The past couple weeks have been mentally intense for black people in the United States. Racism has thrust us into a torrent of emotions yet again: grief, rage, frustration and confusion. The modern day lynchings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have unfortunately proven yet again that America has some profound reckoning to do. While it has been refreshing to see many white people and non black people of colour finally acknowledging that drastic, extensive measures need to be taken, it is all just too much for black folks who have had to deal with and mourn these experiences repeatedly. Due to the continuous onslaught of racism, tending to our mental health is an absolute necessity. As much as I feel convicted to contribute to the fight for justice, I also know the importance of maintaining rituals of self care. Reading as always is my number one self care practice. Although most of the books I read tackle poignant social issues, I still find them a reprieve from the world's harshness.

I have compiled a list of the titles I have been reading and intend to read by the end of summer. So far, I have enjoyed /completed two of them but one has turned out to be a bit tougher to finish. Hopefully, I will feel up to providing in depth reviews of at least these three later. For now, here is my Summer Reading List.

*These summaries are the blurbs that I pulled from Amazon, i.e, the words are not mine. I have also condensed a few of the excerpts in order for them to fit the collages.

Have you read any of these books? What books do you plan to read this Summer?