Well-Read Black Girl Festival 2022 Picks

Rest Is Resistance

A Manifesto

By: Tricia Hersey
Narrated by: Tricia Hersey
Length: 5 hours 26 minutes

Disrupt and push back against capitalism and white supremacy by connecting to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice. Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to elevate rest as a form of resistance and a divine human right.

What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too... Read more

Bevelations

Lessons from a Mutha, Auntie, Bestie

By: Bevy Smith
Narrated by: Bevy Smith
Length: 8 hours 24 minutes

This program is read by the author.

From the host of the fabulous and popular show Bevelations on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy channel, Bevy Smith’s irreverent and inspiring memoir about learning to live a big, authentic, and unapologetic life—and how you can, too.

Bevy Smith was living what seemed like a glamorous dream as a fashion advertising... Read more

Well-Read Black Girl

Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves

By: Glory Edim
Narrated by: Glory Edim
Length: 5 hours 6 minutes

An inspiring collection of essays by black women writers, curated by the founder of the popular book club Well-Read Black Girl, on the importance of recognizing ourselves in literature.

Remember that moment when you first encountered a character who seemed to be written just for you? That feeling of belonging remains with readers the rest of... Read more

The Mamas

What I Learned About Kids, Class, and Race from Moms Not Like Me

By: Helena Andrews-Dyer
Narrated by: Helena Andrews-Dyer
Length: 8 hours 4 minutes

Can white moms and Black moms ever truly be friends? Not just mom friends, but like really real friends? And does it matter?

“Utterly addictive . . . Through her sharp wit and dynamic anecdotal storytelling, Helena Andrews-Dyer shines a light on the cultural differences that separate Black and white mothers.”—Tia Williams, New York Times... Read more

Life, I Swear

Intimate Stories from Black Women on Identity, Healing, and Self-Trust

By: Chloe Dulce Louvouezo
Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Length: 5 hours 13 minutes

Foreword by Elaine WelterothIn this stunning essay collection inspired by the popular podcast Life, I Swear, prominent Black women reflect on self-love and healing, sharing stories of the trials and tribulations they’ve faced and what has helped them confront pain, heal wounds, and find connection. 
With essays by Eniafebiafe Isis Adewale •... Read more

Heavy

An American Memoir

By: Kiese Laymon
Narrated by: Kiese Laymon
Length: 6 hours 17 minutes

“"I wanted to write a lie," Kiese Laymon says in the opening pages of his brutal, beautiful memoir, Heavy. The book is written in the second person, addressed to his mother, with whom Laymon shares a turbulent, intimate relationship. She feeds his mind with books, but critiques the way Laymon feeds his body as he struggles with his weight. She is... Read more

South to America

A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

By: Imani Perry
Narrated by: Imani Perry
Length: 16 hours 32 minutes

“An elegant meditation on the complexities of the American South—and thus of America—by an esteemed daughter of the South and one of the great intellectuals of our time. An inspiration.” —Isabel Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste: The Origins of Our DiscontentsAn essential, surprising journey... Read more

My People

Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives

By: Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Narrated by: Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Length: 13 hours 7 minutes

“Charlayne Hunter-Gault is an eminent Dean of American journalism, a vital voice whose work chronicled the civil rights movement and so much of what has transpired since then. My People is the definitive collection of her reportage and commentary. Spanning datelines in the American South, South Africa and points scattered in between, her work... Read more

Black Women Will Save the World

An Anthem

By: April Ryan
Narrated by: April Ryan
Length: 6 hours 4 minutes

In this long-overdue celebration of Black women’s resilience and unheralded strength, the revered, trailblazing White House correspondent reflects on “The Year That Changed Everything”—2020—and African-American women’s unprecedented role in upholding democracy.“I am keenly aware that everyone and everything has a story,” April D. Ryan... Read more

How We Heal

Uncover Your Power and Set Yourself Free

By: Alexandra Elle
Narrated by: Alexandra Elle
Length: 4 hours 47 minutes

Beloved wellness author and teacher Alexandra Elle shares this practical and empowering guide to self-healing.

In How We Heal, bestselling author Alexandra Elle offers a life-changing invitation to heal yourself and reclaim your peace. In these pages, readers will discover essential techniques for self-healing, including journaling rituals to... Read more

Golden Ax

Penguin Poets

By: Rio Cortez
Narrated by: Rio Cortez
Length: 1 hour 5 minutes

Longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry
Longlisted for the 2023 PEN Open Book Award
Finalist for the Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber First Book Award

“Outstanding . . . the poetry in these pages is intelligent, lyrical, as invested in the past as the present and future with witty nods to pop culture.” —Roxane Gay, author of... Read more

Big Girl

A Novel

By: Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts
Length: 12 hours 4 minutes

Exquisitely compassionate and witty, Big Girl traces the intergenerational hungers and desires of Black womanhood, as told through the unforgettable voice of Malaya Clondon.

In her highly anticipated debut novel, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan explores the perils—and undeniable beauty—of insatiable longing.

Growing up in a rapidly changing Harlem,... Read more