Tell Me Again
Amy Thunig’s book Tell Me Again is heartbreaking, inspiring and filled with so much love. This memoir shares Amy journey through childhood and adolescence with parents who struggled with addiction, poverty and incarceration. Given the traumatic events of her past, Amy’s love for her family and generous spirit is truly inspirational. There is a lot to learn from Amy.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
A powerful love letter to nature and indigenous teachings and knowledge of land, this book explores the relationship between western notions of science and indigenous worldviews. Robin Wall Kimmerer reminds us that plants and animals are some of our oldest teachers, she inspires us to reconnect with nature and to learn from the myriad of gifts it can provide.
Sex Object: A Memoir
A fierce activist for feminist concerns and making voices heard, Jessica highlights the true ick that women are facing daily in their surrounds and makes the reader reflect on theirs and others behaviours and ways of moving through life.
The Loud Way Home
The Loud Way Home is a beautiful, composed expression of the experiences and journeys of LGBTQIA+ victim survivors of sexual violence. It is powerful, poignant, and full of heart.
Kind of, Sort of, Maybe…. But Probably Not
Possibly the sweetest book you will read this year. A tale of finding connection in the places and times you often least expect it. An exploration of the quirks we have, the acceptance we seek and the many versions of ourselves that unfold over our life’s journey.
The Good Fight
Harry, whilst being a strong and fierce competitor has a soft marshmallow side. Breaking down gendered norms and stereotypes, he is not afraid to stick his head out and speak up. An inspiring read and great addition to his motivational speech given after the Paris Olympics.
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
This book is validating, approachable and understanding. It’s an incredibly valuable resource for anyone struggling with the effects of long-term trauma. The author has a thorough and compassionate approach to healing, expanding on much needed hope and relief. Filled with digestible explanations and practical tools, this is a must for understanding and healing CPTSD. The book contains an extensive bibliography for further reading.
Raising Feminist Boys: How to Talk with Your Child about Gender, Consent and Empathy
Both a parenting book and an impassioned call for change to raise boys to be empathic, self-aware, perceptive of injustice and inequality in all communities. It contains very practical guidelines, tips, conversation starters and a sex talks cheat sheet, making it a valuable resource for parents but also for teachers, counsellors and anyone who works with young people.
Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma
Dr Buque says that this book is the one she wishes that she had for her own intergenerational healing. With a compassionate and accessible tone, the book is a blend of clear science, relatable stories and most fundamentally, solutions and a way of moving through intergenerational trauma. The book contains practical exercises, reflective prompts and links to further free resources on the authors website.
Maria Petranelli is Prepared for Anything (Except This)
This is a fast-paced, easy to read queer coming of age YA story. With a relatable protagonist and themes of control vs chaos, this heartfelt story skilfully balances humour with emotional growth and character development. Particularly enjoyed the Italian Australian family connections with all the accompanying expectations and embracing the unexpected.
Fair Play
A clear and relatable critique of hidden inequities in a married with kids and a good income home. Rodsky suggests that most relationships still operate under outdated and inequitable systems where women are expected to "take care of it all”. This expectation is deeply ingrained in cultural norms and can lead to burnout, resentment, and conflict. While not everyone will relate to the cards system, it is a practical solution to the division of labour and one that can be taken metaphorically while still making the invisible work women do, visible and then divisible.
The Gift of Intensity
A powerful, validating insightful book that frames emotional intensity as a strength and offers practical strategies for embracing and managing this emotional superpower. Provides a compassionate and empowering perspective for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by their emotional experiences and sensitivity, guiding them toward self-acceptance, emotional regulation, and personal growth.
We Are The Stars
Never will a book leave you so torn open and change your views on loving and grieving like this book! A truly colourful story of a remarkable woman who shot into fame for winning “Alone” Australia, but who’s journey was well and truly a rollercoaster well before the show aired. Gina is a 3rd generation author and a lyrical storyteller. She takes the reader on adventures growing up on Yuin Country, South Coast NSW right through to the dancefloors of Oxford Street in the Early 90’s during the height of the AIDS epidemic and across the globe to tracking school. Have tissues on hand!
All In Her Head
This is a riveting, horrifying and at times enraging look at how medicine has failed women throughout history to modern day. Drawing from old case reports and medical textbooks, Cowen illuminates the narratives around women’s bodies, women’s health, women’s needs & desires.
Friends: Understanding The Power Of Our Most Important Relationships
Popularised by the Dunbar Number, which suggests that our cognitive limit for maintaining stable social relationships is around 150 people, this book is a fascinating if highly cerebral and scientific take on friendship, trust, loneliness and social cohesion. Its academic exploration provides a practical guide and homage to human connection for anyone looking to understand the nuances of friendship groups.
White Tears/ Brown Scars
This is a thought provoking , engaging and vital book. It is structured around key themes such as cultural appropriation, the weaponization of victimhood, and the systemic inequalities that women of colour face. An essential exploration encouraging readers to confront the complexities of race and gender with its unflinching honesty challenging us to reflect on our own biases.
The Mountain Is You
Promoted as a book to counteract self-sabotage, it actually covers many aspects of life including happiness, decluttering, denial, procrastination, finding inner peace, trusting yourself and so on. If you are an avid self help book reader it may feel like many well-worn concepts that have been repackaged into a booklet without chapters that speaks like the Tao Te Ching. While we may well be responsible for our own lives, the emphasis on personal responsibility could feel overwhelming or dismissive of the complex factors that contribute to mental health struggles, including the society we operate in.
Casa Susanna
This is a beautifully curated book. It provides a fascinating, captivating, striking and poignant visual exploration of identity and the complexities of gender expression through a collection of photographs from a clandestine retreat located in the Catskills in the 1960s and 1970s. The book offers a glimpse into a unique space where men could dress as women and explore their femininity in a supportive environment.
How Emotions Are Made
This a dense, well researched and thought-provoking book written in a pacy approachable and inquisitive way. The author makes a solidly built case that the universal components of human experience are not emotions, but changes on a continuum of arousal on the one hand, and pleasantness and unpleasantness on the other. Ultimately we are all creating our world from moment to moment.