Rachel Ricketts Alchemist, Activist, and Bestselling Author of Do Better and All I Need to Be
About the Author
Rachel Ricketts (she/they) is a globally renowned spiritual activist, alchemist, and award-nominated author of the international instant bestseller Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy, which was named one of the San Francisco Chronicle’s 10 Books to Pick of 2021 and Book Riot‘s 12 Essential Books About Black Identity and History. Her other work, a mindfulness picture book titled All I Need to Be, was chosen as a Read With Jenna 2024 Jr Summer Reading List pick for kids and inner kids alike.
Hailed as a revolutionary offering and called “groundbreaking” by Good Morning America, Do Better addresses inequity from an intersectional and spiritually aligned perspective. Part memoir, part actionable guidebook for anyone & everyone, Do Better illustrates how to engage in mindfulness-based practices to get embodied & fight white supremacy from the inside out, in our personal lives and communities alike.
As an intersectional social justice leader, collective mirror, and recovering attorney, Ricketts envisions a world where queer, trans and/or disabled Black and Indigenous folx are and feel deeply cared for. To that end, she supports individuals and organizations that lead with love and unapologetically center Black & Indigenous femmes to support collective change, healing, and liberation.
Ricketts supports those desiring to do the deep, inner shadow work required for personal and collective transformation and healing; and helps people to both remember their innate wisdom & unlock the love, dignity and divine feminine power that systems of oppression tried to take from them. In short – she thinks about revolutionary shit in a revolutionary way, and supports others to do the same.
Offering virtual and in-person workshops and keynotes for nearly a decade, Ricketts is known for her mix of vulnerability, humor, and real talk fused with compassionate wisdom and practical takeaways. She is also trained and well-versed in a variety of ancestral healing modalities—including Reiki, meditation, breathwork, and yin yoga—all of which she’s been facilitating for over a decade.
Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Ricketts followed her deep desire to address the injustices of the world through law, receiving a Juris Doctorate from one of Canada’s most prestigious law schools, the Allard Hall School of Law at the University of British Columbia. She also holds a degree in Psychology and certification in Intercultural Education and Training.
Her work has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, People, Forbes, Essence, The Atlantic, Elle, The Root, Glamour UK, and Cosmopolitan and she’s made appearances on shows such as Good Morning America and Today.
Rachel loves donuts, dancing, and divine disruption (ideally all at once).
Suggested Topics
- Do Better & Spiritual Activism: Rachel will discuss the most pertinent current themes from her book DO BETTER and answer related queries such as “why is spirituality an important foundation for activism?” & “what is still preventing us from making critical collective change in 2024?” Takeaways include mindfulness prompts to support embodied justice, an understanding of why heart centered intersectional anti-oppression is critical & why both soul-care and community care are critical for collective liberation & abolition.
- Becoming Unfuckwithable & Reclaiming our Birthright: Pulled from a chapter of DO BETTER, this offering for Black, Indigenous and other folx of the global majority discusses the power & importance of honoring our authentic selves and decentering whiteness and the white gaze for healing and liberation. Takeaways include tangible mindfulness prompts, exploration and practice of embodied boundaries, how to create and utilize them & what gets in the way, as well as ways to support and express our most authentic selves in a world that constantly tries to oppress us.
- Being All You Need to Be: A Kids Playshop: Rachel will lead a play-centered workshop centering her mindfulness book ALL I NEED TO BE for kids and caregivers alike. This includes a reading of her book and a collection of age-appropriate mindfulness activities to support children (and inner children) acknowledge, embody and move through our big emotions while honoring our authentic selves.
- Radical Hope: How do we acknowledge our heavy hearts during these trying times, and also practice radical hope to contribute to collective action? This offering reviews the tools & wisdom we can glean from Black and Indigenous changemakers and includes tangible takeaways to feel more empowered in your journey to better show up for yourself and the collective (especially those made most marginalized).
- Co-Creating Inclusive, Brave & Sacred Space: Rachel will discuss what’s required for co-creating and facilitating sufficiently safe spaces and institutions that acknowledge intersectionality and center all those made most marginalized, particularly those with multiple oppressed identities. Takeaways include an exploration of brave versus safe space, ways to be present to, acknowledge and mitigate harm, and an understanding of the common (often damaging) mistakes that are made when attempting to create inclusive spaces.
- Creative Justice & Being Black in Publishing: Rachel will discuss her personal journey as a recovering attorney turned bestselling author, the specific trials and tribulations she faced as a queer Black femme author in the publishing world and her offerings for Black and otherwise oppressed writers seeking to share their much needed work with the world. Takeaways include specific & practical tips for honoring your authentic voice and suggestions for entering and/or engaging in the publishing industry while maintaining your peace (and getting PAID).
Raves and Reviews
Praise for Rachel Ricketts
Rachel’s [work] is a beautiful and important offering.”
—Chani Nicholas, renowned astrologist and New York Times bestselling author
Rachel is an incredible leader, educator and tender heart”
—Sophia Bush, actress & producer
Rachel does a great job of [naming] that you should take what’s inside you, and [use] that to help and heal yourself and those around you.”
—Kristen Bell, Actress & Producer
Rachel’s work with our company was so deeply fucking incredible. I thank her for her time and wisdom.”
—Kate Spies, Former VP of well+good, current CEO of Create & Cultivate
If you’re a BIPoC wanting to gain some spiritual teachings & activism you’ve come to the right place! There’s truly no place like Rachel’s workshops.”
—Kafiya Mudey, BLM Vancouver
Rachel’s work is life-affirming and faith-building.”
—Ji Youn Kim, Justice-oriented therapist
Praise for All I Need to Be
All I Need to Be is a beautiful inspirational book.”
—Jenna Bush Hager, journalist & author
“[All I Need to Be] is a treasure and sharing it brought me great joy. I have received countless requests to share the book information and our superintendent has shared the title district-wide. Thank you to Rachel Ricketts for this gift for our students.”
—Leah Stuck, District School Psychologist in Upstate New York
Praise for Do Better
Holy Healing! What Rachel Ricketts offers the world in Do Better is a healing balm for a society that has long needed a new perspective and approach to an ancient problem that has been ignored, denied, un-addressed, and unhealed. Do Better answers prayers that many have prayed. Do Better offers a bold possibility for change and healing. Do Better offers a deeply sacred choice that we must all make at such a time as this.”
—Iyanla Vanzant, New York Times bestselling author and host of Iyanla, Fix My Life
Do Better is a clear, powerful, direct, wise, and extremely helpful treatise on how to combat and heal from the ubiquitous violence of white supremacy. Using a voice that is both passionate and compassionate, Rachel Ricketts instructs where necessary and soothes when needed—but never flinches from the urgency of the mission at hand. These pages are meant not merely to be read, but to be studied, workshopped, and put into daily practice. I would recommend Do Better to anybody who wishes to live a life of higher consciousness and humanity. But to white readers in particular, I say: Pull up a chair, grab a pen, lay down your defenses, and listen very respectfully to Rachel Ricketts. She has offered up an exceedingly valuable resource to a tired, troubled (and all too often delusional) world. This is a book we all need.”
—Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love
I have learned more from Rachel Ricketts than I can even put into words. Her voice is critical and her work is pivotal in helping us all heal from the wounds of white supremacy, a virus that was created and must be stopped by white people. Rachel is not here to make you comfortable, she’s here to challenge you, and trust me—you’ll be a better person for it.”
—Liz Plank, journalist and author of For the Love of Men
Do Better, like Rachel Ricketts, is a true gift to this earth. Rachel’s devotion, wisdom, and guidance towards collective liberation is truly powerful and unmatched. To know her work is to know integrity, growth and elevated consciousness. Do Better offers not just that, but a path forward where we can personally and collectively dismantle systems of oppression, and do so in a way that is rooted in divine love. Because of this book and Rachel’s mentorship I truly can say that I push myself to do better.”
—Maryam Ajayi, CEO and founder of Dive in Well
Rachel’s book is a powerful and beautiful example of sharing herself from a deeply heart-centered place, and sharing her knowledge with eloquence, heart, and spirituality. Right now more than ever is a time for everyone to really dive in and do the work, and as a white woman I feel it’s more important than ever to educate ourselves and truly create change in the deepest parts of our lives that we may have been unconscious of. If you, like me, are ready to stop talking and start listening and really take the time to understand, this is the book you MUST read. Thank you Rachel for taking the time to write this incredible book. It was life changing to read.”
—Rumer Willis, actress and singer
Do Better should be required reading for all white women . . . It was emotional and challenging but in all the ways this work should be.”
—Mandy Moore, award-winning actress, singer, and songwriter
This is the book we’ve been waiting for. Wow! Rachel provides us with a real, raw and relevant examination into the deep, spiritual and transformative work that we all need right now to heal from the dehumanizing structure of white supremacy. . . This is the book that will change lives, if you allow it. A must read and do!”
—Monique Melton, anti-racism educator
Through love, rage, and humor, Rachel Ricketts both challenges and inspires us all (but especially us white cis women) to turn anti-racist work into a daily practice; to sit in the discomfort of the violence we have perpetrated, and turn that discomfort into action. This book is absolutely essential reading.”
—Zoe Lister-Jones, actress, producer, and director
Do Better is a much-needed addition to any spiritual person’s anti-racism toolkit. This book does not only open the door to anti-racism work, but gives you the tools to walk through it. Rachel has created an engaging, inspiring, and practical resource that you will return to time and again.”
—Jessica Lanyadoo, host of Ghost of a Podcast and author of Astrology for Real Relationships
Rachel Ricketts finally helped me confront things I’ve long been afraid to see and given me the tools to create a daily practice that has the potential for global ripples.”
—Claire Bidwell Smith, author of Anxiety the Missing Stage of Grief
Rachel [has shared] a magnificent offering y’all…we ALL need [Do Better]. Yesterday, tomorrow. We’re gonna need this motherfucker as long as somebody’s breathing.”
—Kiese Laymon, NAACP Image Award Winning Author
Meticulously researched, compassionate, and bold, this book should be read immediately and frequently returned to as a textual companion for the ongoing, reiterative work of antiracism.”
—Library Journal (starred)
A soulful, essential boot-camp-in-a-book that raises the bar significantly in the field of anti-racism training.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
A timely and excellent call-to-action.”
—San Francisco Book Review
Her brilliant book, Do Better, seeks to bridge the gap between dabbling in anti-racism literature and integrating anti-racism into our life and sense of purpose.”
—Goop
Groundbreaking.”
—Good Morning America
In the Media
April 8, 2021
“Black Women Are in the Midst of a Burnout Epidemic”
March 2, 2021
“‘Racial justice starts with you, and it starts within’ from Do Better”
February 4, 2021
“Canadian complacency is the killer of collective change”
February 3, 2021
“Biden Won, but if You’re Going Back to Brunch, You’re Part of the Problem”
November 11, 2020
“The Year I Gave Up White Comfort”
January 15, 2019
“How to give thanks AND call out racist shit”
November 28, 2018
“This Racist S*** Won’t Change Until White Folks Put In The Work”
August 17, 2017
“No One Deserves To Die The Way My Mother Did”
June 10, 2017
“Set Your Intentions For A F***ing Awesome 2017”
January 1, 2017