Know My Name by Chanel Miller

I sat down to read Know My Name as an act of solidarity; with the intention of bearing witness to the story of a survivor. Instead, I found myself falling into the hands of one of the great writers and thinkers of our time. Chanel Miller is brilliant. She is a philosopher, a cultural critic, a deep observer, a writer’s writer, a true artist.

If we are very lucky, this phenomenal book will be just the first of many world-changing pieces of art this woman offers the world.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

This is the first book that has literally taken my breath away. I kept having to close it and breathe deeply, again and again. This book – on women’s longing and silencing and awakening — is a true and beautiful masterpiece. I will carry it in my heart forever, because it reflects what was always there.

We Are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen

This is it. This is the book for people getting sober. Laura McKowen’s We Are the Luckiest is the truest, most generous, honest, and helpful sobriety memoir I have read. It’s going to save lives.

Trick Mirror: Reflections of Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino

As I read Trick Mirror I thought, “The smartest human on planet Earth has been located and her name is Jia Tolentino.” Tolentino’s reflections are biting but relatable, because she writes vulnerably as a product of the very culture she’s critiquing. This book helped me understand my world and myself more deeply.

Wow, No Thank You: Essays by Samantha Irby

Samantha Irby’s Wow, No Thank You is a gift that everyone should give themselves and each other. She writes with such wisdom about our culture and such honesty about herself. And nobody — but nobody — is funnier. Every time I read Irby, I feel freer.