In the most challenging year of my life, reading provided a necessary escape and allowed me to focus on something other than my grief.
The most important book I read last year was Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves. There is a crisis with men in this country. This book focuses on young men, but so many men who aren’t young are struggling, lost, and depressed. The situation for Black men in the United States is especially abhorrent. While I could go on an entire diatribe about how this is due to the racism of liberals AND conservatives because neither of them thinks that Black men are anything more than pitiful Petes who lack intellectual prowess or bodies and vehicles for their entertainment, I will refrain. I will add that this problem of men and boys is not just a problem in the United States, but a global issue.
Why are men struggling, and what can we do to help? This is a MUST-READ for all of us who want to see men become healthy, productive, and respected members of society.
Kristen Du Mez’s book Jesus and John Wayne clarifies the roots of the unholy marriage between Christianity and American politics. As a Christian, I was appalled but unsurprised that racism and the quest for political power and control were involved in fanning the flames of this idolatrous movement. All I could say was, Lord, help us!
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is a poignant story of the terrors immigrants face when coming to this country and why many are willing to undertake the harrowing journey. Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, it’s worth reading the book to gain perspective on why people are willing to risk everything, including a ride on “La Beastia,” for a better life.
Non Fiction
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, Adam Higginbotham
The Power of Saying No: The New Science of How to Say No That Puts You in Charge of Your Life, Vanessa Patrick
How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement, Fredrik deBoer
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted A Faith and Fractured A Nation, Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It, Richard V. Reeves
Note: If you have a son, know someone with a son, or have young men in your life that you love, then you MUST read this book!
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