Books

From bestselling author Martha Beck, a new path to overcoming anxiety by awakening the creativity within

We live in an epidemic of anxiety. Most of us assume that the key to overcoming it is to think our way out. And for a while it works. But there is always something that sends us back into the anxious spiral we’ve been trying to climb out of.

In Beyond Anxiety, Dr. Martha Beck explains why anxiety is skyrocketing around you, and likely within you. She also tells you how to not only reduce your anxiety but use it to propel you into a life filled with peace, meaning, and joy.

Using a combination of the latest neuroscience as well as her background in sociology and coaching, Beck explains how our brains tend to get stuck in an “anxiety spiral,” a feedback system that can increase anxiety indefinitely. To climb out, we must engage different parts of our nervous system—the parts involved in creativity. Beck provides instructions for engaging the “creativity spiral,” in a process that not only shuts down anxiety but leads to innovative problem solving, a sense of meaning and purpose, and joyful, intimate connection with others—and with the world.

The opposite of anxiety, it turns out, is a wonderful new way of life—one that can calm and inspire us as individuals and help us become a source of healing for everything around us.

Transformative justice seeks to solve the problem of violence at the grassroots level, without relying on punishment, incarceration, or policing. Community-based approaches to preventing crime and repairing its damage have existed for centuries. However, in the punative atmosphere of contemporary criminal justice systems, they are often marginalized and operate under the radar. Beyond Survival puts these strategies front and center as real alternatives to today’s failed models of confinement and “correction.”

In this collection, a diverse group of authors focuses on concrete and practical forms of redress and accountability, assessing existing practices and marking paths forward. They use a variety of forms—from toolkits to personal essays—to delve deeply into the “how to” of transformative justice, providing alternatives to calling the police, ways to support people having mental health crises, stories of community-based murder investigations, and much more. At the same time, they document the history of this radical movement, creating space for long-time organizers to reflect on victories, struggles, mistakes, and transformations.

Beyond They/Them is a captivating, gorgeously illustrated book celebrating 20 trailblazing nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit individuals who have left an indelible mark on music, sports, film and television, politics, and more.

Explore 20 biographies of game-changing and noteworthy nonbinary people of diverse backgrounds and in a wide variety of industries. Beyond They/Them: 20 Influential Nonbinary People You Should Know is a fully illustrated guide to celebrities, activists, musicians, and other influential people of various identities across the nonbinary spectrum. Complete with beautiful illustrations by the talented artist Cameron Mukwa and written by Em Dickson, this book is a celebration of nonbinary joy and proves that there has been, and always will be, a place for people of all genders.

Featured individuals include:
* ND Stevenson
* JanelleMonáe
* Rebecca Sugar
* Maia Kobabe
* Sarah Gailey
* Joshua Whitehead
* Quinn
* Layshia Clarendon
* Jaiyah Saelua
* Vico Ortiz
* Sam Smith
* Demi Lovato
* Cris Derksen
* Amita Kuttner
* Uzomo Asagwara
* Maebe A. Girl
* Audrey Tang
* Dr. James Makokis
* Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins
* Judith Butler

Essential Reading for Pride: Selected as a Favorite LGBTQ+ Book for Adults by People Magazine

A provocative, eye-opening, and original book on the science of sexuality beyond gender from an internationally bestselling psychologist.

For psychological scientist and bestselling author Dr. Julia Shaw, the dearth of information on bisexuality was crushing, so she dug deep and found a colorful and fascinating world that she could help bring out of the shadows.

In Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality, Shaw explores all that we know about the world’s largest sexual minority through a personal journey that starts with her own openly bisexual identity and celebrates the resilience and beautiful diversity of the bi community. This rigorous and entertaining book will challenge us to think deeper about who we are and how we love.

Significant strides have been made in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, visibility, and empowerment, but the conversation is far from over.

A board book about feeling your feelings and working together from New York Times bestselling creators of the All Are Welcome series.

In their bestselling picture book All Are Welcome, Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman celebrate kindness, inclusivity, and diversity. Now with Big Feelings, they help children navigate the emotional challenges they face in their daily lives.

What should we do when things don't go to plan? We may feel mad, frustrated, or overwhelmed, but by talking it through, compromising, and seeing another point of view, we can start fresh, begin anew.

Named one of Shondaland and Town & Country's Best Books of May • Named one of Lambda Literary's Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Books • Named one of Cosmopolitan's Best Books of 2023 (So Far)

An unashamedly proud, loud, and hilarious novel about a small town that’s forever changed by a big gay wedding, perfect for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue and The Guncle

Two grooms. One mother of a problem.

Barnett Durang has a secret. No, not THAT secret. His widowed mother has long known he’s gay. The secret is Barnett is getting married. At his mother’s farm. In their small Louisiana town. She just doesn’t know it yet.

It’ll be an intimate affair. Just two hundred or so of the most fabulous folks Barnett is shipping in from the “heathen coasts,” as Mom likes to call them, turning her quiet rescue farm for misfit animals into a most unlikely wedding venue.

But there are forces, both within this modern new family and in the town itself, that really don’t want to see this handsome couple march down the aisle. It’ll be the biggest, gayest event in the town’s history if they can pull it off, and after a glitter-filled week, nothing will ever be the same. Big Gay Wedding is an uplifting book about the power of family and the unconditional love of a mother for her son.

My partner doesn't believe I'm bisexual, what should I do?
How should I approach sex with someone of a different gender for the first time?
Can I reconcile being bisexual with wanting a biological child?
Identifying as bisexual can be a pretty confusing experience - navigating experimentation versus orientation, at times presenting as a straight-passing member of a queer community, at other times having people discredit your attraction to multiple genders. Lewis Oakley, creator of the Ask A Bi Dad column, knows every trick in the book - and he's here to answer your most burning questions...
Warm, chatty, wise and startlingly honest - this is your new bi bible.

Bob Jones University is a Christian, fundamentalist, nondenominational liberal arts school in Greenville, South Carolina. BJU was founded in 1927 by Christian evangelist Bob Jones Sr., who was against the secularization of higher education and the influence of religious liberalism in denominational colleges. For most of the twentieth century, BJU branded itself as the “World’s Most Unusual University” because of its separatist culture. Many BJU students come from fundamentalist communities and are aware of BJU’s strict rules and conservative lifestyle. So why would queer students enroll at BJU?

A former queer student of BJU himself, Lance Weldy has come to terms with his own involvement with the institution and has reached out to other queer students to help represent the range of queer experience in this restrictive atmosphere. BJU and Me: Queer Voices from the World’s Most Christian University provides behind-the-scenes explanations from nineteen former BJU students from the past few decades who now identify as LGBT+. They write about their experiences, reflect on their relationships with a religious institution, and describe their vulnerability under a controlling regime.

Some students hid their sexuality and graduated under the radar; others transferred to other schools but faced reparative therapy elsewhere; some endured mandatory counseling sessions on campus; while still others faced incredible obstacles after being outed by or to the BJU administration. These students give voices to their queer experiences at BJU and share their unique stories, including encounters with internal and/or external trauma and their paths to self-validation and recovery. Often their journeys led them out of fundamentalism and the BJU network entirely.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE * AMAZON'S TOP 20 HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023 * B&N BEST OF EDUCATIONAL HISTORY * THE ROOT'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023

From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.

America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower building a new nation. It is George Washington’s cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin. It is the fantastic tale of slaves that spontaneously teleported themselves here with nothing but strong backs and negro spirituals. It is a sugarcoated legend based on an almost true story.

It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie.

In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center. With incisive wit, Harriot speaks hilarious truth to oppressive power, subverting conventional historical narratives with little-known stories about the experiences of Black Americans. From the African Americans who arrived before 1619 to the unenslavable bandit who inspired America’s first police force, this long overdue corrective provides a revealing look into our past that is as urgent as it is necessary. For too long, we have refused to acknowledge that Americanhistory is white history. Not this one. This history is Black AF.

Inspire Black boys to imagine all the great things they can do while celebrating remarkable moments from Black history!

Dear boy, Black boy, I believe in you so.

Let's start your story―ready, set, go.

From athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick to musician Sam Cooke, inventor Elijah McCoy and writer Chinua Achebe, there are so many inspirational men in Black history. This lyrical, rhythmic text encourages boys to imagine everything they can be and the great things they can do, drawing on the strength of people throughout history that paved the way for Black boys today.

Black Boy, Black Boy tells today's boys: you have the courage, you are the light. It's a new day! Be inspired and motivated by drawing on the history of the role models that came before you.

Black Boy, Black Boy is perfect for those looking for:

-inspirational books for kids

-joyful Black childrens' books

-Black history books for kids

One woman's deadly obsession with a haunted archival film precipitates her undoing in Black Flame, from the USA Today bestselling author of Manhunt, Gretchen Felker-Martin.

A cursed film. A haunted past. A deadly secret.

The Baroness, an infamous exploitation film long thought destroyed by Nazi fire, is discovered fifty years later. When lonely archivist Ellen Kramer―deeply closeted and pathologically repressed―begins restoring the hedonistic movie, it unspools dark desires from deep within her.

As Ellen is consumed by visions and voices, she becomes convinced the movie is real, and is happening to her―and that frame by frame, she is unleashing its occult horrors on the world. Her life quickly begins to spiral out of control.

Until it all fades to black, and all that remains is a voice asking a question Ellen can’t answer but can’t get out of her mind.

Do you want it?
More than anything?

Also by Gretchen Felker-Martin:
Manhunt
Cuckoo

From the authors of Black Boy, Black Boy comes a new inspiring picture book about self-esteem for black girls, drawing on the history of role models who came before them!

Dear girl, Black girl, rise up, it's time.

It's a new day and a chance to shine.

From the first black female Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris to three-time Olympic gold medalist Wilma Rudolph, civil rights activist Claudette Colvin, and the first black female astronaut Mae Carol Jemison, there are so many inspirational women in Black history. An uplifting and beautiful introduction to the strong women who have shaped history, Black Girl, Black Girl encourages young Black girls to rise with passion and to trust in their fierce spirit and magnificent grace. 

Black Girl, Black Girl is perfect for those looking for:

* uplifting books for kids
* Black history books for kids
* joyful books for empowerment

A longtime educator explores how the study of Black history challenges our understanding of race, nation, and the stories we tell about who we are.

Black history is under attack from powerful forces that seek to excise it from classrooms, libraries, and the popular imagination. Yet its opponents fail to understand a simple truth: the best education challenges our assumptions, helps us see larger forces at work, and gives us glimpses of alternate futures.

In Black History Is for Everyone, Brian Jones offers a meditation on the power of Black history, using his own experiences as a lifelong learner and classroom teacher to question everything—from the radicalism of the American Revolution to the meaning of “race” and “nation.”

With warmth and immersive storytelling, Jones encourages us to delve deeper into our collective history, explores how curiosity about our world is essential—and reminds us that with stakes so high, the effort is worth it.

A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on.

Red is a rainbow color.
Green sits next to blue.
Yellow, orange, violet, indigo,
They are rainbow colors, too, but

My color is black . . .
And there’s no BLACK in rainbows.

From the wheels of a bicycle to the robe on Thurgood Marshall's back, Black surrounds our lives. It is a color to simply describe some of our favorite things, but it also evokes a deeper sentiment about the incredible people who helped change the world and a community that continues to grow and thrive.

Stunningly illustrated by Caldecott Honoree and Coretta Scott King Award winner Ekua Holmes, Black Is a Rainbow Color is a sweeping celebration told through debut author Angela Joy’s rhythmically captivating and unforgettable words.

An ALSC Notable Children's Book 2021
An NCTE 2021 Notable Poetry Book
A 2021 Notable Social Studies Trade Book of the NCSS/CBC
A New York Public Library Best Book of 2020
A Washington Post Best Book of 2020
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year
A 2020 Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honoree

Tayler Simon is an activist and organizer who has been working in different social movements since she was 18. After obtaining her Master's in Social Work and working within the violence prevention and outreach world for five years, she decided to take those skills outside of institutions and back to organic community.

Reflecting on the roles of power, joy, despair, anger, and hope within the liberation movement, Black Madonna invites readers into an experience that sparks action from feelings-even in such trying times. Tayler's poems inspire readers to find hope when it feels impossible. This is an urgent, heartfelt, and eclectic collection of poetry. Haunting and beautiful, it will leave us curious about our role in community.