Surviving in the Hour of Darkness addresses the health issues—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—of black women, First Nations women, and other women of colour. The book is a collection of scholarly essays, case studies, personal essays, poetry, and prose written by over 45 contributors. It illustrates, through the voices of many women, that gender, religious, cultural, and class background strongly influence how one experiences illness, how and when one is diagnosed, and how one is treated within the healthcare system.

The book also focuses on the need for cultural sensitivity and inclusiveness in the delivery of health services. Surviving in the Hour of Darkness aims to promote and generate knowledge with and about minority women while identifying key strategies for promoting their health, thus contributing to a broader understanding of how the experience of being a minority woman affects one’s health and well-being.

G. Sophie Harding is the editor of Our Words/Our Revolutions: Di/Verse Vhoices of Black Women, First Nations Women, and Women of Colour in Canada. Her work has been used in projects such as the Teen Violence Prevention Initiatives with Women's Habitat and the Women, Violence, and Adult Education Project Source Book, which is aimed at examining the effect of violence in terms of learning and education for women.

With Contributions By: llye Y. Avery, Wanda Thomas Bernard, Ana Bodnar, Shirley Brozzo, Nora Burrell, Bishakha Chowdhury, Linda Cornwell, Charmaine Crawford, Karen Flynn, Randa Hammadieh, CiajDiann Harris, Layla Hassan, Troy Hunter, Rolanda C. Kane, Rosamond S. King, Heather MacLeod, Kristine Maitland, Marisa Marharaj, Notisha Massaquoi, Naomi North, Sima Qadeer, Talata Reeves, Carla R. Ribeiro, Ingrid Rivera, Anakana Schofield, Beldan Sezen, Farah M. Shroff, Neeta Singh, Lorraine Thomas, Roxane Tracey, Wendy Vincent, Vera M. Wabegijig, Ingrid Waldron, Pitche Wasayananung, Crystal E. Wilkinson, Gitane Williams, Judith K. Witherow, Valerie Wood

G. Sophie Harding's profile page

The women whose narratives envelop readers of Surviving in the Darkness are no longer in the dark. Their stories are full of light and light a path towards transcendence. This text is a celebration of life, health and wisdom. It is a podium—wrapped in cedar and sage—from which its readers can now go forward—in good company and in the light.

—Cheryl Van Daalen-Smith, York Journal

The book clearly serves its purpose of enhancing the understanding of factors contributing to the health and well-being of women of colour from both the holistic and the hermeneutic perspectives . . . [A] valuable piece of health literature.

—Swarna Weerasinghe, Canadian Ethnic Studies