The 5 Books that Changed my Perspective - 2021

Let's face it... COVID19 has changed our lives forever. While we can choose to lament and focus on all the challenges this pandemic has brought onto our lives, we can shift our mindsets and learn to adapt. For me, my silver lining from these tumultuous times has been reading more. I now find immense peace and joy curling up on the couch or my bed, feeling the pages and absorbing the texts. From all the books I read in 2021, here are my top 5 I would like to share with all of you!

1. The Book of Joy - Dave Abrams

If you are interested in spiritual/philosophical discussions, I would highly encourage you to read The Book of Joy by Dave Abrams. Dalai Llama and the belated Archbishop Desmond Tutu chat face to face in Tibet about the concept of joy, friendship, purpose, and other topics focusing on human experiences. What I really enjoyed about reading this book was how candid and humble these leaders were when sharing their stories. The tragedies both men went through while still being optimistic about our future should leave us all hopeful for what's to come - at least for me.

2. American Nations - Colin Woodward

Last summer, I had the opportunity to attend my National Fraternity, Phi Kappa Theta, conference in New Orleans, LA. In these assemblies, brothers from all across the nation connect with one another to discuss new ideas, shared visions, and values that match with our overall motto of passionately serving society, fraternity, and God. After our last day in the festival city, I and a few of my fraternity brothers went up to the rooftop deck to catch up and share our regional roots. As we were discussing our stories, the former national president, Doug Dilling, gifted me this book which goes more in depth about how our country is broken up into different factions. It gave me a better understanding and empathy for Americans I may not see eye to eye with while also challenging me on my own beliefs when building bridges amongst those who do not see my world view.

3. The Last Campaign - Thurston Clarke

For all my history/political junkies out there, this is for you. After reading this book, I now consider RFK my all time favorite political hero. Mr. Clarke details everything about the politician from his platform, campaign events across the country, and the deep relationships he held with Cesar Chaves, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others in the fight for opportunity and civil rights. I truly believe if RFK was President, our country would be in a much better place. His understanding and deliberate action of working towards eroding institutional racism and reaching out to communities of color to find what their needs were during the tumultuous 60s is why I consider RFK a true statesman.

4. Caught between the Dog & the Fireplug, how to survive Public Service - Kenneth Ashworth

What originally was an assigned book to read for my MPA Capstone course turned out to be quite inquisitive. For me, the connotation of assigned reading versus something I choose to read makes a whole difference to my psyche. If you are interested in public service and understanding the relationship between administrator and elected official, this book is for you. Mr. Ashworth creates an imaginary uncle who writes letters to his niece/nephew embarking on a career in government. Not many hear the special call to serve their community, state or nation, which is why, for me, it's a blessing to serve, even when times are challenging. This book gave me a deep appreciation of how our systems work and why the administrative and public service roles are important in creating sound and practical policies.

5. How to be an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi

What I loved most about this book was Mr. Kendi's sincere candor of his upbringing, being raised in a Christian home inspired by Black liberation theory, and his life experiences as a black man. As someone with white privilege, this book provides historical context on how and why the concept of race was created, his life experiences, the importance of fixing our cognitive biases, and solutions of how all of us can break down racial barriers. I do believe we can get to a point where all Americans, no matter where they live, can receive opportunities to provide for themselves or their families. The first step is ensuring those, such as myself, who have privilege provide more chairs to the table to make all individuals feel heard.