I love to read and when I read, I often take notes. It’s very similar to when you give a mouse a cookie. So, I’ve put together this list of recommended books to support you on your journey to educate yourself about human trafficking.
As a bonus, this list includes more than just books about trafficking. The ones in bold are 5/5 stars on the rating scale.
- In Pursuit of Love: One Woman’s Journey from Trafficked to Triumphant by Rebecca Bender
- Human Trafficking by Cheryl Taylor Page and Bill Piatt
- The Essential Abolitionist: What You Need to Know about Human Trafficking in Modern Slavery by John Vanek
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- Don’t Rush to Get Old by Olivia Jackson
- Lived Through This: Listening to the Stories of Sexual Violence Survivors by Anne K. Ream
- Hope Looks Like You by Eileen Alvarado
- Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight by Stephanie Hepburn and Rita J. Simon
- Renting Lacy: A Story Of America’s Prostituted Children (A Call to Action) by Linda Smith and Cindy Coloma
- The Slave Across the Street by Theresa Flores
- Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale: A Memoir by Rachel Lloyd
- In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do to Stop It by Nita Belles
- Sex Trafficking in the United States: Theory, Research, Policy, and Practice by Andrea Nichols
- Scars and Stilettos by Harmony Dust
- Men Too: Unspoken Truths About Male Sexual Abuse by Dr. Kelli Palfy
- Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
- Strength Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie
- Beginner’s Pluck by Liz Forkin Bohannon
- Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
- Rising Strong by Brene Brown
- Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins
- Say It In Six: How to Say Exactly What You Mean in 6 Minutes or Less by Ron Hoff
- Board Members Rule: How to Be a. Strategic Advocate for Your Nonprofit by Ann W. Lehman and Robert M. Zimmerman
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
- The Deepest Well by Nadine Burke Harris
- Gaslighting: A Step-by-Step Recovery Guide to Heal from Emotional Abuse and Build Healthy Relationships
- The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz
- It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn
- The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay, Jeffery C. Woods, and Jeffery Brantley
- Teens Who Hurt by Kenneth Hardy
- Left of Bang by Patrick Van Horne and Jason A. Riley
- Mending the Soul: Understanding and Healing Abuse by Steven R. Tracy
- What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry
- The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida
- Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Barry M. Prizant
- Strength Based Parenting from Gallup by Mary Rechmeyer and Jennifer Robison
- The Anxiety Cure for Kids by Elizabeth DuPont Spencer, Robert L. DuPont, and Caroline M. DuPont
- The Power of Showing Up by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
- Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
- Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
- Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
- This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
- Meet Me Halfway by Jennifer Morales
- An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
- The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir by Wayétu Moore
- They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan by Alephonsion Deng, Benson Deng, Benjamin Ajak, with Judy A. Bernstein
- I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
- Heavy by Kiese Laymon
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- The Girls with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
- Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
- The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper
- The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper
- All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
- Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Disclaimer: This may be an unpopular opinion but I firmly believe that “reading” includes listening to an audiobook. Also, let’s normalize going to the library, book swaps, and thrifted books!
Check back often, I’ll be adding to this list the more I read.
