Author Danni Starr encourages empathy, discussion of mental-health problems

If radio talk show host Danni Starr could pass anything onto her two daughters, it would be empathy, she said at a Feb. 13 National Press Club Headliner’s Book Event.

Club President Andrea Edney interviewed Starr about her new memoir, Empathy and Eyebrows: A Survivalist’s Stories on Reviving your Spirit after Soul-Crushing Sh*tstorms.

A few years ago, Starr, 33, had it all. A successful radio career, a happy marriage, and a new baby. Then she sank into severe post-partum depression.

After the birth of her second child, she suffered post-partum anxiety, constantly imagining the deaths of her children and everyone she loved. Her marriage fell apart and she lost her job. The book chronicles her struggles, her recovery, and her efforts to erase the stigma of mental health issues.

“I went through a three-year period of trauma,” Starr said. “I had to figure out how to deal with it or fall apart. And I decided to shine brighter.”

Starr encourages people with mental health problems to speak out about them.

“If we are always quiet about our struggles, people will think they’re alone,” she said. “The truth is, we all have something going on. When you tell your story, it allows others to say ‘Me, too.’”

A girl also needs good eyebrows.

Starr, who has beautifully sculpted eyebrows, called her story “the ultimate bounce-back game.”

She launched a grass roots campaign to increase awareness of post-partum depression and anxiety and was named Ambassador of the Year by the Office of Women's Health in 2017.

She found jobs she loves. She can be heard every morning as the co-host of The Fam in The Morning on Radio One DC's WKYS 93.9 FM and seen weekly as the host of TLCme Now on the TLC network.

Next on Starr’s agenda is a master’s degree in clinical social work with cultural trauma and post-partum depression and anxiety. She hopes to use her media platforms to give hope to those suffering from psychological issues.