Submitted by Robbie Marshall, Brainerd Memorial Library.
Books of Hope for Challenging Times
If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by angry, grim news, turn to these books to lighten your spirits and restore hope. Chosen by Brainerd Library Friends, staff, and trustees, these fiction and non-fiction titles feature courage, redemption, positivity and insight, and just might make your day.
Pick up a copy of the list [with full descriptions] at Brainerd Memorial Library and check out some of these wonderful titles while you’re there!
Fiction
All the Light We Cannot See: by Anthony Doerr
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night: by Mike Haddon [Adult & YA]
A Gentleman in Moscow: by Amor Towles
Hannah Coulter: by Wendell Berry
The Kite Runner: by Khaled Hosseini
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand : by Helen Simonson
Peace Like the River: by Leif Enger
A Prayer for Owen Meany: by John Irving
The Orphan Train: by Christine Baker Kline
The Secret Life of Bees: by Sue Monk Kidd
Women in Sunlight: by Frances Mayes
Nonfiction
All the Odes: by Pablo Neruda
Almost Everything: Notes on Hope: by Anne Lamott
The Blind Side: by Michael Lewis
The Book Of Joy: by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
The Book of Separation: by Tova Mirvis (Memoir)
Born Standing Up: by Steve Martin
Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone: by Brene Brown
A Country Doctor’s Notebook: by Mikhail Bulgakoo
The Cruelest Journey: by Kira Salak
Driving Miss Norma: An Inspiring Story About What Really Matters at the End of Life: by Tim Baeurschmidt & Ramie Liddle
Gratitude Diaries: How a Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life: by Janice Kaplan
Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project: by Jack Mayer
The More of Less: by Joshua Becker
The Power of Positive Thinking: by Norman Vincent Peale
The Tattooist of Auschwitz: by Heather Morris
Young adult
The Hate U Give: by Angela Thomas
I Kill the Mockingbird: by Paul Acampora
Labyrinth Lost: by Zoraida Cordova
Pay It Forward: by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Poet X: by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Thief: by Megan Whalen Turner
With the Fire on High: by Elizabeth Acevedo
