The 2024 election results may feel like a moment of profound disappointment and election grief for those who hoped for Kamala Harris to become president. For those who have invested in a vision of progress, justice, and inclusivity, the outcome of the election can trigger a range of emotions, including feelings of anger, grief, and frustration.
It’s hard when the political landscape seems to move in a direction that is misaligned with the values, hopes, and visions you hold dear. While these emotions are natural, they don’t have to paralyze you. Instead, they can be channeled into understanding, growth, and ultimately into action.
The books below offer pathways to help process the intense emotions that arise during times of political turmoil. Whether through the powerful insights of history, the inspiring examples of resistance, or the fictional worlds that offer allegory to our current political climate or help people imagine better futures, these texts can be an invitation to reflect, to heal, and to remember the fight for justice, equality, and change.
Reading these books can be a way to reclaim agency, turn anger into resilience, and find solace in a time of uncertainty.
Non-Fiction Books
The Politics of Trauma: Somatic, Healing, and Social Justice by Staci Haines
The author Staci Haines is a leader in somatics and embodiment to help heal trauma. The book is a deeper look into somatic therapy, which has been proven effective in helping individuals process and address intergenerational trauma.
In this book Staci goes beyond trauma experienced on an individual level and explores traumas impact through social, political, and economic lenses. Staci explores how healing trauma can also heal social connections. This book can be helpful if you’re feeling overwhelmed or in need of understanding the emotional undercurrents behind political movements.
Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne
Author, Kate Manne, is a leading researcher in social philosophy, focusing on feminist studies. Kate Manne’s book focuses on how misogyny not only impacts the individual but impacts people on a systemic level. The author explores how women are punished for not adhering to traditional gender roles and can often be silenced as a consequence.
Trump’s election, marked by his openly misogynistic policies, can feel like a dangerous, backward slide against the development of women’s rights. By exploring Manne’s study, readers can better understand how misogyny operates as a form of social control and how it influences the political landscape.
The Political Mind: A Cognitive Scientist’s Guide to Your Brain and Its Politics by George Lakoff
The author, George Lakoff, is a philosopher and cognitive linguist. In Lakoff’s book, he explores politicians and the media, using psychology to pull at the public’s emotions and sway voting. This book looks at how the human brain processes political data and shapes how people choose to vote.
Lakoff coins the term “strict father,” who is a politician emphasizing authority, discipline, and individual responsibility vs. the “nurturant parent,” who embodies empathy, care, and social responsibility. This book can support understanding on how politicians appeal to our emotions and values rather than logic.
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Manakem
Resmaa Manakem is a renowned psychotherapist focusing on trauma, specifically around topics of white supremacy and racism. Resmaa’s book explores racialized trauma on the body and provides somatic interventions to help heal trauma and provide grounding exercises.
This book further explores how generational trauma is experienced differently by BIPOC individuals and encourages collective and individual healing. Books like My Grandmother’s Hands explore racism through a lens of healing in the community and fostering connection.
Fiction Books
Animal Farm by George Orwell
You might have read Animal Farm as required high school reading, but revisiting it in the context of recent political events can give this book fresh significance. This allegorical tale of a farm taken over by its overambitious animals is a masterful critique of how power corrupts and how propaganda is manipulated to serve those in control.
Orwell’s depiction of the cycle of revolution and the betrayal of ideals offers a sobering lens through which to view contemporary politics, particularly in times of authoritarian rhetoric and the erosion of democratic norms. In a post-election context, Animal Farm prompts readers to reflect on the role of citizens in enabling—or challenging—those in power, making it a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the fragility of justice and accountability.
Parable Of The Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Set in a dystopian future America ravaged by climate change, economic disparity, and societal collapse, Parable of the Sower follows the journey of Lauren Olamina, a young woman with a unique condition called hyperempathy, which makes her acutely sensitive to others’ pain.
Lauren finds a group of individuals with a diverse background to which she finds herself a leader to bring hope and survival during times of uncertainty. Parable of the Sower forces readers to confront uncomfortable truths about power, survival, and the very nature of hope.
Through Lauren’s growth, we learn that change comes not only from grand revolutions but from small, everyday acts of resistance, compassion, and belief in a better world. The book offers a powerful meditation on the human capacity for transformation, urging readers to reconsider their role in shaping both their immediate communities and the future of the planet.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel where women are stripped of their rights and forced to give birth to children for the leaders of a new regime. Atwood’s narrative starkly reflects the fragility of women’s rights in a patriarchal society, illustrating how quickly freedoms can be erased when power is concentrated in the hands of a few.
However, the protagonist highlights acts of rebellion to regain her autonomy and that of the other handmaids. The novel emphasizes the disturbing effects of systemic control and the lengths individuals will go to resist the downfall of democracy, drawing parallels to modern-day struggles for gender equality and human rights.
There There by Tommy Orange
There There is a novel that follows twelve Native American characters living in Oakland, California, preparing to attend Big Oakland Powwow. The characters explore themes of Native American identity, loss of culture and identity, and systemic oppression.
Through their journeys, the novel delves into themes of generational trauma, the erosion of cultural traditions, and the enduring impact of systemic oppression on Indigenous communities. At the same time, it highlights the strength found in reclaiming heritage.
This novel reflects understanding one’s heritage while facing political cynicism and the power of reclaiming autonomy and cultural empowerment.
Knowledge can be Empowering
Many people have been overloaded with social media content post-election; taking a break from your phone and diving into an informative book can help process any feelings about the election and benefit your mental health by taking a much-needed break from electronic devices. Whether it’s a work of fiction that offers solace and escapism or a non-fiction book that provides context and insight into current events, reading can be a grounding and restorative practice during puzzling times.
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