Want to feel motivated to work toward a better world? Here is a list of books guaranteed to make you feel hope and empowerment.
Nonfiction
1. A Year of Living Kindly chronicles author Donna Cameron’s efforts to live kindly for one year. She encourages moving beyond acts of kindness to changing your entire outlook to be more patient, positive, and generous. Read for inspiration to improve the world by changing yourself.
2. Parenting book Raising Happiness by Christine Carter focuses on 10 simple steps to make happy children. Ideas around gratitude, self-discipline, and meditation are included. I can’t think of a better way to make the world better than by raising well-adjusted children.
3. This memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi captures her experience as a teacher in Iran who illegally teaches seven of her female students western literature classics. It paints a powerful picture.
4. Evicted by Matthew Desmond is the study of housing issues faced by 8 families in Milwaukee. It exposes some serious flaws in the current system and makes some recommendations to improve the situation. By writing this book and giving voice to these stories Desmond himself acts as a change agent.
5. The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates is a reflection on what she’s learned in her 20 years of work through her Foundation. In particular, she focuses on the impact of improving the lives of women in improving society. The stories within will help you to understand women’s empowerment in a way that data alone cannot. It is eye-opening, heartbreaking, and inspiring.
6. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a memoir that describes her upbringing in a strict Muslim family in Africa and her subsequent escape from that life and eventual work as a political freedom fighter. She is an inspiration.
Fiction
7. To the Stars through Difficulties by Romayn Tilghman tells the story of three women who meet in the wake of a devasting tornado to find solace and community within a cultural arts center and library. The book speaks to the power of these public institutions to build community.
8. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a historical fiction novel about two sisters in France during WW2 and the different paths they take in unbearable situations.
9. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is the story of a young woman who under the mentorship of a renowned feminist helps women to find their voices. This book is also featured in my free eguide to gift books as the perfect gift for someone celebrating a new job. Join my newsletter below and get this free eguide for more book gifting ideas.
10. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is the story of a teen girl who witnesses a friend being killed by a police officer. It gives context to The Black Lives Matter movement. This novel is also featured in 5 Great Reads by Black Authors.