We were lucky to catch up with Aza A. Shukura recently and have shared our conversation below.
Aza A., we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
My motto is “Your Authenticity has the Power to set someone Free”. That someone has to first be yourself. You cannot effectively do anything for anyone else until you can sufficiently do something for yourself. The best thing I ever did for myself was go through the recovery process and learn how to truly live in my authenticity.
Mental Health is the after math of Mental Illness. Addressing my own struggles with Mental Illness openly contributes heavily to how I have been able to overcome and persist despite dealing with very difficult challenges on my journey towards having a healthy mind.
I struggled with mental illness all of my adult life and developed unconscious challenges around 14 yrs old. I struggled in silence. I struggled in shame, guilt and embarrassment. I struggled through major depression, anxiety, anger – rage, suicide ideations, a 24-year battle with bulimia, extreme low self-worth, no self-respect, homelessness, trauma, abandonment issues, severe grief over the murders of my close cousins and the passing of my twin sister all by the age of 25, legal troubles, Borderline Personality Disorder, substance and alcohol use, single parenthood, absolutely no faith in a higher power and the list goes on.
Through it all I was still able to receive a college degree, have a career in education, build businesses and pursue my love of the creative arts. However, I never really addressed my internal battles the way I needed to for many years. It felt taboo and as if I was “not allowed” to talk out loud about the kind of challenges I was dealing with. Especially as a Black woman.
It wasn’t until I found recovery, that I was able to truly get things out and put so many things down that I had been hiding for so many years. I had been in therapy and tried an outpatient program before, but it’s something about taking a “nonclinical” avenue and being among peers with no judgement that shifts something in you.
Authenticity of Recovery’s Affirmation is:
– Forgive the ugly caterpillar that was once your past self.
– Embrace the cocoon of recovery that your present self is in.
– So, that the butterfly your future self will become, will fly further than your old pair of eyes could ever see.
My recovery journey was long, hard, dark and uncomfortable. But the caterpillar doesn’t become the butterfly without the hard, the dark and the discomfort.
Even after going through the programs. I never stopped learning. I never stopped being put in tough situations. All the good, bad and in between is there for you to learn something about yourself. Look for the lessons in everything, everyone and every experience. Recently one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that “the butterfly can never go back into the cocoon”. Your journey of growth and development is to learn how to FLY towards the stars after you’ve crawled in the mud for so long.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Today, I am the founder and executive director of Authenticity of Recovery LLC. Its mission is to unlock your power to stand free in your authenticity through all forms of recovery. My vision is to provide a revolutionary, creative and thriving platform for human beings to evolve into the greatest versions of themselves and to touch as many people as possible, by spreading more light in a world full of darkness. I was once a person that contributed to the ugliness in this world. I now make it my life’s mission to bring out the beauty of it.
What’s special about the program is by living in my truth and becoming my authentic self, it opens the hearts of others to do the same. In doing this, it Ingnites a chain reaction of effortless giving of light to those in darkness by becoming the light.
Through various services such as motivational speaking, online and in person workshops, recovery education curriculum, youth recovery programs, group support sessions, women’s development trainings, summits and my personal favorite; The Art of Authenticity performances (stage, film and showcases), the program teaches individuals that who they were, who they are now and who they will become are three completely different people.
It is an overwhelming feeling to “Feel” you are deserving of the best of things in life, when you’ve felt unworthy for so long. The person I admire the most is my ever-evolving self. It’s not overcoming my past that I am most proud of. It’s “knowing” that I am worthy of all the wonders of my future that makes me proud of myself the most.
The more we develop in our recovery journeys, the more “comas” we add to the definition of ourselves.
In 2025 I look forward to engaging in various public speaking forums as “Aza the Rock Star Speaker” to spread my message of not just recovery but “Victory”. As well as establishing my education program among various school districts. Launching my podcast. Touring The Art of Authenticity performances. Engaging more people into the Authenticity of Recovery LLC. program. Gaining more sponsors and partnerships to take my mission across the country and ultimately around the world.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three areas of knowledge that have been the most impactful on my journey has been:
1. Progress, no matter how small is monumentally significant to the process. – Trust the process.
2. When you are having a hard time defining who you are, close your eyes and ears to the world’s definition of you.
– OG (Only God) will show you who you are.
3. Failures = Focus and Wins = What’s Next?
My advice to anyone that is in the early stages of recovery, going after their dreams or trying to find purpose in their lives is to move like you already won. Don’t think, “know” you are a champion. You “deserve” to sit on the thrown of greatness. Believe the unbelievable and every day envision your end game. I don’t care if you failed and messed up over and over and over and over and OVER and OVER and OVER again. If you woke up this morning, consider yourself blessed to have another chance to get it right.
I don’t care who you are. How you look. Where you been. What you’ve been through. How much you think you can’t overcome the shit that the darkness has turned you into. Every day you can choose to go backwards, be stagnant or move forward. All three are hard – choose you’re hard.
However, in moving forward you can anticipate and accept the hardships, challenges, disappointments, betrayals, the intrusive thoughts (sometimes you really gotta tell em to fuck off) and the hurt in a different light. Champions aren’t made out of easy. They are made out of resilience, persistence and unshakeable will. Rest when you must, but the measure of your future is dependent on you to be ongoing, despite the short comings of others and yourself.
So, fuel you’re “Why” with your “Will” and all else absolutely will fall into place.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
As a new business owner, I am absolutely on the lookout for opportunities to gain sponsorships, partnerships and collaborate on different projects. The kind of people that I want to work with are people that live in their authenticity. People who are not shaken or embarrassed by their past, the things they’ve been through and have a message to send out to the world by being who OG designed them to be.
I love people that are “different”. The weirdos and out the box people. People who have a mind of their own and don’t care to follow the crowds. Their race, gender, appearance, religious beliefs, titles, accolades or lack thereof etc doesn’t matter to me. I want to work with good people that are hungry to build something unique and beautiful time and time again.
I want to work with people that genuinely want to make a difference, have a good heart, open to new ideas, and have creative/artistic abilities.
This year I have been blessed to be in the presences of several people in the TV and Film industry. Screenwriting and TV/Film directing is another endeavor that I am currently pursuing. I wrote my very first script when I was in the 3rd grade, and I have been a writer ever sense. There are two projects that I am currently working diligently to bring to life. So, working with creative individuals that have a strong passion for the craft of storytelling and artistry would be a tremendous blessing.
For anyone that would like to connect with me, you can message me on any of my platforms:
www.authenticityofrecovery.com
Fb/TikTok/IG @authenticityofrecovery
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.authenticityofrecovery.com
- Instagram: authenticityofrecovery
- Facebook: authenticityofrecovery
- Other: TikTok@ authenticityofrecovery
Image Credits
Mobilized Recovery Across Georgia Jimmy Carter Presidential Center – R2Ise to Recovery RCO (Atlanta GA) Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover Performance. Performed by: Champions of Recovery
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
