One of my big aspirations for 2020 was to read more. I committed to 20 minutes per day and a minimum of one book per month. Being the overachiever I am, I am already four books (along with the manuscript of a dear friend and a dozen science journal articles) in.

I forgot how much I enjoyed this hobby but also how much you grow from reading, whether is is classic literature or a children’s book (I don’t count those on my list!) There are always new perspectives to gain. I wanted to briefly share some of my insights with you because I genuinely feel that reading and expanding our horizons is a critical part of a healthy lifestyle and I hope that, after reading this, you will understand why.

1. Surviving Hitler: A Boy In the Nazi Death Camps by Andrea Warren

I stumbled across this book in the children’s section of the local library while out with my son. After reading a few paragraphs on a random page, I spent his free-play time during our next several library visits polishing it off. It follows Jack, a 12 year old who was a victim in the Holocaust. Despite staring death in the face on a daily basis and enduring torture so unfathomable that I had to cry in the library bathroom on numerous occasions, Jack reminded me of what a human being is capable of with nothing more than hope and determination.

2. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell

After the graphic and heart-breaking accounts of my last selection, I needed a lighter subject matter. I have loved Bruce Campbell since childhood when I wanted to marry his character, Brisco County Jr. Having acquired this book a few years ago at an autograph signing but never having read it, I decided to give it a chance. I often say that we frequently look at the highlight reels of others while focusing on our own behind the scenes. We look at someone successful and assume they just woke up that way one day. While that does happen, Bruce reminded me that the road to success is more often paved with a million rejections and failures before snagging that one break. Which even then doesn’t magically transform your life into a perfect existence without struggle. Seeing the perseverance that went into the characters that are so dearly beloved by me humanized Bruce and encouraged me to remember that no one wins 100% of the time.

3. The Heart of A Woman by Maya Angelou

I hope that I will never know what it means to be oppressed for having a vagina or having higher melanin levels that make my skin a pigment that society doesn’t like. Even with my sexuality or mental health struggles and the judgment that I have been served based on them, I still would never for a second purport that I understand the struggles that many are faced with because of arbitrary traits that are deemed unsuitable. The way activists protest today, both online and in the streets, is ineffective and does not result in the transformative social change that we desire nor does it provide outsiders with a fair and balanced perspective. Maya, on the other hand, did a wonderful job of bringing me along on her journey of discrimination as I rooted for her as a mother trying to raise a well-rounded son who was destined to be met with resistance and an outspoken woman in a time period where such a thing was unheard of.

4. The Giver by Lois Lowry

Yes, this is YA fiction. I also read the Hunger Games trilogy last year during a series of international flights. Sue me. I had three days left in the month and wanted a quick read. While the plot was loose and the character development lacking, it really left me reflecting on how dreary life would be without choice. Without individuality. Without the dew drops on the weeds that I have become obsessed with or the vibrancy of color in a sunset. There was a time where all I wanted was to fit in. Now, I can’t think of a worse fate than being like everyone else. While there are certain aspects of this dystopia that I find to actually be useful, such as their insistance on precision of language, I am more left wandering around barefoot in the grass (yes, literally) realizing that my existence could be a boring series of empty gestures and menial tasks. However, I have the wonderful capability to connect to so much beauty and wonder in every tiny thing I do that I almost feel now that I don’t have enough time in my day to get all I want done and still have time to get lost in the intricate swirls of tree bark that I hadn’t noticed since my childhood.