One the Pocket Change Collective Series, Imaginary Borders examines how climate change impacts us all, regardless of city limits and borders.  The author uses his art and music to express his distress about our current climate crisis.  One of the aspects that I enjoyed about this book is that while it is short, it provides big ideas from which to build a movement.  "We all have a responsibility to be a part o this redefinition of movement culture," Martinez writes.  Martinez uses anecdotes to show how climate change has impacted his own life, constantly reminding readers that "if we wait for the floodwater to  reach our doorstep, it will be too late."  

This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew is a part of the Pocket Change Collective Series.  This tiny book is packed with anecdotes and lessons on how to take a passion, like art, and turn it into activism.  Drew reminds her readers that "art and protest will forever be bound together.  And the beautiful thing about art, like activism, is that it allows us space to be curious and learn."  She is humble in her explanation, reiterating that one person can contribute, but it takes a collective to truly start change.

I haven’t always been a fan of The Bachelor.  I used to think it was crummy television, but after I moved in with girls that love the show I found myself watching too.  Now I’m knee-deep in roses, fantasy suits, and Neil Lane diamonds (okay, I wish on that last one, but you know what I mean).  The thing is-I don’t think I like it for the right reasons, which is why I couldn’t wait to read Amy Kaufman’s behind-the-scenes look at the franchise.  Read more to see if I gave Bachelor Nation a final rose and why I still watch The Bachelor! ​

You are completely healthy.  Not a care in the world.  Then your life comes crashing down around you as it becomes difficult for you to walk, work, or enjoy anything.  Crippling pain is your constant reminder that things aren’t what they used to be.  Life sounds pretty miserable, right?

For Cami Walker, a thirty-something with multiple sclerosis, this was her reality.  Lost in the fog of chronic illness, she felt that there was no hope.  That is, until she received a life-changing prescription from her friend, an African medicine woman.  Walker was challenged to give 29 gifts, one gift a day, for 29 days.  What follows was a lesson in giving and receiving in order to change one’s outlook on life.  29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life was one of the first books I picked up when I first developed my chronic illness.  I was only given one chapter a day, which helped me keep my mind off of my physical limitations at the time and on what I could do to participate in my own 29 days of giving.  
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I have a special place in my heart for this book, and I think everyone can stand to benefit from Walker’s candid story.  Read more to find out the full story of how this book entered my life and why I think you should pick it up!

When I first finished The Glass Castle, I sat for a full afternoon staring at my computer hoping to find the right words to explain what it was like to read it.  It’s been almost a month since I finished it, and I still am having a hard time expressing my feelings about it.  Jeanette Walls writes in a way that makes you feel like you are reading your favorite fairy tale, except that her story doesn’t exactly have a fairy tale ending.  It’s a story of resilience and redemption, all through the eyes of woman who decided to take off the rose-colored glasses of her childhood. If you’re looking for a raw and unapologetic memoir, this is the one for you.

What would you do if you learned your cells were taken without your knowledge?  

What if those cells were used to develop vaccines, used for cancer research, and even helped create the cure for Polio?

Would you want to know?  Do you have a right to know? Do you have a right to compensation?

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks examines the mostly unknown story of the woman and her family that experienced just that.  Henrietta Lacks will forever be in the history books as the woman who gave us the HeLa cells, but those books do not tell the story behind the origin of those cells.  They don’t share the economic and social struggle her family endures, despite her cells being bought and sold for research by the billions.  Rebecca Skloot spent 10 years researching and getting to know Henrietta’s family to create this book.  Part scientific inquiry about HeLa cells, part medical mystery about what makes these cells immortal, part memoir about the history of the Lacks family, Skloot weaves a tale that I initially thought was fiction and was interested to find out was completely true.

Some days you just need to sit down with a good book of poetry and cry it out.  

Some days you just need to read one poem on the go to make you smile.

Milk and Honey is just that book. Pick it up at any time, read a few (or many) something you can pick up at any time, read a few (or many) poems, and find yourself changed a little bit for the better.  Broken into four parts, The Hurting, The Loving, The Breaking, The Healing, there is a poem for any occasion.  Short, sweet, and to the point, Rupi Kaur takes the hard in life and shows you how to learn and grow from it. ​

 What can a taxidermied raccoon teach you about happiness?  Everything.  
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Furiously Happy is one of those books that just stays with you.  Jenny Lawson is a queen at humor, especially when it deals with the more difficult parts of life like anxiety, depression, and chronic illness.  The Bloggess, as she is fondly known on her blog and social media, finds a way to make all of the hard in life seem bearable, even comical. The cover of this one explains it all: this is a funny book about horrible things.  Lawson uses her own life experiences to make you laugh until you cry (like I literally did) at the absurdity of life.  I found myself highlighting whole pages and reading them aloud to anyone that would listen, regardless if they wanted to hear it or not.  The situations Lawson finds herself in are indeed outrageous, and I always found myself wanting just one more story.  She balances her anecdotes with humor and candor, which left me laughing and contemplative at the same time.  Wonder how that happens? Read more to find out. ​​