Brave Book Pairings

By Louise Julig

Brave Book Pairings is a periodic feature of my Be Your Own Hero newsletter where I pair two recent reads and dig into how they inform each other and how the combination makes for more than the sum of its parts.

All purchases made on Bookshop help independent booksellers, and in 2023, any of my affiliate earnings from this shop will be donated to the Strong Hearted Native Women's Coalition in San Diego County.

Louise Julig (she/her/hers) is a creative nonfiction writer living in Southern California. Find her essays, performances and upcoming events at www.louisejulig.com.

Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology

Jess Zimmerman

$25.95 $24.13

A keen interrogation of the impact Greek female mythological creatures have had on Western culture, with a call to ways we might re-imagine and reclaim their legacy. A deft weaving of the author's personal experiences along with incisive yet accessible cultural criticism. More at https://louisejulig.substack.com/p/when-you-cant-un-see-the-patterns

Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History

Sam Maggs and Jenn Woodall

$16.99

An unabashed celebration of girl power that pushes back on the narrative that women must always be in competition with each other. More at https://louisejulig.substack.com/p/when-you-cant-un-see-the-patterns

There There

Tommy Orange

$17.00 $15.81

This literary fiction debut novel by Tommy Orange is set in contemporary Oakland, CA and follows a dozen or so "urban Indians" whose lives converge explosively at the Big Oakland Powwow. More at https://louisejulig.substack.com/p/brave-book-pairings-indigenous-peoples

The Marrow Thieves

Cherie Dimaline

$16.95 $15.76

Young Adult speculative fiction set in the near future in Canada where indigenous people are forced into hiding from government Recruiters for their bone marrow. More at https://louisejulig.substack.com/p/brave-book-pairings-indigenous-peoples

Louise Julig (she/her/hers) is a creative nonfiction writer living in Southern California who writes Be Your Own Hero, a newsletter about being brave in small moments. Find her essays, performances and upcoming events at www.louisejulig.com.