10 Books To Help Us Resist

A #LivingResistance book guide

Hello, friends!

We are TWO WEEKS away from the launch day of Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day, and I will tell you my days are full of working and then getting out of my head and into my body, back and forth, trying to let the reality settle in that I am releasing my THIRD BOOK.

It’s been amazing, and I hope you’ll stay connected with me here and on social media (especially Instagram) as I keep sharing updates and read from the book every now and then.

I often get asked about the books I quote in my own books. For me, reading a ton of inspiring books from other authors helps me write better books.

My hope is always that if you read my books, you don’t stop with me. I hope that when you read my books, you’ll go to the back of the book and grab at least 5 of the incredible works of art and expand your mind, heart, and resistance in this world.

So, to get us started, here are 10 books to help us resist, all quoted in different parts of Living Resistance.

I hope that you’ll:

1. Preorder Living Resistance, which comes out in 2 weeks!

2. Grab a few of these books

3. Follow these authors on social media

4. Share about our books on your own social media spaces and in your communities

Book 1: You are the Medicine, by Asha Frost

Asha is a dear friend and an incredibly intuitive author and guide. In this book she leads us through the 13 moons of Indigenous wisdom, and invites us into ritual and sacred space in every single page. Asha also has a new oracle deck coming out that you can grab alongside the book!

Book 2: As We Have Always Done by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

I love this book, and if you’ve read Native you know that I quote it there, too. Leanne has such incredible wisdom grounded in justice, care, and solidarity. Sit with the words in this book, let them change you and lead you toward resistance.

Book 3: Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad

I devoured this book quickly. It’s inspiring and raw, and caused me to stop and think about the different seasons I have lived over the years. It made me think about grief, longing, love, and hope. I hope you’ll read it.

Book 4: Welcome Home by Najwa Zebian

I introduce you to this book in the very first section of Living Resistance, because it captures so well how we embody self-love in our hectic and often painful lives. Najwa writes about the rooms of self-love and self-hatred that we often set up for ourselves, and I reflect on that further in the book. Please buy this book and let it guide you home to yourself.

Book 5: All About Love by bell hooks

I can’t possibly encapsulate the wisdom of bell hooks, so I will just say this: buy this book, and listen closely as hooks writes about the way we treat the children in our midst. We need more adults caring for the children around us but also the children still within us, our child selves who are asking to be loved.

Book 7: On Repentance and Repair by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg is such an incredible theologian and activist for our time, and this new book proves it. On Repentance and Repair dives into all the difficult stuff about being human, from the micro to the macro level, from our daily lives to the institutions around us that we must hold accountable. Please read this book and let it shape the way you understand what making amends is truly about.

Book 8: All We Can Save edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson

There are a lot of books out there right now on the climate crisis, but they aren’t like this one. This book is full of essays that aren’t afraid to courageously speak the truth while pointing us to a better way of understanding ourselves and Mother Earth. Grab this book for yourself, for your best friends, read it as a group, and listen to the wisdom shared in the pages.

Book 9: How Not to be Afraid by Gareth Higgins

If you don’t know my friend Gareth, let me tell you, he is a well of slow and steady wisdom, a voice that calms us while pushing us ahead into the hard stuff that we are so afraid of. This book is a balm, and especially helpful in the chaotic and terrifying world we find ourselves in.

Book 10: An Afro-Indigenous History of the US by Dr. Kyle T Mays

I started reading this book on a flight home and couldn’t put it down. Mays writes from his own experiences and perspectives as an Afro-Indigenous man while also speaking the truth of the history of this young nation we have come to find ourselves in. We need more of this, more voices speaking into the space of Indigenous and Black histories and how they overlap. Please buy this book and learn from the deep wisdom that Mays offers.

Onward friends, into the daily embodiment of resistance!