Reading has been one of the ways I’ve learned to listen to myself more closely.
This page is not a list of book reviews or summaries. It’s a living bookshelf. A place where I track what I’ve read, what I’m currently sitting with, and what’s waiting for me next. More importantly, it’s where I reflect honestly on how these books met me in different seasons of my life.
Some of these books cracked things open. Some named feelings I didn’t have language for yet. Some challenged me, comforted me, or asked me to slow down and sit with what surfaced. My reflections are raw, personal, and rooted in my own lived experience. They are not meant to be perfect or academic just real.
If you’re someone who reads for healing, understanding, growth, or connection, I hope these reflections feel like an invitation. Not to agree with everything I share, but to notice what resonates, what stirs something in you, and what your own stroy might be asking for next.
Currently Reading
These are the books I’m actively spending time with right now; I share why I picked them up and what they’re bringing up for me as I move through them.
- The Pain We Carry by Natalie Gutierrez
- Break the Cycle by Dr. Mariel Buque
- Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie
Read| Book Reflections
These are books I’ve completed and taken time to sit with. Each one includes a personal reflection shaped by how the book intersected with my life, my healing, and my understanding in that moment.
- What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey, Bruce D. Perry
- We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabriel Union
- Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
- Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn
- Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston
- Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston
- The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
- Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women by Inger Burnett-Zeigler
Want to Read
These are books on my list for future seasons. Some were recommended to me, some found me at the right time, and some are waiting until I feel ready to receive them.
- Living While Black: Using Joy, Beauty, and Connection to Heal Racial Trauma by Guilaine Kinouani
- Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience by Sheila Wise Rowe
- The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve by Rheeda Walker and Na’im Akbar