Reading has always been a pleasurable activity for me.  I gravitate towards sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and gripping memoirs that grab me from the first page.  I get instant satisfaction escaping into someone else’s story or exploring worlds that don’t yet exist. Reading non-fiction, especially self-help books, is not pleasurable in the same way.  I get a deeper, slower satisfaction from reading them.  I tend to read them incredibly slowly, letting them marinate to give me time to evolve with what I have learned. Rather than escape into someone else’s story or expand the widths of my imagination, self-help books ground me into my own life.  They expand my thinking, have me rethink my practice of therapy, and excite me with new possibilities of how to live my life.  Reading slower is not a bad thing, though I sometimes wish I could consume knowledge and growth in the same fast paced way that I consume sci-fi books.  (This might be a remnant of white supremacist culture’s insistence that we need to do things quickly and “efficiently” by capitalist standards).

 

When it comes to self improvement and my personal growth as an individual and therapist, I am prioritizing books by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.  Not only do they help us all realize the hold that white supremacist culture has on us, these books help us envision new ways of existing and thriving outside of these confines.  If we can’t imagine it, it is difficult to create it.  

 

Whenever possible, aim to buy books from independent bookstores, bonus points if they are a combination of queer owned, Black owned, and/or woman owned! If you are into Audiobooks, check out Libby, a free audiobook service through the public library.

 

Below is my list of books I intend to read or am currently reading and that you may find helpful. 

 

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Killmer

I’m loving this book so far for Robin Wall Killmer’s ability to weave story telling into life lessons.  This book is reminding me of our connection to nature and the importance of honoring the natural world around us.  Read this book if you are interested in exploring your connection to the natural world as a means to guide your life.

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Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by addienne maree brown

Here is another book that I have started but have not yet finished!  So much of healing is centered around getting rid of pain.  This book centers pleasure as a means of healing, both by adding pleasurable activities in your life, refocusing on pleasure already in your life, and reflecting on pleasurable past events.  It has helpful exercises and activities.  For example, I love the idea of creating a timeline of pleasurable events in your life as a means to look back at your life with gratitude and joy even if you have experienced a number of painful and traumatic events.

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All About Love by bell hooks

The first chapter of this blew my mind.  Bell hooks defines love as an action and choice rather than a feeling.  I had to sit with that for a good minute and reflect on how the love I show and have been shown fits or doesn’t fit into this definition of love.  This book talks about all forms of love: romantic, familial, self-love and more!

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Decolonizing the Body: Healing, Body-Centered Practices for Women of Color to Reclaim Confidence, Dignity, and Self-Worth by Kelsey Blackworth

As a therapist specializing in trauma, I work with the body as much as the mind.  This book explores the mind body connection but with a focus on racial trauma, ancestral trauma, and systemic issues that face Black and Brown women. 

 

body rites: a holistic healing and embodiment workbook for Black survivors of sexual trauma by shena j. young

This book isn’t coming out until October, and while I clearly have a lot of books already to finish before then, I am eager to start reading this one.   Dr. shena j. young is focusing on rituals and body work to help Black women, femme, and nonbinary survivors heal.  Here is another book that focuses on the body as a tool of healing!

 

Happy Reading!