This page is for books I’ve read that I’m recommending for continuing education. They are related to pieces I’ve written in the past and I think they are worth the read. I will keep adding to this list so this page will be always evolving.

I’ve decided to organize this page in alphabetical order and some books may show up in more than 1 section if they fit multiple categories.

Gender

• Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation – A first of its kind guide on microaggressions by Derald Wing Sue. Sue explores some types of microaggressions and their effects.

• Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity – An anthology edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, exploring  ideas around gender, sexuality, identity and belonging.

• Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More – A book by Janet Mock, recounting her coming of age as a black trans woman in a transmisic/transphobic and transmisognistic society.

• The Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity (2nd edition)- A book by Julia Serano; From her website: This classic must-read is “a collection of personal essays that debunk many of the myths and misconceptions that people have about trans women, femininity, and the subjects of gender and sexism more generally”.

Race and Race Theory

• Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation – A first of its kind guide on microaggressions by Derald Wing Sue. Sue explores some types of microaggressions and their effects.

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness – A book by Michelle Alexander, describing the caste-like system established to replace chattel slavery and Jim Crow. Alexander describes how the War on Drugs and criminal justice system act as “a contemporary system of racial control”.

Sexuality

• Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation – A first of its kind guide on microaggressions by Derald Wing Sue. Sue explores some types of microaggressions and their effects.

Substance Use

• “Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs From Alcohol to Ecstasy, 4th edition” by Cynthia Kuhn, Wilke Wilson, and Scott Swartzwelder – This is a great book that lists each drug and/or category of drugs and breaks down drug terms, street names, how the high feels/how the drug effects the body and mind, overdose risks, dangerous drug combinations, any others risks for each drug, the history of each drug, addiction, and current drug laws.

• Over the Influence: The Harm Reduction Guide to Controlling Your Drug and Alcohol Use, 2nd edition” by Patt Denning and Jeannie Little – This is a great book that explains what harm reduction is and how it can be an incredibly useful way of managing one’s substance use. The authors are a clinical psychologist and a licensed clinical social worker who have YEARS of experience working with people living with mental illness and substance use disorders. Their approach sees clients as experts in their own right who can be active participants in their own wellness.

• “Upper, Downers, All-Arounders: Physical and Mental Effects of Psychoactive Drugs, 8th edition” by Darryl S. Inaba and William E. Cohen – This is a pretty easy to read textbook that covers the effects that the many legal and illegal drugs have on our bodies and minds. They talk about the history of drug use, drug laws, and break down each drug according to how it works, it’s effects on the body and mind, and basic treatment info for substance use disorders.

Relationships (All Kinds: Family, Friends, Romantic, etc)

• More Than Two – A guide written by Franklin Veaux and Eve Rickert (with an overview written by Janet W. Hardy) for people who are interested in exploring polyamory. This books includes definitions, explanations of polyam relationship structures and dynamics, personal stories and experiences, suggestions on how to begin exploring, discusses maintaining relationships, etc. This is a great book for deeper relationship on what kinds of relationships may work best for you.

• Parenting with Love & Logic – A great intro book by for people interested in discipline alternatives to beating/shaming children. This book helps parents’ and children’s abilities to think critically about responsibilities and the consequences of behaviors. The book focuses on helping parents raise children who are able to think for themselves and build lasting relationships with their children into adulthood. The writers are white so there are areas where cultural competency might not be all there, but like I said, this is a great starting point.

• The Ethical Slut, 3rd Edition – A book by Dossie Easten and Janet W. Hardy that is generally the 1st book referred to everyone getting into polyamory and other forms of non-monogamy and that’s for good reason. This book is great for dipping your toes into the waters of reflecting on your own relationships needs because it provides basic infomation, definitions, and personal stories as examples to help you start to figure out what’s right for you.