Bibliotherapy

Books have always been a source of insight, comfort, and companionship for me.

I integrate bibliotherapy into my work as a tool for self-reflection and growth. Reading allows us to see our own experiences mirrored in others, offering validation and new perspectives while deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world.

I often recommend books that explore identity, trauma, healing, relationships, and social justice. Whether through personal narratives, theoretical texts, or poetry, I have found that books can spark important conversations, expand emotional awareness, and provide language for experiences that may feel difficult to articulate.

That said, if reading isn’t your thing, that’s completely okay. There are many other tools and approaches we can explore together in therapy. I simply wanted to share what I’ve enjoyed and found valuable in these books, as many of them have shaped my approach to healing and liberation.

I also want to acknowledge that some of these books may be particularly difficult to read or listen to, especially if you’re currently navigating something similar to the topics they address. If you're feeling emotionally tender or overwhelmed, it’s okay to set them aside for now—timing matters when engaging with difficult material.

Additionally, these are not book reviews just recommendations, and I do not endorse every perspective within them. Like all works, they have their imperfections, however I have found insights in them that have been personally and professionally meaningful. My hope is that others may also discover something valuable in their pages.

  • February 20, 2025

  • A collection of essays covering music, culture, identity, race, grief, and survival.

  • This book may be particularly meaningful for readers navigating grief, identity, or the complexities of being Black in America.

  • Racism, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Islamophobia

  • Wow. So beautifully written, I felt necessary rage, grief and joy while reading it. It truly brings out the complexities and the emotional weight of being a person of colour in America.

  • “No matter how obsessed you've been with your own vanishing, there will always be someone who wants you whole.”

    “The thing about grief is that it never truly leaves. From the moment it enters you, it becomes something you are always getting over.”

    “It is jarring, what we let fear do to each other; how we invent enemies and then make them so small that we are fine with wishing them dead. How we decide what “safety” is, how ours is only ours and must be gained at all costs. How we take that long coat of fear and throw it around the shoulders of anyone who doesn’t look like us, or prays to another God.”

    “A person is a whole person when they are good sometimes but not always, and loved by someone regardless.”

    “There are few sins greater than the ones we commit against ourselves in the name of others. The things that push us further away from who we are, and closer to the image people demand.”

    “The truth is, once you understand that there are people who do not want you to exist, that is a difficult card to remove from the table. There is no liberation, no undoing that knowledge. It is the unyielding door, the one that simply cannot be pushed back against any longer. For many, there are reminders of this every day, every hour. It makes "Alright," the emotional bar and the song itself, the best there is. It makes existence itself a celebration.”

    “I have remained here because of my comfort with the darkness I know and my fear of the darkness I do not.”

    “Staying is not always a choice, and I have lived and lost enough to know that. But the way I think about grief is that it is the great tug-of-war, and sometimes the flag is on the side you don’t want it to be on. And sometimes, the game has exhausted all of its joy, and all that’s left is you on your knees. But, today, even though I am sad, my hands are still on the rope.”

  • September 8, 2023

  • This book explores the concept of racialized trauma and how it lives in our bodies, passed down through generations. Menakem examines the impact of white-body supremacy on Black, white, and police bodies, offering somatic (body-based) practices for healing. The book challenges traditional approaches to trauma by emphasizing that healing must happen not just in the mind, but in the body.

  • This book is beneficial for those interested in understanding the impact of racialized trauma on our bodies. It’s also a great resource for those interested in applying anti-racism to their personal and professional lives.

  • Racism, Police Brutality, Gun Violence

  • This book offers a crucial lens for understanding collective healing and how we can work toward embodying liberation. I appreciated that Menakem provided somatic exercises to assist with nervous system regulation and help his readers put in to practice embodied healing.

  • “There’s a way out of this mess, and it requires each of us to begin with our own body. You and your body are important parts of the solution. You will not just read this book; you will experience it in your body. Your body—all of our bodies—are where changing the status quo must begin.”

    “Trauma is not a flaw or a weakness. It is a highly effective tool of safety and survival. Trauma is also not an event. Trauma is the body’s protective response to an event—or a series of events—that it perceives as potentially dangerous.”

    “In today’s America, we tend to think of healing as something binary: either we’re broken or we’re healed from that brokenness. But that’s not how healing operates, and it’s almost never how human growth works. More often, healing and growth take place on a continuum, with innumerable points between utter brokenness and total health.”

  • July 6, 2021

  • This memoir explores grief, identity, mother-daughter relationships, and finding one’s place between cultures.

  • This book will resonate with anyone who has lost a parent or loved one, especially if they have a complicated relationship with them. It’s also meaningful for anyone exploring cultural identity, and belonging.

  • Death of a parent, Cancer, Grief, Medical Trauma, Alcoholism, Racism

  • Zauner captures the complexities of growing up between cultures, having complicated relationships with parents and explores the ways grief permeates into everyday moments. I love how she conveys grief as nonlinear and normalizes that everyone mourns in their own way.

  • “Sometimes my grief feels as though I’ve been left alone in a room with no doors. Every time I remember that my mother is dead, it feels like I’m colliding with a wall that won’t give. There’s no escape, just a hard surface that I keep ramming into over and over, a reminder of the immutable reality that I will never see her again.”

    “Sobbing near the dry goods, asking myself, Am I even Korean anymore if there’s no one left to call and ask which brand of seaweed we used to buy?”

  • July 6, 2021

  • This memoir explores themes of sexual assault, trauma, healing, justice, identity, and resilience.

  • Survivors of sexual violence, those interested in understanding the impact of trauma, individuals navigating self-advocacy, or anyone seeking insight into the shortcomings of the legal system regarding assault cases.

  • Sexual assault/violence, Rape, Racism, Others denying her trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence

  • I was struck by Miller’s ability to capture the complexity of trauma and its pervasive impact on an individual and their community. Survivor’s seeking justice are often continuously re-traumatized by the system that they seek justice from. We need both societal and systemic change in how we support those who have experienced harm.

  • I found the the audiobook, which is narrated by Chanel Miller herself to be a powerful way to experience her story. If you would like to engage in her story without reading the whole book she has several interviews and articles available online.