Books Read in 2022

1. Turn this World Inside Out: The Emergence of Nurturance Culture by Naava Smolash (2019)  

2. How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope edited by James Crews (2021) 

3. Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda (2018)

4. White Ivy  by Susie Yang (2021)

5. We Are Called to Be a Movement by William Barber II (2020)

6. Deaf  Republic by Ilya Kaminsky (2019)

7. Mrs. Wiggins by Mary Monroe (2021)

8. All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2017)

9. The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander (2000)

10. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (2021)

11. Full Out: Lessons in Life and Leadership from America's Favorite Coach by Monica Aldama (2022)

12. Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult (2021) 

13. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (2016) 

14. Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Healing Kindness by Jacqui Lewis (2021)

15. In the Woods by Tana French (2007)

16. Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (2021)

17. Help Us Begin: HUB Strategies and Mindsets for Meaningful Conversations with Kids, Especially When You Are Challenged by the Topic by Jen Cort (2021)

18. Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo (2021)

19. Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto (2021)

20. Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q Sutanto (2022)

21. Book Lovers by Emily Henry (2022)

22. Beach Read by Emily Henry (2020)

23. A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin (2021)

24. By the Book by Jasmine Guillory (2022)

25. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (2017)

26. You Got Anything Stronger? by Gabrielle Union (2021)

27. On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed (2021)

28. Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by Zucchino (2020)

29. The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee (2021)

30. Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home by Anne Helen Peterson and Charlie Warzel (2021)

31. Corrections in Ink by Keri Blakinger (2022)

32. Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds (2022)

33. The Thin Book of Trust: An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work by Charles Feltman (2008)

34. Hope Leans Forward: Braving Your Way Toward Simplicity, Awakening, and Peace by Valerie Brown (2022)

35. The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (2021)

36. Killers of Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (2017)

37. Save It for Later: Promises, Parenthood, and the Urgency of Protest by Nate Powell (2021)

38. Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzelez (2022)

39. God Is a Black Woman by Christena Cleveland (2022)

40. Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn (2022)

41. Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm by Robin DiAngelo (2021)

42. Inciting Joy by Ross Gay (2022)

43. The Atheist's Guide to Quaker Process: Spirit-Led Decisions for the Secular by Seldon W. Smith (2021)

44. Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey (2022)

45. The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy edited by James Crews (2022)

46. I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir by Malaka Gharib (2019)

47. It Won't Always Be Like This: A Graphic Memoir by Malaka Gharib (2022)

48. Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley (2022)

49. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (2022)

50. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng (2022)

51. Fine: A Comic about Gender by Rhea Ewing (2022)

52. The Maid by Nita Prose (2022)

53. Composing Temple Sunrise: Overcoming Writer's Block at Burning Man by Hassan El-Tayyab (2016)

54. Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis and Kabir Sehgal (2021)

55. Where We Stand: Poems of Black Resilience edited by Melanie Henderson, Enzo Silon Surin, and Truth Thomas (2022)

56. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013)

Books Read in 2021

1. Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)

2. Home Body by Rupi Kaur (2020)

3. The Devil You Know by Charles Blow (2021)

4. On Hallowing One's Diminishments by John Yunglut (1990)

5. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (2014)

6. Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall (2020)

7. The Prophets by Robert Jones (2021)

8. Gospel Order: A Quaker Understanding of Faithful Church Community by Sandra Lee Cronk (1991)

9. Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May (2020)

10. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (2021)

11. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (2020)

12. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (2020)

13. A Promised Land by Barack Obama (2020)

14. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami (2019)

15. Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by Saundra Dalton-Smith (2017)

16. God's Invitation to Creative Play by Jesse White (2021)

17. Race, Systemic Violence, and Retrospective Justice: An African American Quaker Scholar-Activist Challenges Conventional Narratives by Harold D. Weaver, Jr. (2020)

18. After the Rain: Gentle Reminders for Healing, Courage, and Self-Love by Alexandra Elle (2020)

19. A Particular Kind of Black Man by Tope Folarin (2019)

20. Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia (2021)

21. The Sea Accepts All Rivers & Other Poems by Judy Brown (2000)

23. Work Won't Love You Back by Sarah Jaffe (2021)

24. Hunger for Hope: Prophetic Communities, Contemplation, and the Common Good by Simone Campbell (2020)

25. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris (2021) 

26. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall (2021)

27. Raising King by Joseph Ross (2020)

28. Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Simone Simard (2021)

29. This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends about Racism by Don Lemon (2021)

30. Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice (2020)

31. What If I'm Wrong and Other Key Questions for Decisive School Leadership by Simon Rodberg (2020)

32. Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance by Jessamyn Stanley (2021)

33. You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience edited by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown (2021)

34. Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement. My Story of Transformation and Hope by Albert Woodfox (2019)

35. Failure: A Love Story by Phil Dawkins (2014) 

36. Sweet Tooth: Volumes 1-6 by Jeff Lemire (2009-2013)

37. Individual Spiritual Discernment: Receiving, Testing, and Implementing Leadings from a Higher Power by Jerry Knutson (2017)

38. Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage by Anne Lamott (2021)

39. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown (2017) 

40. The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel (2021)

41. No Study without Struggle: Confronting Settler Colonialism in Higher Education by Leigh Patel (2021)

42. Surviving 2020: Henry's Poetry of the Journey, and the Effort by Henry Walker (2020)

43. How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith (2021)

44. The Actual Star by Monica Byrne (2021)

45. Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit by Parker Palmer (2011)

46. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (2015)

47. Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong (2020)

48. Reclaiming Rest: The Promise of Sabbath, Solitude, and Stillness in a Restless World by Kate Rademacher (2021)

49. Prophet Against Slavery: Benjamin Lay: A Graphic Novel by David Lester with Marcus Rediker and Paul Buhle (2021)

50. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz (1997) 

51. Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human Centered Planet by John Green (2021)

52. Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park (2019)

53. Relentless: Changing Lives by Disrupting the Educational Norm by Hamish Brewer (2019)

Wisdom from Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Angela Nagoski

• "Exhaustion happens when we get stuck in an emotion. We may get tuck simply because we're constantly being exposed to situations that activate emotion" (xiii)
• "In Human Giver Syndrome, the giver isn't allowed to inconvenience anyone with anything so messy as emotions, so givers are trapped in a situation where they are not free to move through the tunnel." (xiv)
• "what makes you stronger: connection, rest, and self-compassion." (xvi)
• "We thrive when we have a positive goal to move toward, not just a negative state we're trying to move away from." (xix)
•  Burnout advises moving toward "growing mighty, feeling strong enough to cope with all the owls and mazes and anything else the world throws at you." (xix)
• "The most efficient way to complete the cycle" is "Between twenty and sixty minutes a day" of "literally anything that moves your body enough to get you breathing deeply." (14)
• "Breathing is most effective when your stress isn't that high, or when you just need to siphon off the very worst of the stress so that you can get through a difficult situation, after which you'll do something more hardcore." (15)
• "Laughing together -- and even just reminiscing about the times w've laughed together --  increases relationship satisfaction." (16)
• "a twenty-second hug can teach your body that you are safe." (17)
• "Just petting a cat for a few minutes can lower your blood pressure." (17)
• "Thirty minutes of anything that works for you: exercise, meditation, creative expression [writing, drawing, singing (28)], affection, etc. Because you experience stress every day, you have to build completing the cycle into every day. Make it a priority, like your life depends on it. Because it does." (23)
• "If you're hiding from your life, you're past your threshold." (25)
• "Stress is not bad for you; being stuck is bad for you." (27)
• "Wellness is not a state of being, but a state of action." (28)
• "When something feels uncomfortable, you're probably doing something that creates more and better progress than if it were easy." (35)
• "Groups that are more heterogeneous generate more innovation and better solutions to problems, even though those groups feel less confident about their solution and find the process more difficult." (35)
• "Struggle can increase creativity and learning, strengthen your capacity to cope with greater difficulties in the future, and empower you to continue working toward goals that matter to you." (36)
• "With compassion for the wounded parts of our hearts, minds, bodies, and communities, our recovery from adversity can include an increased sense of meaning in life, moving us from coping to thriving." (68)
• "Meaning is not made by the terrible thing you experience; it is made by the ways you survive." (70)
• "When you feel trapped, free yourself from anything, and it will teach your body that you are not helpless." (98)
• "Contact with another person is a basic biological need; loneliness is a form of starvation." (134)
• "We need both connection and autonomy. That not a contradiction. Humans are built to oscillate from connection to autonomy and back again." (135)
• "Your internal state is profoundly contagious, and it is profoundly susceptible to 'catching' the internal states of the people around you at work and at home (136) . . . This mutual co-regulation begins from the earliest moments of our lives, and it shapes our brains." (136-137) 
• "Sharing space with anyone else means sharing energy - literally." (137)
• "If we turn toward someone with our difficult feelings -- sadness, anger, hurt -- and they tune in to our feelings without judgment or defensiveness, it helps us to move through that feeling, like a tunnel, to the light at the end." (142)
• "Signs you need to recharge in the bubble of love": "when you have been gaslit," "when you feel 'not enough.'' (147)
• There is a power to "someone who can take our hand in the dark and say, 'Any step we take together is a step toward the light.'" (148)
• "If you're not getting adequate sleep, better avoid talking to other humans." (163)
• "'When you are broken, go to bed,' gos the French proverb.'" (163)
• "Sleep is medicine" for mental health (164)
• "Sleep is a miracle. What else but sleep can mend a broken bone and a broken heart?" (166)
• "If you've dealt with the stressors but haven't dealt with the stress itself, your brain won't let you rest. It will constantly scan for the lion that's about to come after you, so when you try to go to sleep, your brain won't let you fall asleep, or it will wake you up over and over, checking for that lion. Complete the cycle, so your brain can transition into rest." (168)
• "So how much rest is 'adequate'? Science says: 42 percent . . . We're not saying you should take 42 percent of your time to rest; we're saying if you don't take the 42 percent, the 42 percent will take you. It will grab you by the fact, shove you to the ground, put its foot on your chest, and declare itself the victor." (168)
• "Your work is crap if your brain isn't rested." (172)
• Most of the books and articles about prioritizing sleep and rest make the argument that we're more productive when we get adequate rest. It's true that rest makes us more productive, ultimately, and if that's the argument that helps you persuade your boss to give you more flexibility, awesome. But we think your rest matters not because it makes you more productive, but because it makes you happier and healthier, less grumpy, and more, creative." (183-4)
• "when you are burned out, it's because you burned a specific gear in your brain, but the Lord gave us a lot of different gears. When you use the other ones, you regenerate." (186)
• "With shame, your core self is judged." (194)
• "Generally toxic; believing that if things aren't perfect, they aren't any good -- e.g., if you make one mistake, everything is ruined -- and feeling pressure from other people to succeed at everything you do." (195)
• "This is the tragedy of the madwoman. She whips us, and we achieve things. And so we think the whipping is why we achieved things and we'll never achieve anything without the whipping." (196)
• "They can begin to notice the ways they whip themselves, and practice putting down the whip, because they see that it's not the whip that makes them stronger; it's their persistence, their relationships, their ability to rest. They know that self-kindness helps them grow mightier, and they want that strength." (197)
• "Joy arises from an internal clarity about our purpose." (213)
• "The cure for burnout is not 'self-care'; it is all of us caring for one another." (214) 

Wisdom from Sacred Rest by Saundra Dalton-Smith

•  "I could complain, but it would be futile. If I'm completely honest, I'm to blame for this storm. I created it. I fueled it. I continually recruit and pull others into it with me. I didn't mean to do it. It is just a reality of the life I created." (4)
• "Funny how everyone can smell the char of your slow burn except the one standing in the fire." (6)
• "when your natural strengths are taken to the extreme, they can become a liability." (9)
• "But escapism is not rest . . . Downsizing your life without a restful plan for filling the gaps only opens the door for other enemies like laziness and apathy." (17)
• "Sleep marathons are destructive to your health. Rest never destroys." (18)
• "Well-rested people do not exponentially multiply their activities; they divide and conquer." (19)
• "Rest will win every battle you initiate with it. You can either honor your need for rest or surrender to the one-two-punch of a mandatory rest." (29)
• "We confuse the exercise recommended for weight loss with the activities promoting body peace." (43)
• "A purging of the mind before turning in for the night is needed to declutter your mental space." (50)
• "An excellent mental rule to practice is in Philippians 4:8, where we are encouraged to allow our thoughts to rest on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable . . . Mark a conscious effort to fill your mental space with restorative thoughts." (53)
• "You experience emotional rest when you no longer feel the need to perform or meet external expectations." (58)
• "The only way out is to return to the place where we can rest in our current truth without shame or guilt." (60)
• "rest in the self-awareness of your unique quirks and propensities." (64)
• "I just need time in my day to feel like I come first. I spend most of every day giving away my love and energy to others . . . I need a break, so I don't break." (91)
• "Hold firm to your resolve to honor that twenty minutes or one hour you et aside to unplug. Make this time sacred. You can use this time in conjunction with other restful activities like stretching, praying, meditating, or simply just being still." (94)
• Creative rest is "the rest one finds when immersed in creative beauty." (95)
• "Creative rest lets you focus on your basic need for wonder." (97)
• A "change in scenery will cause your mind and spirit to recalibrate the new input of its surroundings." (98)
• "Studies have also shown our brains are most at rest in natural environments like the beach." (101)
• "Creativity tends to peak in the evening hours." (103)
• "It's time to lay aside the notion of endless work being the end to the means." (109)
• "1. Don't bend your life to fit into a space too small for your personal needs. 2. You may break in the process. More is only better if you already have a system for releasing the overflow. Otherwise, the abundance will hinder your ability to move freely. 3. Your only limits are the mental ties you allow to bind you. Thinking differently precedes doing differently." (119)
• "You are not designed to withstand continuous pouring out with no plan for regular replenishment." (128)
• "It was a time for me to separate the wheat from the chaff in my life. I needed to determine those things I did because they were mine to do and the things I did because I wanted to please others." (149)
• "allow room in your day for therapeutic silence." (156)
• The gift of cessation is "the ability to take our hands off the wheel. It's the ability to stop, not because you are exhausted and have to, but because you choose to." (165)
• "Rest should change you for the better. You can identify rest by the fruit it produced." (166)
• "The gift of cessation stops the bleeding in your life. It heals the slow leak draining your energy. Cessation is the restoration of you. We each need some unoccupied time every week to let the fertile ground of our heart and mind regenerate and replenish." (166)
• "Does your rest have the purpose of spiritual revival?" (167)
• "Purposeful rest leaves behind a residue of joy, and it ushers in the fruit of love, peace, kindness, and gentleness." (168)
• "Do nothing when you're upset." (170)
• "The gift of art sifts the lovely out of the ugly." (176) 
• "Psychiatrist and researcher William Glasser suggests we remember only 20 percent of what we hear. That means when you talk to your kids, spouse, or colleagues they may recall only a tiny fraction of the conversation. They are not benefitting from the whole message . . . In contrast, when there is active discussion, we can retain more than 70 percent of the same conversation." (180)
• "Rest will remind you to be gentle with your words, quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry (see James 1:19)." (181)
• "Productivity is getting things done that matter and seeing good fruits growing in your life." (186)
• "When you make time for rest, you make time to taste and see the fruit you are producing." (190)
• "Spending time enjoying God and His creation will fortify your spiritual health, which in turn influences your attitude and how you respond to the choices presented to you." (192)
• Heart choices: "Live in the present or live for the future . . . Adapt to change or push yourself to the breaking point." (194)
• "Rest is an act of seeking." (200)

Wisdom from Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni

 "We need poetry because it brings the light of love . . . love is the patience to forgive and go forth." (41)

"We are poetry. And poetry is us . . . It is the soil that keeps all of us growing. So that the lemons will fall from the tree. And Beyoncé can make Lemonade." (41)

"we plant love with patience." (53)

"I sincerely dislike that man who occupies the White House trying to take the love and faith of our athletes who are kneeling and asking the Constitution: 'Will you be mine?' It will always be a sign of Hope that the answer will be 'Yes.' We are not the folk who divorce. We have married for life." (69)

"Love never goes/There is only Transition" (70)

"Make Me Rain/Let me be a part/Of this needed change" (115)

What I want to remember from the beach

Thanksgiving: This beach experience is healing. Why? Because I had stopped believing that I am the most important person in my life. I had stopped following the airplane rule. Not on purpose, but for what felt like survival. In truth, there is no survival without the airplane rule. So, here's what I need to remember about the airplane rule:

• I need my "five to stay alive" -- movement, reading, writing, meditation, and sleep. I need them not as boxes to check, but as ways that I nurture and sustain my light. It is my light that I share with others, so it's not selfish to keep my cup filled. I need that to live my values. 
• I am loved. Everything about this trip is an expression of love. The idea, the hotel, the food. Love made manifest. 

New Year's:

• As soon as I arrived back here, I remembered how my spirit was reborn here last month.
• As much as I loved my first experience here, I knew it could be better if I were cozier, so this time I brought a robe and slippers, a fuzzy blanket for the couch, a candle. I could stay here forever!

How Books Are Shaping Me in 2020

List by genre

1. From Thomas Chatterton Williams' Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race (2019), I was really challenged in my thinking about race. I disagree with MOST of Williams' argument in the book, largely about rejecting race (especially blackness), but he engaged with all the points I would make in my disagreement. That meant that I had to take seriously his argument about rejecting both racism and race itself.

2. I've been reading Hafiz's The Gift translated by Daniel Ladinsky (1999) for years, often as part of my morning meditation. Hafiz offers me lots of new ways to consider God with gratitude.

3. Pema Chödrön's Welcoming the Unwelcome (2019) was deeply moving to me. So much much-needed wisdom and invitation to perspective taking.

4. I hadn't been sure whether to read White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAgnelo (2018) because its audience is white people. I learned about how significant white fragility is to my own life and how important it is to be able to name it.

5. I read Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy & Responsibility Using Restorative Justice by Nathan Maynard and Brad Weinstein (2019) because people on my social media kept posting about how great it was. I did indeed learn some practical tips to support my discipline instincts.

6. I heard Tayari Jones talk about An American Marriage (2018) before I read it, and I really enjoyed hearing about her storytelling process. The book explores issues around our broken justice system and the impact that it has on families. It took me a while to warm up to it, but once it got to the heart of its story, I was hooked!

7. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (2016) serves as a call to action for housing justice. We have a deeply broken system. It is a stunning work that came from Desmond immersing himself in communities with high evictions. I loved the epilogue in which he talked about his process and the relationships he built along the way.

8. I picked up David Ulin's  The Lost Art of Reading: Books and Resistance in a Troubled Time (2010, updated 2018) at an independent bookstore last year and it reading it always brought me the feeling I love about being in a bookstore. It was a great reminder of why I love reading (empathy building, perspective growing) and made me feel ready to read more about writing!

9. I ended up going on a 90-minute walk to finish The Nickel Boys (2019) by Colson Whitehead. What a powerful story of the injustice of our justice system, its impact on youth, and the trauma to which it leads.

10. Paul Beatty's The Sellout (2015) had been loaned to me by a friend years ago, and its biting satire was a bit too much for me at the time. During spring break this year, I needed a book that took me entirely out of our nonsense world. It did that AND it led me to think about the racial injustice we abide each day.

11. I was inspired to read Little Fires Everywhere (2017) because of the tv show based on the book. It is an interesting exploration of a white savior complex backfiring. A powerful page-turner!

12. I read The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border (2018) by Francisco Cantu for a book club. It helped to humanize border patrol agents to me AND it shined a light on how flawed our immigration system is.

13. I read Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country (2019) by Pam Houston for my "Women Reading Women" (WRW) book club. Houston's story did not much resonate with me, but I appreciated her appreciation of nature.

14. I also read Marjan Kamali's The Stationary Shop (2019) for WRW. It was another book that got off to a slow start, but I was invested in the story as it developed. It provides an interesting window into Iran in the 1950s.

15. I read Kiley Reid's Such a Fun Age (2020) because I had heard that it got off to a strong start, and indeed it did. An interesting investigation of the complexities of finding oneself for its twenty-something Black protagonist and an exploration of white savior complex through her boss/foil.

16. My brother recommended Michael Lewis's The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy (2018) because of the insight it offers on the politics of the United States. Although I did learn a good bit about what different departments of the government do, I did not enjoy that flashlight on the trainwreck that is our democracy right now. I'm already doing my part to get us back on the rails!

17. WRW read Sarah Waters's Tipping the Velvet (1998), which was a bit hard as our discussion was in the middle of a racial justice uprising and those themes did not show up in the book. However, I've been told that it's an important part of "the lesbian canon," and can understand why it is. Certainly the world of nineteenth-century British lesbians is not something I had considered before.

18. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery of Where the Crawdad's Sing (2018) by Delia Owens (who has her own interesting life story/murder mystery!). It tells the story of a "swamp girl" from rural North Carolina and how she was shunned by her neighbors. It provides an interesting look at classism.

19.  To be honest, I was disappointed by The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, a prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy. I don't think it provided much more of a window into any of the more powerful aspect of the Hunger Games story, except for maybe asking the reader to think about our own morbid fascination with it.

20. I read The Vanishing Half (2020) by Brit Bennett because people kept raving about how good it was. I did enjoy it. An interesting look at identity. The identity we experience and the identity we express and the toll it takes when there's a gap between those.

21. I absolutely devoured Felix Ever After (2020) by Kacen Callender. It is the story of a trans boy who is exploring his identity and comes to understand that he is deserving of love. We are all deserving of love.

22. I read Make Your Home Among Strangers (2015) by Jennine Capo Crucet for book club. It is slow and sometimes frustrating, but at the end of the day it tells an important story about a first generation college student and the struggles she went through that others couldn't see.

23. I read Antigona Gonalez (2016) by Sara Uribe (translated by John Pluecker) because it was referenced in The Line Becomes a River and I always love reimaginings of Greek literature. This work explores disappearances in Mexico and the pain of losing a loved one and feeling unsettled. It is written to be performed, and much of it is made up of quotations from the news, academic works, and literature. At the end John Pluecker includes a gorgeous reflection on translation ("Translation is an insistence that despite the intensity and breadth of human suffering, one place must be able to exist as one place . . . Translation is a flexible and temporary alliance across great distance, great difference.").

24. I read Ross Gay's catalog of unabashed gratitude (2015) as my spiritual reading before bed for a while. Like all of his work, its poetry was both insightful and beautiful. He offers an invitation to mindfulness. 

25. The Conversation (2018) by Shukria Dellawar was another book of spiritual poetry that I appreciated for its window into someone else's experience and reminder that we are each both unique and connected.

26. I read Max Carter's Palestine and Israel: A Personal Encounter (2020) in order to write a Friends Journal book review for it. I enjoyed how personal it was and also how much it mirrored my experiences. I feel like it helped me get to know both a region and a person more intimately. And it spoke to the complications we all face when talking about that region. 

27. Since I had earlier in the year so enjoyed Hacking Discipline, I thought I'd try another in the series -- Hacking Leadership: 10 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Learning That Teachers, Students, and Parents Love (2016) by Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis. Although this book did not offer any major aha moments for me, it did make me feel as though I was on the right track. 

28. I love a good Lenten reflection through the Sacred Space books (in this case, Sacred Space: for Lent 2020 by the Irish Jesuits). These books always remind me of the qualities I aspire to cultivate (particularly embodying love).

29. I did a study group around the book Breathe: Making Room for Sabbath (2014) by Priscilla Shirer. It reminded me that I have to be in control of my work and social media use, and not the other way around. I need to make time for my interior/spiritual life.

30. I started Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered (2014) by Autsin Kleon at least a couple years ago, but in this wild year, it was nice to be reminded of all the different forms that our creativity can take!

31. Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose by Nikki Giovanni (2020) was a powerful testament to love and joy and blackness. It came at exactly the right time as I needed to feel grounded in myself.

32.  Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (2018) was exactly the leadership book I needed this year to feel like the challenges I face as a leader were normal.

33. Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh (2020) was so delightful. It brought me such joy in a challenging fall. 

34. 1919 by Eve L. Ewing (2019) is a beautiful combination of history and poetry. Reminded me of the power of each.

35. Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine (2020) was such a powerful look conversation about race, specifically blackness, in America.

36. A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas (2016) was a fun novel that I enjoyed throughout my Thanksgiving holiday.

37 and 38. Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998) were beautiful and thoughtful and shined a light on the importance of resilience in a year in which I needed that light.

39. Encyclical Letter Laudato Si' of the Holy Father Francis: On Care for Our Common Home by Pope Frances (2015) is a powerful reflection on the interconnectedness of justice work.

40. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2020) was very weird and I'm not sure I totally understood it, but its themes strike a deeper cord about colonialism (and fungus).

41. I was obsessed this fall with cults. Scarred by Sarah Edmondson (2019) was an interesting window into that world.

42. The Best of Enemies by Osha Gray Davidson (1996) was a great introduction to Durham's civil rights struggle. Made it feel all the more like home.

43. The Distance Between Us by Reyna Granda (2012) was a powerful look into the experience of those who cross the border into the US out of necessity. Definitely empathy building.

44. See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur (2020) was one of the most transformative books I've ever read - so many examples of the power of living love. I bought a hard copy just so that I could flip to any page and be transported back to its wisdom.

45. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous  by Ocean Vuong (2019) was indeed gorgeous. It had been recommended for the beauty of its language, and it did not disappoint.

46. The Good Lord Bird by James McBride (2013) was an interesting fictionalized story of John Brown. It was a reminder of the complexities behind the history we know.

47. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (2020) was sadder than I needed this year, which led me to not love it, but it is certainly well written and captured grief and addiction well.

48. Girl Gurl Grrrl: On Womanhood and Belonging in the Age of Black Girl Magic by Kenya Hunt (2020) was an interesting reflection on the moment we're in as a society and the impact it has on Black women. It resonated.

49. I read The Old Guard: Force Multiplied by Greg Rucka (2020) after watching and enjoying the movie Old Guard, and thoroughly enjoyed the second volume in the series. 

50. Mean Season by Heather Cochran (2004) has long been one of my favorites and it was so soothing in this challenging year. 

51. This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell (2020) has been foundational to the anti-racist work in my school this year.

52. Ache by Joseph Ross (2017) was poetry that powerfully engaged racial injustice. 

53. The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper showed me that there are some similarities between being an emergency room doctor and an Upper School head, and that those similarities are powerful.

54. The Tragic Type of Beautiful: The Journey of Magic and Mayhem by Cheyenne Tyler Jacobs (2018) was beautiful, powerful poems that addressed, in part, the complexities of black womanhood. I felt seen!

55. How to Keep a Spiritual Journal: A Guide to Journal Keeping for Inner Growth and Personal Discovery by Ron Klug (2002) both made me feel confident about and appreciative of the journal keeping I already do and gave me tips for how I can make the most of my journaling.

56. We Will Not Cancel Us: And Other Dreams of Transformative Justice by adrienne maree brown (2020) reminded me of the harm that cancel culture can do.