If You Knew Better: LaShawnda Woodard Knows the Hardest Person to Forgive Is Yourself

The Black Effect Presents... If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes!

In this episode of If You Knew Better, Amber Grimes welcomes LaShawnda Woodard aka "Mama Durk" for a deeply personal conversation about teen motherhood, grief, trauma, and healing [00:00]. LaShawnda reflects on becoming a young mother [01:44], lessons she later understood from her own mom [03:51], supporting Lil Durk’s music dreams [05:49], and raising each child according to their individual needs [07:01]. She remembers her oldest son D-Thang [09:00], opens up about living with grief after his death [09:55], and shares her struggles with depression and isolation [13:58]. Amber challenges LaShawnda’s self-blame while discussing the importance of community [19:42], before LaShawnda speaks candidly about surviving sexual assault [21:59], encouraging other survivors to speak up and seek help [28:42] as they explore lingering trauma [30:27] and finding language for painful experiences [30:58].

Amber encourages LaShawnda to give herself grace [32:23], examining parenting through pain [32:58], accountability versus blame [33:40], and faith and forgiveness [36:00]. LaShawnda discusses sharing her story through 7220 [37:05] and surviving an attempted assault as a teenager [38:11], while Amber reinforces that survivors are not responsible for the harm done to them [40:56] and encourages her to release the weight she has carried [41:55]. They reflect on how children remember their upbringing differently [45:19], learning to acknowledge the good alongside the mistakes [48:44], and LaShawnda’s final memories with D-Thang [50:55]. The episode closes with a challenge to rediscover joy [53:11], understand how trauma can freeze us in time [56:13], reconnect with community [57:09], and continue the journey toward healing [58:15].

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O.P. Date: September 8, 2026

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