Social Justice Resource Library

Big Little Lies is a contemporary fiction novel set in the Pirriwee Peninsula of Sydney, Australia. The story unfolds through the perspectives of three main characters: Madeline Mackenzie, Celeste Wright, and Jane Chapman, each grappling with personal struggles while navigating the complexities of motherhood and community dynamics. As the story progresses, the lives of these women intertwine, revealing the "little lies" they tell themselves and each other to cope with their realities. The tension escalates as the school community grapples with bullying, domestic violence, and the complexities of friendship and motherhood.

It is a powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity that asks questions about race, class, and gender with characteristic subtly and grace. In Morrison's acclaimed first novel, Pecola Breedlove--an 11-year-old Black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment.

Mad Honey is a novel that intricately weaves themes of identity, abuse, and the complexities of relationships through a gripping murder mystery. The story centers on Olivia McAfee, a divorced mother who has returned to her childhood home in New Hampshire with her son Asher after escaping an abusive marriage. Asher, now 18, is dating Lily Campanello, a new girl in town who has her own troubled past. The narrative alternates between Olivia's and Lily's perspectives, allowing readers to see the events surrounding Lily's tragic death from both angles. Mad Honey is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the secrets that shape our identities, culminating in a surprising twist that challenges initial perceptions of guilt and innocence.

The book is Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly. She wrote the true stories that weren't being told: the stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Of living on food stamps and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) coupons to eat. Of the government programs that provided her housing, but that doubled as halfway houses. The aloof government employees who called her lucky for receiving assistance while she didn't feel lucky at all. She wrote to remember the fight, to eventually cut through the deep-rooted stigmas of the working poor.

An award-winning journalist's intimate investigation of the true scope of domestic violence, revealing how the roots of America's most pressing social crises are buried in abuse that happens behind closed doors. We call it domestic violence. We call it private violence. Sometimes we call it intimate terrorism. But whatever we call it, we generally do not believe it has anything at all to do with us, despite the World Health Organization deeming it a "global epidemic." In No Visible Bruises, journalist Rachel Louise Snyder gives context for what we don't know we're seeing. Through the stories of victims, perpetrators, law enforcement, and reform movements from across the country, Snyder explores the real roots of private violence, its far-reaching consequences for society, and what it will take to truly address it.

Trauma and Recovery brings a new level of understanding to a set of problems usually considered individually. Herman draws on her own cutting-edge research in domestic violence as well as on the vast literature of combat veterans and victims of political terror, to show the parallels between private terrors such as rape and public traumas such as terrorism. The book puts individual experience in a broader political frame, arguing that psychological trauma can be understood only in a social context. Meticulously documented and frequently using the victims' own words as well as those from classic literary works and prison diaries, Trauma and Recovery is a powerful work that will continue to profoundly impact our thinking.

When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy is a poignant and harrowing exploration of domestic violence, narrated from the perspective of an unnamed young Indian woman. The story begins with her marriage to a university professor, whom she initially admires for his intellect and political engagement. However, shortly after the wedding, the relationship deteriorates into a cycle of emotional and physical abuse, stripping her of her identity and freedom.
The narrative delves into the complexities of her situation, highlighting the insidious nature of her husband’s control, which escalates from emotional manipulation to severe violence, including rape.

Written by two women with a wealth of experience supporting victims of abuse, When Love Hurts introduces exercises and resources to help you make sense of your relationship, addressing all forms of abuse, including verbal, emotional, financial, sexual, and physical. This practical guidebook is a supportive and nonjudgmental friend to those who don't know where to turn and is filled with stories from women who have been in the same position. By drawing on your own wisdom and that of the many others who have shared your experience, When Love Hurts can help you find the answers you have been looking for.