Sometimes being an adult means realizing that you have no idea what you’re doing. A lot of us have experienced moments where we are completely out of our depth and have no idea how or who to ask for advice and/or comfort.
Taking care of our health—mentally and physically—should be a priority, but it’s sometimes hard to figure out and balance that with everything going on in our lives. How do we get through the day?
A lot of people have different ways of coping, such as praying, watching Netflix, working out, and exploring new hobbies. In addition to doing all of this, I’ve been asking friends to share some books that remind them that everything will be alright. This list is full of books that have inspired and helped people in my life and across the internet. Sometimes the wisdom of others is just what we need to get us through another week in quarantine.
Japanese cleaning guru Marie Kondo swept through American pop-culture with her show on Netflix. Our minds are often impacted by our environment, and with the coronavirus keeping us all inside, this is a perfect time to really declutter your home. Cleaning and clearing your environment will help inspire a calm, motivated, and peaceful mindset.
It’s hard to capture exactly everything that this book is, but Allie Brosh writes about life; the mess, the humor, the pain, and the joy. A collection of witty personal stories that remind us that we’re all really human and that that’s perfectly OK.
Even if you never watched any of her shows, Shonda Rhimes has become one of Hollywood’s most recognized producer-writers. Her first book is a poignant, passionate, and hilarious book about taking opportunities, looking past failure, and chasing dreams. She writes about how saying “Yes” changed her life and how it can change your life as well.
"It’s Not All Downhill From Here" is a refreshing story of the strength and resilience of ‘’everyday’ Black women. Loretha Curry’s life is going well until a sudden loss turns her world upside down. Loretha will have to gather all of her strength to keep on thriving and to pursue joy, healing, and life in abundance.
I stumbled upon the Netflix movie on a random weekend over a year ago and was surprised by how heartfelt and inspiring it was. Juliet finds a letter from a man she’s never met who found her name written inside a book. The more they exchange letters, the more she is drawn into the eccentric world of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society, and learns about their hopes and dreams, their books, and the impact of the German occupation on their lives.
We often look at prominent women like Michelle Obama as always having everything together and that life must be as perfect as it can get.
"Becoming" is a beautiful, inspiring memoir that reminds us that even a First Lady of a country like the United States can be just as human as us—unfinished.
Hearing other people’s stories and being able to learn from them is one of the best ways to help ourselves get over a slump, or find wisdom and courage to change things in our lives. "Tiny Beautiful Things" is a collection of some of the best of Chery’s Dear Sugar advice columns from "The Rumpus." Chery’s words are heartwarming, compassionate, and insightful and might be exactly what you need to hear.
As one of the most celebrated and respected American authors of all time, Toni Morrison was well-known for her striking imagery and genre-defying prose and unabiding wisdom. In this book, she gives us a collection of her essays, speeches, and meditations where she writes about social issues, such as woman empowerment.
What does it mean to be strong? What does it mean for us to practice vulnerability? Daring Greatly challenges what we think we know about being brave and connecting with others. The book is based on over a decade of research and argues that being vulnerable is not weakness, but the path to help us be alright with ourselves and with each other.
This book is an incredibly thought provoking essay collection about something we all need more of: empathy. Regardless of where you are in life or what you’re going through, or if the news has you feeling hopeless about the future, learning and actively practicing empathy will help you be able to understand how you should care for the people around you and yourself.
