Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
Don and Mimi Galvin appeared to have the perfect American family, but behind closed doors, six of their twelve children were diagnosed with schizophrenia, leading to shocking violence and hidden abuse. Their story became a groundbreaking case for schizophrenia research, shaping decades of genetic studies and advancing understanding of the illness. Robert Kolker’s book reveals their extraordinary legacy of pain, resilience, and hope.
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
In 1969 Brooklyn, Deacon Sportcoat shocks his community by shooting a drug dealer in broad daylight, setting off a chain of events that ripple through the lives of neighbors, cops, mobsters, and churchgoers. James McBride’s Deacon King Kong weaves their interconnected stories, revealing hidden truths and exploring themes of change, compassion, and hope.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
In Caste, Isabel Wilkerson reveals America’s hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy shaping lives, power, and history beyond race or class. Linking caste systems in America, India, and Nazi Germany, she examines eight pillars of caste through deeply researched narratives and personal stories. Wilkerson explores its cultural, political, and health impacts while offering hope for unity and a shared humanity.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
An intimate story spanning three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century. Focused on fathers, sons, and America’s spiritual struggles. This profound novel captures the soul of America and will deeply move you.
Home by Marilynne Robinson
Home parallels Gilead, exploring family, faith, love, and redemption through the Boughton household. Glory Boughton returns to care for her dying father, joined by her troubled brother Jack, a prodigal son seeking peace with his past. Deeply moving and beautifully written, it is a powerful tale of reconciliation and universal emotions.
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Lila follows a homeless drifter who finds refuge in a small-town Iowa church, sparking a romance with minister John Ames and a journey to reconcile her hardscrabble past with her new life. Raised by a protective drifter, Lila’s harsh upbringing contrasts with Ames’s gentle faith, challenging her worldview. Marilynne Robinson revisits the world of Gilead in this profound and moving exploration of love, hardship, and redemption.
Jack by Marilynne Robinson
Jack tells the story of John Ames Boughton, a troubled minister’s son, and his forbidden romance with Della Miles, an African American teacher, in segregated postwar St. Louis. Their love, marked by beauty and struggle, highlights themes of racial inequality, faith, and the legacy of American history. This moving addition to the Gilead series is one of Robinson’s finest works.
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
In post-Civil War Georgia, freed brothers Prentiss and Landry find work with grieving farmers George and Isabelle Walker, while dreaming of reuniting with their mother. Meanwhile, a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers sparks chaos, reshaping the town of Old Ox. Nathan Harris’s The Sweetness of Water is a powerful debut about love, resilience, and humanity during Reconstruction.
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
Ailey Pearl Garfield, shaped by W.E.B. Du Bois’s “Double Consciousness,” struggles with belonging as she navigates her northern upbringing and summers in Georgia. To reconcile her identity, she uncovers her family’s deep Southern history—stories of oppression, resilience, and survival spanning generations. Her journey reflects the complex legacy of America itself.
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
Astrobiologist Theo Byrne navigates grief while raising his troubled son, Robin, a sensitive boy struggling with emotional control. Desperate to help, Theo turns to experimental neurofeedback using his late wife’s brain patterns. Richard Powers weaves a poignant tale of love, nature, and the challenge of preparing children for a fragile planet.
The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self by Martha Beck
Martha Beck explores how aligning with our true selves can cure psychological suffering and bring joy. Using Dante’s Divine Comedy as a guide, she outlines a four-step process to reclaim purpose, heal emotionally, and live authentically. Beck’s practical approach helps readers break free from societal pressures and embrace genuine happiness.
Finding Me by Viola Davis
Finding Me is the story of Davis’s journey from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls to the stage in New York City, as she searched for her purpose and voice in a world that often overlooked her. Written with radical honesty, it’s a reflection on how we reinvent our stories to fit into a judgmental world, and a reminder that true self-love comes from embracing who we really are.
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
Kiara and her brother Marcus are struggling to survive in a run-down Oakland apartment complex, with Marcus chasing rap stardom while Kiara works to make ends meet. When a chance encounter leads to a nightcrawling job, Kiara’s life takes a darker turn, especially when she becomes entangled in a police corruption scandal as a key witness.
The Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row by Jarvis Jay Masters
The powerful memoir of death row inmate Jarvis Masters, chronicling his tumultuous life from an abusive childhood to a life of crime and imprisonment. With poignant and soul-stirring moments, Masters reflects on his struggles, eventual embrace of Buddhism, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Demon Copperhead tells the story of a boy born to a teenage single mother in southern Appalachia, navigating the challenges of foster care, child labor, addiction, and loss. With sharp wit and an unflinching voice, he confronts his invisibility in a society that neglects rural communities. Inspired by Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, Barbara Kingsolver’s novel speaks to a new generation of “lost boys” and the struggles of those born into difficult, unchanging circumstances.
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain
Susan Cain explores the profound emotions of sorrow, longing, and the awareness of passing time, showing how these feelings can lead to creativity, compassion, and deeper human connection. By examining the power of bittersweetness, she reveals it as a way of being that helps us transcend personal pain and find kinship with others. Through research, storytelling, and memoir, Cain demonstrates how embracing our sorrow can transform it into strength, creativity, and love, especially in times of societal discord and personal struggle.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Tells the story of William Waters, who escapes a tragic childhood through basketball and finds solace in his relationship with Julia Padavano and her close-knit family. However, dark secrets from William’s past threaten their future and disrupt the bond between Julia and her sisters. This moving novel explores the complexities of love, loyalty, and family, showing how deep connections can endure, even through life’s most difficult trials.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
The Covenant of Water spans from 1900 to 1977, following three generations of a family in Kerala, India, plagued by a mysterious affliction: in every generation, at least one member dies by drowning. The story begins with a twelve-year-old girl, who, after her father’s death, is sent to marry a much older man and later becomes the matriarch, Big Ammachi. Over the course of her extraordinary life, she experiences profound joy, loss, and personal growth, with her unwavering faith and love as guiding forces. This novel beautifully blends history, medical progress, and the enduring strength of family.
Wellness by Nathan Hill
When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the ’90s, they bond over a shared passion for Chicago’s underground art scene. Two decades later, now married with children, they face unexpected challenges, including cults, polyamorous relationships, and social media conflicts. As they grapple with unfulfilled dreams and painful pasts, they must each embark on personal journeys of self-discovery to save their marriage.
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
A haunting reimagining of American slavery, following Annis, a young woman sold from her father’s plantation in the Carolinas to the brutal sugar fields of Louisiana. As she endures the horrific journey, Annis draws strength from memories of her mother and African heritage, while the novel explores themes of love, loss, and spiritual rebirth. Jesmyn Ward’s fourth novel is a powerful blend of myth, history, and Black American resilience, inscribing grief and joy into the land itself.
The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin
The story of Lara Love Hardin, a suburban mom who is caught stealing her neighbors’ credit cards to fund her heroin addiction. After being convicted and sent to prison, Lara navigates the brutal class system of jail, ultimately rising to a position of power and healing others along the way. Upon release, she reinvents herself as a successful ghostwriter, but her past follows her, and she must confront her shame and seek redemption in a society that offers few second chances.
Long Island by Colm Toibin
Colm Tóibín revisits Eilis Lacey, the heroine of his earlier novel Brooklyn, now in her forties, living in Long Island with her Italian-American husband, Tony, and their two teenage children. In 1976, Eilis’s quiet life is upended when an Irishman arrives with news that Tony has fathered a child with another woman, and the child will be left on Eilis’s doorstep. As Eilis grapples with this revelation, the novel explores the unspoken longings, silences, and the complex emotional ties that define her life, as well as her return to Ireland to confront her past.
Familiaris by David Wroblewski
A captivating novel set in 1919, following John Sawtelle and his newlywed wife, Mary, as they embark on an adventurous journey to Wisconsin’s north woods, hoping to build a new life. Along with their two best friends and three dogs, they seek meaning and purpose, but they soon discover that the wilderness is more mysterious and dangerous than they had imagined. The novel weaves through various episodes, including a small-town automobile factory, a firestorm, a WWII dog training program, and a deep exploration of love, friendship, family dynamics, and the ancient bond between humans and dogs. The story is both heartwarming and poignant, full of humor, mystery, and enchanting moments.
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, where familiar characters like Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, and Bob Burgess navigate the complexities of life, love, and loss. Set against the backdrop of autumn, the novel explores the impact of a shocking crime—a murder investigation in which Bob, the town lawyer, becomes involved as he defends a lonely man accused of killing his mother. Meanwhile, Lucy, who lives near her ex-husband, develops a deep friendship with Bob, and the two reflect on their pasts, regrets, and the meaning of their lives. Lucy also connects with Olive, who now resides in a retirement community, and the two women share stories about the lives of others, imbuing them with significance. Strout’s novel is a poignant exploration of love in its many forms and the connections that bind us, all told with her trademark empathy and insight into the human condition.
From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley & Riley Keough
Lisa Marie Presley shares her story for the first time, narrated through tapes she recorded before her death, with her daughter Riley Keough completing the memoir. The book reveals intimate details of Lisa Marie’s life, from growing up at Graceland to her struggles with addiction, grief, and motherhood. Written in both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voices, it is a deeply personal and moving account of their unique relationship and Lisa Marie’s final wish to share her story.
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