Over the summer, I set about fixing my mental health. I had a list of goals — one being to read three books over summer vacation. As I packed up my library to move back to Clemson, I counted eleven new books. While reading new content was great for my brain and attention span, the best part of my reading journey was sharing the joy and excitement with my friends. Here is a list of five of the best books I’ve read over the years that have changed my life:
Fiction
- “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
With help from Taylor Swift and Reese Witherspoon, “Where the Crawdads Sing” took hold of the summer. The story gets even better as you google the author, who has come into rough waters as her past has come into the spotlight. I highly recommend this novel! It has everything —family dynamics, independence, mystery, romance and a last-page twist.
- “People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry
I read this book on vacation, which was quite fitting, and I could not put it down. The novel is such a sweet story of friendship and love! I suggest it if you are trying to get out of a reading slump because the plot develops quickly, making it an easy read.
- “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote
I read this book for an English class my sophomore year — shoutout to Allen Swords for the assignment! The novel is inspired by a true story about the gruesome murder of a Kansas family. Capote dedicated six years of research involving interviews with friends and neighbors of the victims and the two captured murderers. “In Cold Blood”is considered a pioneering work in the true crime genre. The novel reignited my passion for the true crime stories that Nancy Drew awakened in elementary school, and I highly recommend it!
Non-Fiction
- “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence” by Anna Lembke
This book is incredibly relevant to the Clemson student community! This book is about pleasure, but it’s also about pain. Our society is searching for pain-free lives, but our brain knows we need equal amounts of pleasure and pain to maintain equilibrium. The author states that we may need to face pain in our lives to find equilibrium, rather than overmedicating ourselves with distraction.
- “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” by Bessel van der Kolk
Trauma is a fact of life. This book represents everything that is both creatively wonderful and pseudo-scientifically horrendous about trauma research. While this book is hefty and very psychological, the content can be relevant in understanding yourself, or those closest to you who are dealing with trauma and healing from it.
