Student blogger Brandy Darling (HNC Certificate '20 + SAIS MA '21) writes about a fulfilling book club she joined during quarantine that has been a great source of self-care and personal growth for her.
Quarantine offered me much time to participate in many modes of self-care and reflection. I began meditating and doing yoga daily. Some days I would take calming baths and other days I would check up on friends and family. While reflecting, I realized that while I had been so focused on international issues, I was losing the strong attachment I have to my own people. Being an African American is the most important part of my identity and I realized that I needed new ways to engage with my community. Lo and behold, three of my college friends created a book club for black people to read books written by black authors. Our Elevated Shelf is an Instagram-ran book club “for millennials that are ready to elevate oneself through reading and discussion”. We meet weekly to discuss assigned sections and guided questions. Currently, most members are black women and we have read books written by black women, however, the club is open to all black people and black authors.
The first book we read was a novel by Tayari Jones called An American Marriage. This love story is told from the perspective of three different characters, two of whom are a married black couple who were living the American Dream in the New South (post-Civil War American South) until the husband was convicted of a crime he did not commit. The book takes an intimate look at how their relationship was influenced by this tragic event and the lasting consequences it had. As a group, we talked about the larger themes of the book and took sides on which characters we liked based on events that transpired in the book.
Another book we read was Vibrate Higher Daily: Live Your Power by Lalah Delia. This book was a great source of comfort and reflection during the time of protests and looting throughout the country. The book challenges us through journaling, mantras, poems and the like to encourage people to live their lives to the highest potential. Through daily, intentional choices that we make, we are making a daily effort to live with a higher purpose instead of doing things that negatively affect us spiritually, emotionally, and even physically. While reading this book, many women in my group were able to take time to sit and journal about the paths they want to take in life. I personally even made a morning routine to start my days off with good intentions by drinking water, eating breakfast, reading a book and meditating. Though the things she reiterates in the book are simple, it is the daily reminders of your higher purpose that helped us learn how to be more intentional in the things we do.
Currently, we are beginning a book by Toni Morrison called The Source of Self-Regard, a non-fiction collection of essays, speeches and meditations that addresses a range of societal issues. I look forward to reading a Toni Morrison book because she is an icon in the African-American literary arts community. This book also interconnects domestic issues with international ones so I cannot wait to have interesting conversations with the group. As we continue to read books and dive into deep conversation about them, it’s warming to be able to engage in dialogue about domestic matters and even being able to connect it to the larger international world. Especially being in America, our domestic matters influence international media and create international movements. I’m learning that one doesn’t have to separate domestic and international interests, both can work together to make a well-rounded global citizen. This book club is my source of comfort in an increasingly chaotic time period in the world and is a wonderful reminder to remember who you are and what you cherish so that you can keep living purposefully. I look forward to remaining in the book club well past quarantine and becoming a better global citizen.
Written by Brandy Darling, HNC Certificate '20 + SAIS MA '21
