May was a busy reading month. Here’s what I read:

Several of my favorite authors have quoted passages from this book. This book helped me create a plan for the memoir I’ve dreamed of writing for years. One of my favorite quotes: “If there is one door in the castle you’ve been told not to go through, YOU MUST”. I purchased this one on Audible and highly recommend if you are an aspiring writer.

Despite being a big fan of Deepak, I have not actually read many of his books. My sister recommended Meta Human, which was a great dive into spiritual philosophy and the nature of reality. He lost me a bit when we dove into quantum physics, but overall a thought-provoking read. I do recommend. I listened on Audible!

Everyone should read this book! This became a personal favorite as I navigated the heartache of divorce in my early twenties, and discovered the importance of developing a relationship with yourself. I’ve given copies of this book to more people than I can count, and one of those copies made its way back into my hands last month so had to revisit. Still as good as I remember it!

I am not usually a reader of this type of investigative journalism and storytelling, but my sister recommended this book that chronicles the sex crimes of Harvey Weinstein and the powers of cover-up and corruption in the media and in Hollywood. An important read for women who have followed the #MeToo movement closely and a eye-opening look at the lengths through which the powerful will cover up their actions. Time is up. (Listened on Audible)

I am lucky enough to belong to a group that meets monthly for “Intentions Setting” and this book was recommended by my beautiful friend/fitness coach who hosts these meetings. It was an awesome read- very motivating- and with practical tips and strategies behind habit change. Highly recommend, I listed on Audible.

I committed to reading on financial book per month this year to keep my debt pay-off and financial health top of mind. I also am very interested in hearing from more women authors, and this book particularly attracted me because of the demographic. While there were some chapters I was able to skip due to already having the knowledge, this book helped get me back on track last month and avoid the impulsive quarantine shopping that plagued me the month prior. Baby steps.

After Ahmaud Arbery, I began to educate myself on the #BLM movement. Kelly Brown Douglas is an African-American Episcopal priest, and this book helped open my eyes to the long history of oppression in America, from the concept of slaves as ‘chattel’ to the current policies like “Stand Your Ground” laws in Florida that arose during the court case of George Zimmerman, who murdered 17-year old Trayvon Martin in 2012. I highly recommend this book. While I listened to it for free on Hoopla, I recommend purchasing it from a black-owned store or site (will link below).

I picked this up at Walmart to keep me company on a last-minute camping trip and enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I was never a huge J.S. fan, but growing up in the late 90’s/early 00’s, there’s no denying what a huge role pop stars like her, Britney, Christina, P!nk, Mandy Moore…etc. had on me/my generation. I was particularly interested in understanding how she spoke to childhood sexual assault, having experienced it myself. Reading this book has turned me into an official fan, and I relate so much to her journey of healing and recovery.

As if I needed another reason to love JVN? Trinity and I are huge fans of “Queer Eye: More than a Makeover” and Jonathan’s hilarious and poignant and brutally honest memoir is one I highly recommend. I picked up a hard copy of this at Target and read the entire book in a day (paired with a pint of Trader Joe’s Almond Ice Cream) and I think you should too.

In support of our black businesses, I have started ordering books from the following website: https://www.kizzysbooksandmore.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrIf3BRD1ARIsAMuugNsVdbztrqSANt29GSiCrw4yTRYrgZC3Sh_jeYzI63j9Bi3sHH0umewaAnK0EALw_wcB

Happy Reading~