After taking a long break, I’ve FINALLY gotten back into the swing of things with my reading habit and have been posting more on my bookstagram.

It feels good to be digging back into books again and spending my time reading rather than being wrapped up in an anxiety ball.

So with that, here’s what I read this month!

We Are Not Like Them

Told from alternating perspectives, this story is about two friends, one Black and one white, and how their friendship is indelibly alternated after a deadly police shooting.

“But the deep connection they share is severely tested when Jen’s husband, a city police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. Six months pregnant, Jen is in free fall as her future, her husband’s freedom, and her friendship with Riley are thrown into uncertainty. Covering this career-making story, Riley wrestles with the implications of this tragic incident for her Black community, her ambitions, and her relationship with her lifelong friend.”

This powerful and compassionate story explores how race in America today and how it impacts ordinary lives.

I came across this book in a bookstore anf was immediately caught by the plot. I’m so glad I picked it up and finished it in record time. Definitely recommend this book. 5/5

If You Tell

A true story of murder, family secrets, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood.

This book was hard to put down! It’s a story of three sisters who grew up under unspeakable abuse, degradation and torture at the hands of their mother.

This is their story of survival.

4.5/5

Hello, Molly!

I saw this memoir on a few best books list so knew I had to check it out even if I’m not an SNL fan (don’t come at me).

Overall I enjoyed this read. Molly Shannon had a hard life and a good life. She wrote about it excellently here. If you’re a fan of SNL you’d definitely like this book.

3.5/5

What My Bones Know

This memoir of complex trauma is one of the most impactful and knowledgeable memoirs I’ve read on trauma.

Stephanie Foo is an audio journalist of Malaysian descent that grew up in a home where she experienced regular physical, verbal, and emotional abuse at the hands of her parents.

As an adult seeking to heal, she set out on a journey to understand her diagnosis – Complex PTSD.

Stephanie takes us along as she discovers what C-PTSD means, how to live with it, and how it’s manifested in her own life. She shares the insights and science she learned along the way making this memoir not only rich in personal history but packed with learning opportunities.

“Being healed isn’t about feeling nothing. Being healed is about feeling the appropriate emotions at the appropriate times and still being able to come back to yourself.”

From her therapist: “You have to be aware of how big a power difference there is between patient and therapist. And if you really want to work effectively with people, you have to keep surrendering your power. And that means being humble and making mistakes and fumbling and being comfortable with that.”

Definitely a must-read for 2022. 5/5

When She Woke

What an appropriate time it was to read this book.

I saw it at a local bookstore and had to pick it up. Here’s what it’s about:

“When She Woke, tells the story of a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed―their skin color is genetically altered to match the class of their crimes―and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.”

This book gave me Handmaid’s Tale vibes. It’s about Hannah, a woman who had an abortion after having an affair with a prominent spiritual leader of the State. She was sent to be chromed and had to live out her “crime” in real time, walking around dyed red.

With the recent overturn of Roe v Wade, this book felt eerily spooky and like a faint premonition of what’s to come.

4/5

Corrections In Ink

At times, this book was hard to read for the heart. Keri Blakinger’s compelling and gut-wrenching memoir details her journey from the ice rink to addiction and a prison sentence, and the aftermath of it all that lands her in a newsroom.

Another reason this memoir hit home is that Keri grew up in Lancaster County, PA … where I also grew up.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read, although it will really pull at your heartstrings.

4/5 Wilderbookclub

Finding Me

This is a truly powerful book. A memoir, written by Viola Davis, takes us through her life from childhood and poverty to the NYC stage and beyond.

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”

“Your only job as an artist is to put the truth out there into the world.”

“My biggest discovery was that you can literally re-create your life. You can redefine it. You don’t have to live in the past. I found that not only did I have fight in me, I had love.”

“It is a widely held belief that dark-skinned women just don’t do it for a lot of Black men. It’s a mentality rooted in both racism and misogyny, that you have no value as a woman if you do not turn them on, if you are not desirable to them. It’s ingrained thinking, dictated by oppression.”

4/5