My Book Recommendations

📖 This one hit close to home. I have an amazing mom, but I still related so much to how Jennette talks about trauma, control, and disordered eating. She's brutally honest but without being self-pitying. A lot of it felt like my own story. While it was heartbreaking at times, it also felt very empowering (in the darkest way possible).

🧠 This book changed how I think about purpose. The fact that Viktor Frankl found meaning while surviving a concentration camp is something I am still blown away by and have a difficult time wrapping my head around. The idea that stuck with me most is: we can't control what happens, but we get to choose how we respond. That idea shows up everywhere for me now, even in how I think about my own career that involves AI and ethics.

🎭 While Matthew Perry was an actor, I still related so much to his story. His humor helped me take in the heavier parts of his story. The whole thing is funny, flawed, and also painfully real, and he helped me realize that humor and trauma can coexist, which is what I continue to remind myself of in my more challenging moments.

🎬 Obviously, as a huge Harry Potter fan, I had to read this. I loved hearing about Tom's actual life beyond being Draco Malfoy. His honesty about fame, identity, and mental health made me respect him even more. One quote that really stuck with me is: "The only true currency we have in life is the effect on those we have around us." I think I literally talked about that quote on my podcast.

🌑 This harrowing book was life-changing. I re-read it at least once every couple of years. Every time, I still feel that same quiet, visceral grief that gives me chills. This is a haunting book that really opened my eyes to the horrors of the Holocaust. After this, I went down a rabbit hole: Nuremberg Trials, Milgram experiment, Minnesota Starvation Experiment. It also led me to other survivor stories like The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson (2013) and The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Hahn-Beer (1999). It also continues to help me realize how much of the present-day psychology and ethics of trauma trace back to what survivors like Wiesel lived through. Their voices still matter nearly 70 years later, just as much as ever.

🔥 "It was a pleasure to burn." That line has stayed with me since I read the book in middle school. The seashells, the Phoenix, the things that were symbols in the book remain relevant, perhaps even more so today. Eerie how Bradbury was practically able to see into the future and warn us about it.

🧪 I read this over winter break and it was just one of those light-hearted, feel-good books that I needed. It was playful and STEM-nerdy in the best way, with witty humor and a romantic twist. If you're into academia + romance, I highly recommend it!

⚡ I picked up Book 7 at the library when I was 8 because it looked massive and cool. I wanted to get the biggest book I could find (I guess Book 5 wasn't available haha). Then realized I probably should've started at Book 1. I ended up binge-reading the whole series after that over winter break. These books were (and still are) magic to me. They're part of my childhood.

💙 My therapist recommended this after I told him I wanted to understand attachment and trauma better, especially since I am an adoptee. It really helped me see how my past shows up in my adult relationships. I related to the book in ways I couldn't have imagined. It's not just relationship advice, but there are exercises that help me continue to learn how to actually connect with people and be vulnerable without it feeling so scary.

📘 My parents had me read this in middle school. I had no idea how much would actually stick with me. It has helped me shape how I think about responsibility, focus, integrity. Definitely on my re-read list :).

💬 This is a classic for a reason. Every time I flip through it, I'm reminded how timeless it is. We can all become better listeners and speakers and continue to make an effort to understand others. Ok, I think I'm gonna go read it again now lol.

🏆 My dad had me memorize parts of this when I was four. "Industriousness" was the first block I learned. I don't remember all of it now, but it shaped how I think about effort, focus, consistency, and life in general. I've been thinking about re-learning it as an adult, as the values in it are still foundational to who I am and continue to grow into.