Rest Like a Queen: Dr. Demarra West on Self-Love, Detroit, and Breaking Barrier

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“When you set out to heal the world, you realize that you yourself have healing to do.” In this Detroit is Different episode, Dr. Demarra West, founder of Rest Like a Queen Retreat & Day Retreats in Detroit, shares her journey of self-discovery, purpose, and community impact. Having moved to Detroit just eight months ago, she reflects on how the city called her to do deep healing work, both personally and for others. As a licensed therapist and holistic healer, Demarra unpacks trauma, resilience, and systemic barriers, discussing how poverty and racism block access to true healing. She and Kari dive into the complex dynamics between Black men and women, the shifting power structures in Detroit, and the need for reciprocity and respect. “Joy, prosperity, peace, and purpose are birthrights,” she declares, emphasizing self-love and community-driven solutions. Of course, no episode is complete without classic Detroit questions—Demarra recalls her first Ford Focus, picks Glo-Rilla and Usher for the Detroit fireworks finale, and says if an alien landed in Detroit, she’d take them straight to the Charles H. Wright Museum for a lesson in Black excellence.

What began as a journey engaging hip-hop audiences, has grown into a career as a marketing consultant. As business people have seen my work, I was propositioned many times to provide graphic design, photography, videography, event planning, website development, and social media campaigning. These initial business contracts inspired me to build Creative Differences Marketing. I’ve balanced my entrepreneurial experience with formal education from Walsh College of Business and Accountancy. My degree in Marketing serves me well in understanding many of the formal, universal, and theoretical marketing approaches used in corporate environments.Formulating this business model has been anchored by the success of my BLOG ‘Detroit is Different.’ I create all content for Detroit is Different. This serves as a prototype of the ways I can design events, websites, graphics, music, podcasts, social media campaigns, and e-mail campaigns. ‘Detroit is Different’ focuses on the people and places of Detroit that add to the culture. Through these people and places, themes are driven. These themes will partner with, sponsor, and advertise for businesses and organizations using this innovative multilevel marketing approach.