This year has not been great, in any way, on a personal level. Just one bad thing after another. Severe illness, aging parent, friendship and relationship breakups, feeling lost career-wise, etc. And then there's the state of the world, which is also effecting me more than I'd like it to. My mental health is not great at the moment, which I am treating with therapy and medication. I am also trying to make small changes and create goals again, for example, spending less time online, socializing more, taking vitamin supplements, looking into going back to school to pursue a master's degree, looking into volunteering.

I can't quite focus on the books I typically escape into (fiction, literary fiction, fantasy, science fiction). But I am also not quite strong enough emotionally to read hard-hitting books either. For example, I am trying to read a book about self care for people with ADHD (which I was recently diagnosed with and not sure how to cope with yet). It's very helpful, but there's also a lot of information for me to process. I'm also reading The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Maté but it is emotionally very heavy. (And physically — it's a chonker of a book.)

Recent political events, and the general state of the world, have left me feeling angry, and even more sad, and isolated, and restless. I want to mobilize that energy into learning or escaping into something that is motivational, I suppose? Like, it will somehow validate my feelings, tell me I'm not alone, and give me hope, and maybe help me do something positive.

It can be fiction or nonfiction, any genre.

One example of a book that is close to what I'm looking for is Hope In The Dark by Rebecca Solnit (nonfiction).

I hope what I'm requesting makes sense. If not, please suggest me a book that gives you comfort and hope.

Thank you ✌️