Every year since 2016, I've set myself a personal goal to read 50 books in a year, and 2021 was the year I finally hit that goal!
Now, 50 is a completely arbitrary number and there's no moral value tied to how much you read, but for me, this challenge was a good motivator to make time for a hobby that I really value. I tried to read a really wide range of books, both fiction and non-fiction, by authors from different backgrounds and life experiences to me.
So, here are my top 6 non-fiction books this year that relate to what we do here at Bumblebee Yoga!
Growing Up Disabled in Australia Edited by Carly Findlay
We work a lot in the disability space at Bumblebee Yoga, and it is incredibly important to me to learn directly from disabled people about their experiences. This anthology has over 40 contributors from all across Australia who have a disability or chronic health condition, and was an absolutely brilliant read.
I thought this book did a great job at presenting different perspectives and different kinds of disabilities from a diverse range of people. It also explored intersectionality in some essays, including people who are queer, indigenous, and rural living. I feel like it captured the complexity and conflicting emotions of what it can be like having a disability in your life, and explored identity in so many different ways. I think it really broadened my perspective and gave me a lot to think about. The writing was also absolutely beautiful from all of the authors and I definitely cried a couple of times!
I've since gone on to follow Carly (@carlyfindlay), and many of the other contributors on Instagram, and I've continued to learn so much from them all!
The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Dr Christopher Germer
As I'm sure many of you already know, self-compassion is a topic that I'm very passionate about, and I'm working my way through everything that's been written about it, alongside my academic research!
Christopher Germer, along with Kristen Neff, are the founders of the Centre for Mindful Self-Compassion, so this guy definitely knows his stuff!
I actually listened to the audiobook version of this, and it brought a really beautiful energy to my commutes. I think I'm going to re-visit this book in 2022 to spend some more time working through the meditations in a more focused way.
This book is a great introduction for beginners, as well as an opportunity to strengthen and bolster practice for more experienced practitioners.
It also explores the concept of 'Metta' (or Loving-Kindness) in a bit more depth, which is such an important foundation of a self-compassion practice.
Highly recommend this book, along with Kristen Neff's work, for anyone interested in practicing mindful self-compassion!
White Fragility: Why it's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.
Another really important thing we do here is trying to be actively anti-racist. 2020 and 2021 generated some really powerful conversations about race, and I realised I had some knowledge gaps that needed filling in this area.
Here are the things that really hit home for me:
◾Good and nice people can and do participate in racism. This was important for me to really have sink in, as someone who considers myself a moral and kind human who would never intentionally hurt someone. Facing my own biases was really confronting, and it's something I'm still working through.
◾ Open-minded and progressive middle-class white people are often the most harmful contributors to racism. The whole "Everything is fine because we're okay" attitude is pretty toxic, and now that I'm aware of it, I notice it so much more.
◾If you think you don't hold any prejudices you have a profound lack of self-awareness. This one takes a healthy dose of humility and ego soothing.
◾Saying that you "don't see race" or "treat everyone the same" totally bypasses and undermines the impact of racism. Positivity unfortunately doesn't solve racism.
◾Anti-racism isn't something you can "achieve". It's a messy and lifelong process that takes real work and humility. Tokinistic work isn't going to fly here.
◾Actively dismantling racism should be more important to you than proving to people that you aren't racist
Born for Love by Dr Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz
This book was absolutely brilliant. I knew it would be, having read their other book, but this one was especially relevant to empathy, compassion, and humanity, which as you know is central to what we do at Bumblebee.
The book really explores what we call relational health and how our early childhood experiences with our loved ones shape who we become as an adult. They use case studies and stories to talk about what can happen when children don't have secure attachment and stability, and how community connectedness can be tied to health outcomes.
The core message of the book is that humans have a “fundamental but developmentally vulnerable capacity for empathy.”. Understanding how empathy works is critical for us to understand not only how individuals live, but also how societies connect within and between each other. I love that this book is so evidence-based, but with a really human way of weaving the story together.
The Sex Ed You Never Had by Chantelle Otten
Sex education and sexual health is something that's really important to me, and I think we need to talk about it more! Chantelle is a qualified sexologist, and her expertise definitely shines through in this book.
This book was so inclusive and shame-free, I wish someone had handed this to me in high
school! Obviously this was a 2021 release, so at least the next generation can benefit. But e
ven in my mid-20s I learnt so much from this book. It's super thorough, and covers everything from contraception to kink, including how to date and how to communicate in relationships. It is also very LGBTQIA+ friendly, and forgoes pronouns when talking about genitals!
This book does a great job of making information accessible and clear, right from the foundations. She also has a cool way of writing that makes it feel like she's your fun cousin who has seen it all, passing down wisdom in a super non-judgemental way. I listened to the audiobook version, which is read by Chantelle herself. She's definitely the kind of person I'd want to call after a heartbreak or an STI scare!
I am going to be recommending this book left, right, and centre! Especially for queer people, who are unfortunately left out of health education so often.
The Cure for Hate by Tony McAleer
The journey of a former white supremacist from being a violent extremist to someone who speaks globally about radical compassion? Definitely piqued my interest, and was even more impactful than I anticipated.
Tony's writing is incredibly vulnerable and you can feel the authenticity in his words. Reading about some of his harmful actions was difficult, but I think understanding what leads someone to join these ideologies and what helps them leave is crucial for us to be able to reduce the harm they have in the world.
I took pages of notes from this book, but here are some of the quotes that really resonated with me:
"Somebody asked me once "How did you lose your humanity?". "I didn't lose it" I replied. "I traded it for acceptance and approval until there was nothing left""
"Ideology plays a much smaller role than you'd think in drawing people to violent extremist groups; rather, I believe toxic shame creates the vulnerabilities in a person that make the ideology seem attractive"
"Not surprisingly, loneliness poses the greatest risk to someone trying to leave an extremist group"
"Its not about whether I feel I deserve compassion, but that the rest of the world deserves to be around a person who is less angry and hurtful"
"If fear and shame are often at the root of hate, then how can more fear and shame be the cure?"
"Radical compassion starts with compassion for the self, which amplifies our capacity to serve others"
I loved being able to read such a wide range of books in 2021, and there's so much already on my list for 2022!
What should I read next? Let me know all of your book recs in the comments, or shoot me a message!