100 Books Like A Different Mirror

No book captures more clearly and compellingly the horrific, inspiring, and vital histories and stories of Native Americans than Brown’s.

I love the ways that Brown offers a profoundly new perspective on the American West, on the foundational myths that too often limit the way we see ourselves and the realities with which we must grapple instead, and on Indigenous communities as an essential part of the American story at every stage.

Revisionist Westerns are one of my very favorite genres, and this is the best one I know.  

My favorite American novel is at once the most righteously angry and the most beautifully optimistic book I’ve ever read. 

Historical fiction urgently responding to the present, an intimate family saga that creates an entire community—Chesnutt’s masterpiece is a book I’ve taught almost every year of my career, and I find something new in it each time I read it.

No book reminds me more potently of the worst of our history, and no book inspires me to fight for our best more passionately. 

I recommend this book because it is a no-holds-barred narrative of what it is like to be a male agricultural laborer in 1920s racially segregated America.

It is a gritty tale of how a mostly male migrant population survived racial discrimination and economic hardship, living in the labor camps and working for a dollar a day. It shows how these men found ways to cope and acquire dignity even while experiencing loneliness since it was difficult to find brides (due to anti-miscegenation laws). From dressing up in $100 tailor-made suits and smoking cigars to paying ten cents a dance at taxi dance halls to gambling, prostitution, and labor activism, it tells the story of the first generation of migrant laborers in the United States.

The author died of tuberculosis in 1956.

The best 21st-century American literature builds on all that has come before but at the same time offers us something profoundly new, and I don’t know any book that does both those crucial things better than Henríquez’s novel.

I love that this intimate story of one undocumented family turns a mirror to our collective community, that it is defined by 2014 contexts but reveals timeless truths about love and loss, and that every time I return to it, Henríquez both rips my heart out and heals me.

The worst and best of us are here on every bracing and moving page.

I consider this book one of the most important ever written on the subject of race. I marvel at the way the book causes readers to consider why so many people believe that racism exists but never take any responsibility for their role in its continued significance. I think the book is thoroughly researched, well-written, and thought-provoking.

At a time when so many of us feel helpless while navigating various social crises, Ijeoma’s latest book highlights amazing leaders who are literally creating revolutionary social change. She interviews leaders tackling issues from the prison industrial complex to how we spend money more intentionally.

After reading this book, I felt like I, too, could “be” a change. I felt inspired to believe that my success, and the success of the world, depends on the everyday revolutionary acts of anti-racism we can (and should) all commit to.

While I loved the interviews with each changemaker, it was reading how Ijeoma’s approach from pain and trauma to action evolved throughout the book that really drove the message home. 

It’s a common story on local news channels across the U.S: a suburban school board meeting is standing room only.

Parents and community members take turns stepping to the microphone to voice their discontent about something happening in their local schools—a guest speaker who presents Christopher Columbus’ beliefs about Native Americans, a new course advising approach that increases Black and Latino student enrollment in honors and Advanced Placement courses, or the adoption of a new book about growing up that happens to have LGBTQ characters.

Lewis and Diamond’s Despite the Best of Intentions presents data from a 5-year research project that helps readers understand how parents’ and educators’ deep-seated beliefs and fears get in the way of even the most thoughtful and well-intentioned equity efforts.

The book helps readers understand how resistance to DEI is not always loud and boisterous, but it is persistent and wedded to the… show more.

Linda Garcia is the true definition of a powerhouse! Not only does she talk about the stock market and how to become an investor, but she makes it easy to follow along and learn. She does an amazing job breaking down financial terms for everyone to understand. It’s as if she’s gently guiding you through all the things you’ve wanted to learn but hadn’t had the opportunity or access to.

This is a perfect resource to build generational wealth. It’s a must-read, and I highly recommend it if you are ready to work on your money wounds and build generational wealth.

As I listened to the audiobook version of this book, I felt optimistic and hopeful, which is not a common feeling when I read business, leadership, or DEI books. I found the whole book to be an invitation to do better as a leader, a community member, and a human being.

I felt a strong call to action without the usual shaming or blaming that I’ve found in too many recent books. I wanted to sit down and have a conversation with Denise, even though I had never met her. After finishing the book, I felt inspired, uplifted, and committed to taking ownership of my role in making our world more inclusive and indivisible. 

My biggest problem with old-school PTSD books is that they are uni-dimensional and focus on a single big trauma. However, both as a therapist and just as a human, I understand that trauma is a multi-dimensional experience. There are different sizes and impacts, and it lasts from inter-generational trauma to systemic, ongoing trauma to inter-group and familial, as well as personal and current trauma. I’m on a big reading kick for Complex PTSD resources.

There’s also a dearth of culturally integrated and informed mental health books. Natalie’s book is fantastic because she has the knowledge and experience as a licensed mental health professional and the roots and wisdom of how to use reflection, narratives, and ceremony to de-program shame, imposter phenomenon, and all the baggage that weighs down historically marginalized readers. There’s a damn good reason Natalie has thousands of Instagram followers- she is relatable, bold, wise, and a kind… show more.