggs Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222) for an evening that’s part conversation, part creative awakening, and part celebration of being alive. We’ll gather in one of Brooklyn’s most beautifully reimagined death-care spaces to explore the themes at the heart of Darnell Lamont Walker’s new book, then write our own story and connect through some writing prompts before we end with a warm repast (snacks included). Get tickets via the link in my bio. 📍@sparrowfunerals : 161 Driggs St, Brooklyn #getsomejoy

Oh, hey! I’m leading a mental health workshop with @nmachiv for @gogetsomejoy next week: Session 3: Snowflakes & Solace: Embracing Grief and Joy During the Winter Season 🗓 February 10, 2026 | ⏰ 3:00 PM EST Create compassionate space to process grief alongside hope and joy, and explore rituals and practices to navigate winter triggers with grace and emotional balance. Learn more + register @ GetSomeJoy.com or via the link in my bio. “Winter Warmth and Wellness is a three-part webinar series designed to nurture emotional health, deepen connection, and support sustainable leadership through the winter season. Whether you’re navigating life with HIV or supporting others in care and prevention spaces, this series is an opportunity to reconnect, reset, and care for yourself. Each session is a standalone deep dive, offering practical tools and heartfelt reflection. Together, they create a supportive journey through winter’s unique stresses—and its opportunities for care, meaning, and renewal.” #getsomejoy #mentalhealth