Jared “J.” Snow knows what it means to look healthy while fighting serious health complications invisible to others.
The filmmaker lives with sickle cell disease, a chronic, hereditary, debilitating illness.
“For me, hearing, ‘you look fine,’ is something universal that all people can relate to whether they have a rare disease, hypertension, cancer, or high stress,” he said.
Bringing an intimate story of awareness, especially to communities of color, of dismissing symptoms that can’t be identified outwardly, his nationally award-winning documentary “You Look Fine” premieres at Greenbelt Cinema on Sept. 3.
“It reveals how others can completely invalidate your health experience and even make you doubt yourself because symptoms aren’t always visible,” Snow continued, teasing the film ahead of its Greenbelt, Maryland, premiere.
Audiences of all ages and backgrounds have been drawn to the relatability of the film’s message.
“It layers in others’ experiences because everyone is fighting something that the world can’t see. During past screenings, people have been vulnerable enough to voice very personal battles that they were fighting,” recalled the filmmaker.
And perhaps beneath the many layers of the documentary is a message simple yet powerful.
“Recognition, validation, community connection, and the support to voice unseen pain,” said Snow. “These are the foundations of true healing.”
Preventative Health, More Than Meets the Eye
For John E. Samuels and his wife, Tesha F. Samuels, preventive health is inseparable from the concept of good health.
Co-founders of Journey to ExSCellence, an organization created in 2023 to help people with sickle cell disease find resources, support, and advocacy, the couple has experienced firsthand how everyday life challenges impact access to health care.
“With heavy economic concerns, family caregiving, and oftentimes the feeling that you are carrying this alone, preventative health is sometimes pushed to the back; worse still, even serious symptoms can be ignored,” Tesha Samuels, 44, recounted.
For the Samuels family, preventive health is not an abstract recommendation; it is the difference between discovering a problem early and confronting a crisis later.
“I want people to be aware of the fact that debilitating health problems are often unseen,” said John Samuels, 70, “sometimes even to ourselves.”
The duo works to raise awareness beyond sickle cell.
The American Heart Association notes that the rate of high blood pressure among Black adults in the United States is among the highest in the world. Many clinicians recommend that people of color should be screened earlier for health conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. For people of color, many diseases that respond favorably to early treatment are often not diagnosed until late or advanced stages.
The wife emphasized that one of the most impactful ways to address health disparities is through the power of community.
“This documentary is of particular importance to the DMV,” she said. “The fact that a man has given access to the entire world to view the most vulnerable parts of his health care journey both educates and gives us the courage to be empowered to better navigate our own.”
Knowledge Is Power
Snow sees the documentary as more than a story about disease; he sees it as community empowerment.
This year, he launched Better Exists, an organization dedicated to helping people with sickle cell disease improve their quality of life through life skills, education, and a healthier relationship with their bodies.
The Samuels share a similar mission and see community events such as “You Look Fine” as critical to forging a deeper understanding of unseen health crises, both physical and mental.
“You walk around and see people in tailored suits looking fine, but behind that, many are going through tremendous mental and physical anguish,” said Tesha Samuels. “This film shows us how to be more empathetic to other people’s unseen pain, and that of our own.”
For Snow, the message of his film lies in encouraging people to claim the power of their own story.
“I believe that the documentary teaches people to use their experiences, even the most painful ones, to tell their story instead of allowing their experiences to become their story,” said the filmmaker. “The power in that knowledge for so many of us is life-changing.”
This reporter has genotype SS, the most aggressive form of sickle cell disease. She lectures and advocates nationally for the inclusion of mental health support and holistic and alternative medicine as treatment for those with chronic illnesses.
This is an amazing article, great read. Shout out to J.Snow and Dr. Holden for the work and the insight. Educating and bring awareness to sickle cell disease. In the name of sickle cell.
J Snow’s documentary is hands down the most engaging and necessary approach to sickle cell awareness. I am still shocked by the number of people who are not informed about sickle cell even in the medical field. I am a sickle cell warrior myself and I constantly have to train my doctors in the middle of my crisis how to treat me in the age of information. This documentary also helps us to see warriors living a full life outside of the hospital walls. It’s so timely and he’s so talented! We are so proud of you bro!
Powerful story. I’m proud of J. Snow for using his own journey with sickle cell to help people understand that pain is not always visible. You look fine… can mean something very different to someone living with a serious illness. Thank you for sharing his story and helping bring more awareness, understanding, and compassion to the sickle cell community.
Leebo’s Sickle Cell Support Group appreciates this article for shining a light on J. Snow’s story and the reality of living with sickle cell. His message about invisible pain is so important because many warriors may look fine while dealing with serious pain inside. Thank you for helping bring more awareness to sickle cell and giving this story the attention it deserves.
Love Dr. Holdens writing. So excited for this screening!
Lovely article highlighting such an important film and moment in time for the SC community! Can’t wait for the world to see You Look Fine.
So grateful to see You Look Fine and the realities of living with unseen health challenges being given this kind of platform. Too often, people are expected to “look sick” before their pain, exhaustion, or lived experience is taken seriously.
This film reminds us that there is always more happening beneath the surface—and that listening, believing, and making space for people to tell their own stories matters.
Thank you, The Washington Informer, for helping amplify this important conversation and the work of Better Exists. 💛
Another phenomenal article by Dr. Holden. I’m especially moved by the connected missions of BetterExists and Journey to ExSCellence. Health and wellness is imperative for all people and we all truly serve a shared mission in cocreating a more empathetic, inclusive environment that promotes wellness for all.
Great article! I absolutely loved the film and appreciate J Sno for allowing us all in. Very much relatable for even those outside of the sickle cell space. I think many times during the film I had to laugh to keep from crying. I pray J Sno goes far with this film.
J. Snow’s documentary “You Look Fine” helps the audience to unpack the truths sometimes we rather hide. Showing up in a world with a brave face and rarely showing the true physical and mental pain Sickle Cell Warriors confront often. this documentary reaches far beyond the Sickle Cell community. “You Look Fine” is for anyone who has ever had their pain dismissed, their challenges overlooked, or their strength mistaken for the absence of struggle.
I am interested in supporting you how do I donate
Dr. Holden, thank you for this powerful and compassionate article. Your voice continues to bring needed awareness to the unseen health challenges so many people carry.
Excellent article ! Im going to do more about my own Healthcare.
It does not involve any rare conditions. But I can do better !
The article is very informative. I commend the warriors who don’t mind being transparent about their ordeal and continued journey. Their lives impact others by giving hope!
Great article of a much needed topic. Great work Dr. Holden.
Fantastic article by Dr. Holden. I cannot wait to see the movie and the idea that we La suffer in invisible ways that society tries avoid dealing with instead of opening up to with empathy and attentiveness resonates deeply for me as a mother who has lost a child.
I commend everyone for taking this bold and brave move to shed light on this important and hidden disease. God’s amazing grace shows through those who are able to withstand and not shrink into dark places. Thank you for sharing these truths with us.
This is an exceptional article. Hits home!
Thank you Dr. Holden for, once again, curating an informative piece revealing, or simply pulling back the curtain to share with the public -not only the power of Black advocacy- but you also detail some of the serious medical challenges that we face as a people. Your article has an even broader reach to remind our people that even the majority-entitled folks in this country have tried since 1619 to make us become invisible, yet, WE keep coming! I’m grateful for your work, and Thanks to a Loving and empowering God, from “You Look Fine”, to the Battle Buddy Bags, to Better Exists, to education prevention and support, still, We Rise!
Great article and a good read!! This movie was so powerful and funny I ended up crying because it hit so close to home. I’m so proud of you JSnow it is really inspiring to see you push forward despite all the obstacles you face keep going this movie will surely top the charts!!
This was such a well-written and much-needed article. As a Sickle Cell Warrior, the words “you look fine” really hit home because so much of what we experience happens behind the scenes. We can smile, work, accomplish our goals, and live full lives while still dealing with pain and challenges others may never see. Thank you, Dr. Holden, J. Snow, and everyone involved for continuing to bring awareness, understanding, and compassion to the sickle cell community. ❤️🩸
This is a great piece, helping those of us within the sickle cell community feel seen while helping raise awareness to those outside of the community.
Bravo J. Snow and Dr. Holdon!! I’ve been excited for this project since J.Snow first announced it on social media. I thought about how important it would be for the world to hear our story from this POV. Thank you for such a well written and informative article. With support and education of this caliber I have tremendous hope for the Sickle Cell community.
First and foremost, Black men are so often taught from birth to be strong, fearless, protect, provide, push through, and keep going. That is why the vulnerability Mr. Jared “J.” Snow displays through *You Look Fine* speaks volumes.
Looking good and **feeling good are two completely different things.**
Imagine spending years trying to live up to what you have been taught you are supposed to be while your mind and body are experiencing something entirely different. Sometimes strength has to begin with aligning your mind, body, and beliefs and giving yourself permission to acknowledge, “I am not okay,” despite what the world expects you to look like.
Mr. Snow is strong not simply because he battles Sickle Cell Disease, but because he has chosen to open some of the most vulnerable parts of that journey to the world. In doing so, he is creating a safe space that extends far beyond the Sickle Cell community. His story gives anyone battling something internally permission to lower the facade and reminds the rest of us that everything that looks good on the outside is not necessarily good on the inside.
We need that.
How many times has someone asked, “How are you?” and we automatically answered, “I’m fine,” knowing we were anything but fine? Sometimes “I’m fine” feels easier than explaining that we are hurting, overwhelmed, afraid, exhausted, sick, struggling, or simply not ourselves. We do not want to complain. We do not want to appear weak. We do not want to disappoint the people who expect us to be strong.
But we have to stop creating expectations for ourselves — and for one another — that our minds, bodies, and souls cannot always meet.
Mr. Snow’s transparency reminds us that vulnerability can also be strength. Telling your story may help you heal, but it can also give someone else the courage to fight another day. His willingness to show what people normally do not see challenges all of us to become more compassionate about the battles happening behind smiles, suits, accomplishments, and the words “I’m fine.”
I commend Mr. Snow for his transparency and Dr. Holden for continuing to capture the very essence of stories like this — stories that educate us while reminding us of our humanity.
The truth is, none of us are “fine” all of the time. We all carry something.
Don’t be afraid to share. Don’t be afraid to listen. Don’t be afraid to say you’re not okay.
People do care.
And more importantly, “we need each other.” ❤️
Thank you, Dr. Holden, for bringing attention to what so many Warriors experience: looking well does not mean being well. No one should have to visibly deteriorate before their pain is believed. J. Snow’s message about recognition, validation and community speaks directly to why SCD Relief (SCDRelief.com) exists.
Such an important and beautifully written piece. The reminder that someone can look completely “fine” while carrying immense physical and emotional challenges really resonates. Thank you for bringing greater visibility to invisible illness with such understanding and care.
Absolutely fabulous story! I joyfully read how J. Snow meticulously manages life as a SCD warrior. I completely understand as a genotyped SS warrior myself. Oh my, his journey encourages impacted SCD souls through the powerful documentary in myriad ways. We often hear crazy statements from practitioners such as, “Hush, let’s wait for lab results, & #YOULOOKFINE.” It’s disparaging & blatant. Kudos to J. Snow for bravery & audacity to own & nationally share his story. This catapults the SCD message into the mainstream quite nice. 🩸💪🏽💯💃🏽🙌🏾🫂🎯🏆❤️🩹👏🏽💕YES, YES!!!
This beautifully written article by Dr. Patrise Holden highlights the critical importance of bringing preventable health care to the forefront, as it is of uptmost importance for the Black community while parlaying the parallel subject so brilliantly presented in J. Snow’s documentary, “You Look Fine”, where Sickle Cell Disease” is often ‘unseen’. Master Documentarian J. Snow on the large screen SHOWS the world that living with SCD is not so fine some of time. Dr. Patrise in her article gives us a descriptive view on his film. If it comes into your area, you don’t want to miss it!