The story of Black women in America is one of triumph and grace, even with odds stacked high against them. Health First! The Black Women's Wellness Encyclopedia provides today's Black woman with a comprehensive guide to her #1 resource: herself. It empowers her with the information she needs to seek the mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional self-care necessary to achieve her full human potential. This groundbreaking book is the product of three decades of work by the Black Women's Health Imperative, the nation's only non-profit organization devoted to advancing the health and wellness of Black women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. Health First! connects the dots through every stage of the life cycle-from adolescence through maturity. It addresses Black women's most pressing health concerns-ranging from informative and reassuring conversations with experts on heart disease, reproductive health, and HIV to the crucial facts about the most urgent medical conditions that Black women face. Grounded in vital research, as well as the realities of Black women's lives, the focus is on prevention, awareness, and action, across generations and circumstances, presented in an authoritative, yet reassuring personal voice. In an age of uncertainty, Health First! provides the invaluable tools and insights that Black women need to re-prioritize their lives and establish new traditions of self-love and well-being.