Team Picks for Summer Reading, Listening & Watching
By Petra Uzelman, on behalf of the BC Brain Wellness Program team
The BC Brain Wellness Team has put their heads together to offer the wellness community our favorite books, talks, podcasts and wellness activities just in time for summer!
Reading — Non-Fiction
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson
(New York Times Bestseller)
A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.
Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever. (Goodreads.com)
Educated, by Tara Westover
Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard.
Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it. (Goodreads.com)
What We Will Become: A Mother, a Son, and a Journey of Transformation, by Mimi Lemay
A mother’s memoir of her transgender child’s odyssey, and her journey outside the boundaries of the faith and culture that shaped her.
From the age of two-and-a-half, Jacob, born “Em,” adamantly told his family he was a boy. While his mother Mimi struggled to understand and come to terms with the fact that her child may be transgender, she experienced a sense of déjà vu—the journey to uncover the source of her child’s inner turmoil unearthed ghosts from Mimi’s past and her own struggle to live an authentic life. (Goodreads.com)
Reading — Fiction
Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
(#1 New York Times Bestseller)
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. (Goodreads.com)
Adapted into a show on Amazon as well, that is equally entertaining!
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson
(International Bestseller)
After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he’s still in good health. A big celebration is in the works for his 100th birthday, but Allan really isn’t interested (and he’d like a bit more control over his alcohol consumption), so he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey. It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: he has not only witnessed some of the most important events of the 20th century, but actually played a key role in them.
Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world. (Goodreads.com)
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood
For those fellow science fiction lovers!
Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining. (Goodreads.com)
The 1st book in the MaddAddam trilogy
A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
(International Bestseller)
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations. (Goodreads.com)
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrick Backman
Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy, standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy. She is also Elsa's best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother's stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.
When Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa's greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother's letters lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and totally ordinary old crones, but also to the truth about fairytales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other. (Goodreads.com)
Britt-Marie Was Here, by Fredrik Backman
When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs? (Goodreads.com)
Pro Tip! Looking for a free way to read this summer? Check out the Vancouver Public Library’s collection of free ebooks here. All you need is a library account to sign up. One of our team member’s recommends downloading the Libby app that connects with the VPL’s collection of ebooks for a great e-reading experience.
Need help setting it up? Give your local library branch a call for assistance.
Listening & Watching
Inspiring, Heartfelt Talks by Professor Brené Brown
The Power of Vulnerability – a 20 minute TedTalk
Brené Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share. (TedTalks.com)
Find it here.
Brene Brown: the Call to Courage – 1.25 hour Netflix special
"With humour and empathy, Brene Brown discusses what it takes to choose courage over comfort in a culture defined by scarcity, fear and uncertainty" (Netflix.com)
Requires a Netflix subscription to watch – simply enter the title into the search bar
Podcasts
Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations (OWN)
Awaken, discover and connect to the deeper meaning of the world around you with SuperSoul. Hear Oprah’s personal selection of her interviews with thought-leaders, best-selling authors, spiritual luminaries, as well as health and wellness experts. All designed to light you up, guide you through life’s big questions and help bring you one step closer to your best self (OWN)
Includes a 3 part series with Brene Brown we recommend!
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts
TED Talks Daily
Every weekday, TED Talks Daily brings you the latest talks in audio. Join host and journalist Elise Hu for thought-provoking ideas on every subject imaginable -- from Artificial Intelligence to Zoology, and everything in between -- given by the world's leading thinkers and creators. With TED Talks Daily, find some space in your day to change your perspectives, ignite your curiosity, and learn something new. (TED.com)
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts
Stuff You Should Know (IHeartRadio)
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered (IHeartRadio)
Free episodes on their website here, or listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts
Science Vs (Gimlet Media)
There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Science Vs is the show from Gimlet Media that finds out what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between (Gimlet Media)
Free episodes on the website, here, or listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
Join researcher and #1 New York Times best-selling author Brené Brown as she unpacks and explores the ideas, stories, experiences, books, films, and music that reflect the universal experiences of being human, from the bravest moments to the most brokenhearted. (Brenebrown.com)
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts
“The Science of Wellbeing” Course
Offered for FREE by Yale University
In this course you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life. (Coursera.org)
Check it out / sign up here
We want to hear from you!
Do you have a favorite book, movie, inspirational talk or podcast you’d like to share? Leave us a comment below!