For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a voracious reader. There were many days (and well into adulthood) where  I would lock myself in my room and  forget  the outside world. A good time to me looks like a great read and tasty treats! Reading is the most economical way to travel. Through words we are transported to different lands,catapulted into time periods of the past and future. We are able to learn about other people and their cultures. We are able to learn more about ourselves.

As we contend with the attacks on foundational works by authors who dared to tell our nations repulsive truths. As we endure attempts to rewrite our history and inadequately represent our present. As we resist the demonization of words like equity, Black, bias, indigenous, oppression, inclusion, privilege, vulnerable populations, Gulf of Mexico and sexual preference to list a few, reading and writing must become our saviors. In them we must find ways to resist, information to help inform and moments of joy to remind us of our why. 

The following are some of my favorites and those I can’t wait to dig back into. What’s on your list?

• Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Blues Dancing by Diane McKinney Whetstone
• Love / Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 
• Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire
• All About Love by bell hooks 
• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
• Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamants
• Little Bee by Chris Cleave
• Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie   
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
• Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon
• The Black Friend by Frederick Joseph
• Coming Home by Brittney Griner
• I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Brown, Austin Channing

Reading is a form of resistance! It is a way that in the midst of storms to reclaim time for yourself. It is an opportunity to temporarily step away from or into whatever you chose because our resistance is not monolithic and it is also necessary. As we fight and advocate we must not lose sight of and also remind ourselves about what we are fighting for.  I hope that this list and this exercise of building out a list resonates with you and supports your journey of balancing  pouring in and pouring out.

Enjoy!