Domus’ Summer Book Club 2024
Below are book options for our club. Please read through the descriptions, then take the poll (link at bottom) to tell us your top three picks.
Thanks for participating!
Any questions? Ask Julie.
The House at Sugar Beach, by Helene Cooper, 384 pages. This is a real story about the coup in Liberia in 1980. Helene is the first cousin of a buddy of mine (“Coop”) from boarding school. She is a fairly well-known journalist here in the US. Although Helene was a young child at the time, she provides a look into a world order in what was an ideal world for her and her family at the top of the political and economic power structure of an African nation (with founding ties to the US). She tells her story of the sights and sounds around her family when the coup arrived when she, her siblings and mother were their summer estate at Sugar Beach.
Black AF (“as fuck”) History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America, by Michael Harriott, 480 pages. Harriott is a true historian yet he knows he is telling a story and he is captivatingly factual and funny while doing it. He connects the dots of racism embedded in America with real-life relevant examples using colorful members of his family to drive home a point. Having the hardcopy as a ready reference is great, but this is one book where the audio version is a must-read.
Animal Farm, by George Orwell, 140 pages. This classic is accessible to many levels of readers. Its importance today is that this extremely simplistic story as political satire speaks to the ability of individuals to collectively succumb to the manipulation of others through the use of words and gaslighting. Moreover, it happens right out in the open. This is an excellent book to teach the process of critical thinking, logic, and the resilience to face BS when being pressured to accept it by others.
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Synder, 126 pages. In short, these 20 lessons are about what to look for when your nation is being taken over by authoritarians and what you can and should do. Its relevance to today is 100%.
Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi, 305 pages. This is a historical novel of two African sisters (Esi and Effia) and the two branches of their family: one that remains in African under the colonial wars and the other branch that is captured and enslaved in America. The parallel stories create two novels in one of two separate paths forced upon one people.
E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX, by DMX & Smokey D Fontaine, 346 pages. Raised in the ghetto, abandoned as a child, addicted to drugs and women all his life but still able to produce four consecutive #1 hip-hop albums in a row…this is the life and times of the darkest and most dangerously introspective hip-hop artist ever—at the height of his career and completely uncensored. His real name is Earl Simmons. As a child, he placed higher on tests than his fellow students and liked to spend mornings with his mother and sisters playing games and making pancakes. But for young Earl—a boy growing up on the streets of Yonkers, New York—that kind of childhood didn’t last long. Beatings, abuse, and neglect very soon had him moving on to other things, like robbing, stealing, drugs, and, eventually, jail. Along the way, however, he found a talent and a passion for rhyme. After 27 years of chaos, struggle, and survival, DMX became one of the biggest stories in contemporary music. But his character goes beyond that. He’s also a father, a husband, and more importantly, someone who never gave up and never stopped chasing his dreams. He has dedicated his life and his music to expressing the thoughts and feelings of those who have never been heard before—just as he was never heard as a child.
Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal, by Bettina Love, 352 pages.Dr. Bettina Love argues forcefully that Reagan’s presidency ushered in a War on Black Children, pathologizing and penalizing them in concert with the War on Drugs. New policies punished schools with policing, closure, and loss of funding in the name of reform, as white savior, egalitarian efforts increasingly allowed private interests to infiltrate the system. These changes implicated children of color, and Black children in particular, as low performing, making it all too easy to turn a blind eye to their disproportionate conviction and incarceration. Today, there is little national conversation about a structural overhaul of American schools; cosmetic changes, rooted in anti-Blackness, are now passed off as justice. It is time to put a price tag on the miseducation of Black children. In this prequel to The New Jim Crow, Dr. Love serves up a blistering account of four decades of educational reform through the lens of the people who lived it. Punished for Dreaming lays bare the devastating effect on 25 Black Americans caught in the intersection of economic gain and racist ideology. Then, with input from leading U.S. economists, Dr. Love offers a road map for repair, arguing for reparations with transformation for all children at its core.
Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma, by Dr. Mariel Buqué, 288 pages.When a physical wound is left unhealed, it continues to cause pain and can infect the whole body. When emotions are left unhealed, they similarly cause harm that spreads to other parts of our lives, hurting our family, friends and colleagues. Eventually, this hurt spreads further, affecting entire communities and families across generations. This is intergenerational trauma. It can lead us to become people-pleasers, co-dependent in relationships and even estranged from our families. The wounds are complex and continue to invade our minds, bodies and spirits long after. In Break the Cycle, Dr Mariel Buqué delivers the ground-breaking guide to healing inherited trauma. Weaving scientific research with practical exercises and stories from her therapy room, Dr Buqué will help you understand how trauma is inherited from one generation to the next, break the cycle and disrupt the flow of intergenerational trauma with therapeutic exercises, and encourage you to pass on strength – not pain – to future generations. With a holistic approach to healing that has been absent from the field of psychology for too long, Break the Cycle will help you shift intergenerational trauma to intergenerational abundance.
Bad Therapy, by Abagail Shrier, 320 pages.‘A pacy, no-holds barred attack on mental health professionals and parenting experts… In virtually every way that can be measured, Gen Z’s mental health is worse than that of previous generations. Youth suicide rates are climbing, antidepressant prescriptions for children are common, and the proliferation of mental health diagnoses has not helped the staggering number of kids who are lonely, lost, sad and fearful of growing up. What’s gone wrong? In Bad Therapy, bestselling investigative journalist Abigail Shrier argues that the problem isn’t the kids… it’s the mental health experts. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with child psychologists, parents, teachers, and young people themselves, Shrier explores the ways the mental health industry has transformed the way we teach, treat, discipline and even talk to our kids. She reveals that most of the therapeutic approaches have serious side effects and few proven benefits: for instance, talk therapy can induce rumination, trapping children in cycles of anxiety and depression; while ‘gentle parenting’ can encourage emotional turbulence—even violence—in children as they lash out, desperate for an adult to be in charge. Mental health care can be lifesaving when properly applied to children with severe needs, but for the typical child, the cure can be worse than the disease. Bad Therapy is a must-read for anyone questioning why our efforts to support our kids have backfired—and what it will take for parents to lead a turnaround.
Being Black in America’s Schools: A Student-Educator-Reformers Call for Change, by Brian Rashad Fuller, 256 pages. Note: this book is in pre-release and will be available July 23rd, so we would have 3 weeks to read it.In a polarizing and racially divided America, what do children of color learn about themselves before they even go to school? How do they see themselves, and is that image only exacerbated by spending twelve years in a public education system that perpetuates negative stereotypes? Brian Rashad Fuller personally knows that the impact of low expectations can be devastating, as proved by the school to prison pipeline that so many students have experienced. He aims to make a difference in this humanizing and very personal portrayal of what it means to be Black in America’s schools. As a Black man who has spent his life as a student and an educator, Brian shares his own story of navigating the world, overcoming his family struggles, and eventually entering an educational system that he believes is inherently racist, damaging, and disserving. He exposes the challenges Black students face in elite and predominantly white universities and spaces, dissects “Black exceptionalism” in the schooling experience, and offers a firsthand account of the emotional and psychological impact made by teachers, administrators, policies, practices, lessons, and student interactions. Most Americans are looking for answers on how to improve our education system—as illustrated by the critical race theory debate—but have not fully understood the lived Black experience, until now. With powerful insight into a thoroughly American institution, Brian offers present-day solutions, and liberating hope, for a centuries-long issue, as well as a galvanizing and radical step forward. It is a book essential to our challenging times.
Written Off: How One Man’s Journey Through Poverty, Disability, and Delinquency is Transforming the Juvenile Justice System, by Hasan Davis JD, 198 pages.This book is the culmination of a lifetime of love and lessons that have shaped my personal journey from a young man in crisis to a champion for children. There were critical moments in my story where self-appointed “Hope Dealers” like my mother, Alice Lovelace, and my educator, Dr. Lorraine Wilson, intervened in my projected course to failure. The lessons I learned from them became the foundation of my own work with and for young people facing challenges that they often did not believe they can face alone: hopelessness, shame, disability, tragic home life, generally summed up as the trauma, drama, and pain of life. I have put these lessons into my practice of reaching and teaching young people and try to share them with other caring adults who have committed themselves to being the difference in the lives of the children within their sphere of influence. My name is Hasan Davis, and I am a Hope Dealer. This is my story. “For those of us who chose this important work, hope is mandatory. Because, we cannot give what we do not possess.” –Hasan Davis JD
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt, 296 pages.Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist, and in his newest book lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood” began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this “great rewiring of childhood” has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.
Equipping Quality Youth Development Professionals: Improving Child and Youth Program Experiences, by William B. Kearney, 184 pages.Whether you are a seasonal volunteer, group leader, or full-time professional, you need practical advice on how to provide young people with the tools they need to succeed. Equipping Quality Youth Development Professionals—E-QYP for short—provides best practices to help young people ages six to eighteen reach their potential. It also offers age-appropriate ideas that you can translate to your specific child and youth program. E-QYP is a handy reference for individuals, as well as a powerful volunteer and staff development tool when adopted by organizations. It also serves as a great supplement to college textbooks on child and youth development. With easy-to-read information and sample activities that really work, this guide can help you help the young people in your life. “Youth agencies serve huge numbers of kids in the United States, but few youth workers have specific knowledge about youth development, and agency budgets tend to have few dollars for staff training. Although the training and credentialing of all youth workers remains an aspiration, workers with and without training need ready access to research-based knowledge and practices. Equipping Quality Youth Development Professionals provides both. Whether read as a whole or accessed for just-in-time information, Equipping Quality Youth Development Professionals is a timely, valuable, and much-needed resource”—Irv Katz, president and CEO, National Human Services Assembly and National Collaboration for Youth
Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, by Anand Giridharadas, 304 pages.The New York Times best-selling, groundbreaking investigation of how the global elite’s efforts to “change the world” preserve the status quo and obscure their role in causing the problems they later seek to solve. An essential read for understanding some of the egregious abuses of power that dominate today’s news. Former New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas takes us into the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, where the rich and powerful fight for equality and justice any way they can—except ways that threaten the social order and their position atop it. We see how they rebrand themselves as saviors of the poor; how they lavishly reward “thought leaders” who redefine “change” in winner-friendly ways; and how they constantly seek to do more good, but never less harm. We hear the limousine confessions of a celebrated foundation boss; witness an American president hem and haw about his plutocratic benefactors; and attend a cruise-ship conference where entrepreneurs celebrate their own self-interested magnanimity. Giridharadas asks hard questions: Why, for example, should our gravest problems be solved by the unelected upper crust instead of the public institutions it erodes by lobbying and dodging taxes? He also points toward an answer: Rather than rely on scraps from the winners, we must take on the grueling democratic work of building more robust, egalitarian institutions and truly changing the world. A call to action for elites and everyday citizens alike.
Poverty, By America, by Matthew Desmond, 304 pages.The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow. Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.
The Body Keeps the Score, by Besser Van de Kolk, 464 pages.A pioneering researcher and one of the world’s foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for healing. Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Such experiences inevitably leave traces on minds, emotions, and even on biology. Sadly, trauma sufferers frequently pass on their stress to their partners and children. Renowned trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring—specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, mindfulness techniques, play, yoga, and other therapies. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score offers proven alternatives to drugs and talk therapy—and a way to reclaim lives.
What Happened to You?, by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry, 304 pages.The authors discuss the impact of trauma and adverse experiences – and how healing must begin with a shift to asking ‘What happened to you?’ rather than ‘What’s wrong with you?’ Through wide-ranging and often deeply personal conversation, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Perry explore how what happens to us in early childhood—both good and bad—influences the people we become. A simple change in perspective can open up a new and hopeful understanding about why we do the things we do, why we are the way we are—and provide a road map for repairing relationships, overcoming what seems insurmountable, and ultimately living better and more fulfilling lives. Many of us experience adversity and trauma during childhood that has lasting impact on our physical and emotional health. And as we’re beginning to understand, we are more sensitive to developmental trauma as children than we are as adults. ‘What happened to us’ in childhood is a powerful predictor of our risk for physical and mental health problems down the road and offers scientific insights into the patterns of behaviors so many struggle to understand. A survivor of multiple childhood challenges herself, Oprah Winfrey shares portions of her own harrowing experiences because she understands the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma at a young age. Throughout her career, Oprah has teamed up with Dr. Bruce Perry, one of the world’s leading experts on childhood trauma. He has treated thousands of children, youth, and adults and has been called on for decades to support individuals and communities following high-profile traumatic events. Now, Oprah joins with Dr. Perry to marry the power of storytelling with the science and clinical experience to better understand and overcome the effects of trauma. Grounded in the latest brain science and brought to life through compelling narratives, this book shines a light on a much-needed path to recovery—showing us our incredible capacity to transform after adversity.
Stamped, by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi, 260 pages
This is NOT a history book. This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.
The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. Racist ideas are woven into the fabric of this country, and the first step to building an antiracist America is acknowledging America’s racist past and present. This book takes you on that journey, showing how racist ideas started and were spread, and how they can be discredited. Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds with research from renowned author Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas—and on ways you can identify and stamp out racist thoughts, leading to a better future.
Jacob’s Ghetto, by Travis Peagler, 165 pages.You’re not the product of your environment. Jacob, a bright 10-year-old African-American boy with exceptional writing ability, seems to have a promising academic future ahead of him. But living on the South Side of Chicago, life at home is nothing but. He is living in a drug-infested community with a residence overrun with roaches that should be condemned. With an addict for a mother, who’s in a self-induced comatose state most of the time, he’s not in a situation that he can easily test out of. Now of age where the gangs start to take notice, Jacob and his best friend Kenny have a brief run-in with Ja’heve. He is a brazen individual and second in command to a vicious gang known as “The Circle.” During the encounter, Ja’heve feels disrespected by Jacob’s refusal to join; he becomes furious and jealous of him and his intellect. He knows Jacob has the smarts to make it out of their hell hole of a neighborhood and vows not to let that happen. One morning while taking the train, Kenny finds a folded-up form and hands it over to Jacob to read, being somewhat illiterate. It turns out to be an entry form for a writing contest with a handsome cash prize and book deal. Suddenly a light of hope pierces through Jacob like never before. No longer feeling abject, and with encouragement from Kenny, he believes that he can win the contest and move he and his mother out of the ghetto and start a new life. Being continuously pursued and harassed by Ja’heve, Jacob’s daily survival becomes a deadly game of cat and mouse. He fears it’s just a matter of time before his picture ends up on the nightly news like so many other slain black kids before him. Jacob knows his time is short, but a chance is all he needs, and his will to survive is all he has.
Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, 213 pages.Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better. Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing. Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father’s actions.
The Struggle, by Johnny Frankline Junior, 195 pages.Avery Johnson, a bright teenager living in Memphis, Tennessee, has hopes of making it out of a bad neighborhood and going to college. Avery shares a small home with his family in the city’s most dangerous and poorest neighborhood. When Avery is just one school year shy of graduating from high school, his usual problems begin to get even worse. At home, Avery’s mother Sophia is struggling to pay the bills and keep food in the refrigerator. It pains Avery to see his mother struggle to take care of him and his younger brother Cameron all by herself. He wants to help out at home, but Avery can’t find a part-time job. Also, he is forced to be more careful while out in the neighborhood after witnessing a crime and later becoming a victim of one himself. While watching his mother become more stressed and their problems getting worse, Avery decides to start selling drugs with his friend Derek to make money. In a short amount of time, their newly adopted hustle is thriving, providing Avery with the money he needs to help his mother take care of things at home. At times, Avery finds himself contemplating on whether he should continue hustling or stop altogether. Before he knows it, one bad decision by Derek changes everything. At one point, Avery takes a break from selling drugs, but occurring problems drive him to start back hustling. The Bluff City Mob, the neighborhood’s rising gang, becomes irritated by Avery and Derek’s activity on the streets. The leader of BCM warns Avery to stop selling drugs with Derek on his turf. When Avery and Derek continue to sell drugs in the neighborhood, BCM shows them both that not complying with the warning that was given comes with major repercussions. Will Avery make it to graduation? Will his family survive hard times? In the ghetto, the struggle is real.
Monday’s Not Coming, by Tiffany D. Jackson, 435 pages.Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable—more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day, or second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday wouldn’t just leave her to endure tests and bullies alone. Not after last year’s rumors and not with her grades on the line. Now Claudia needs her best—and only—friend more than ever. But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help. As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?
Last step:
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