This Sisters with Superpowers story is sponsored by Chevy.
Darla Miles is a six-time Emmy Award-winning reporter for the country’s No. 1 local news station — the legendary WABC-TV Eyewitness News in New York City. Fluent in Spanish, Miles began her journalism career as a teleprompter operator for CNN en Español in Atlanta, working her way up the ranks in various technical roles before she was promoted to creative services producer, all as a part of the original team that launched the 24-hour network in 1997. From CNN en Español, Miles moved to reporting and anchoring roles at WJBF in Augusta, WTVD in Raleigh-Durham, and WFAA in Dallas-Fort Worth and has worked as a weekend anchor for CNN Headline News.
As a Black woman, what do you consider your superpowers to be?
My superpowers have been revealed to me during a series of devastating life events that I’ve often referred to as my kryptonite, years before I was nominated for this amazing honor.
In December 2013, my husband unexpectedly had a catastrophic stroke. The week before, I suffered the third miscarriage of our marriage. He died a few weeks later in January 2014. Prior to his passing, I had not grieved the loss of our three children. His death, however, was emotionally apocalyptic to me and I privately spiraled into a deep sense of hopelessness, all the while appearing on live TV daily before millions of people who were none the wiser. Through time and the love and support of my tribe my superpower, resilience, became apparent.
In March 2020, I was tested again. I lost my father who had been in failing health aside from the pandemic and I was diagnosed with a degenerative spinal disorder, rendering me practically immobile. Since this occurred at the onset of the pandemic, it took months before new patient appointments resumed, during which time I suffered in excruciating pain in isolation, no less. I underwent a lumbar spinal fusion in October 2020, fought my way back only to experience more severe disc generation 10 months later, and had to undergo a cervical spinal fusion in July 2021. But I persevered and after my second recovery, it became apparent that an adjective used quite often to describe me as a Texas tomboy was actually a superpower. After surviving it all, I’d become fearless, knowing I was ready for whatever may come my way next.
Through all of this, I believe I’ve been able to maintain the greatest superpower of all, my joy.
What thoughtful or encouraging advice would you give your younger self?
I would tell my younger self not to measure my success by those around me. There’s always someone doing better, but there’s always someone doing worse. Obsessing over the accomplishments of your counterparts can be counterproductive. It can undermine your confidence and it can also create tunnel vision on a singular path to success, precluding you from taking advantage of other wonderful, growth opportunities that may not be part of your original blueprint to achieving your goals.
