The Return to Reading: Bibliotherapy as Resistance, Healing, and Belonging
Let's Read Together 🤎
Reading is a lost art because many people are too busy to sit down and open something good. The world has pushed the general population toward an attention span of about 30 seconds, and diagnoses of ADHD continue to rise as more people struggle to focus for longer periods of time. Not being able to engage with reading is contributing to a variety of mental health challenges including depression. Beyond ADHD, more people are struggling with their interest in life because they are not engaging in positive activities that build a sense of belonging. This deficit is contributing to increased addiction and mental health concerns. We have to get back to reading. Reading for leisure has long been treated as something uncool by society and peers since grade school, but the truth is that spending adequate time reading supports growth, reflection, and healthier life outcomes.
Even if someone is not reading purely for entertainment, the ongoing ability to read for emotional support is important. Although many members of the Black community do not always agree with therapy, it is still important to build spaces for reading sessions, tribes, and groups. The art of bibliotherapy is something that needs to be brought back in style somehow, some way. Through bibliotherapy, we can deepen our connection to one another and explore themes that many of us question.
In 2023, I studied All About Love by Bell Hooks alongside The Well Collective, and it was a beautiful experience to discuss a shared story with women in my community. We talked about the injustices we face and the importance of upholding the values of love to bring people together, because harmony is what it is all about. We need to get back to sharing books together, exploring themes, and talking about what we face in our day to day reality.
That is why this year I have shifted from trying to reach a strict reading goal to pushing the narrative that we can read for empowerment. This is not about finishing one book per month. It is about picking up a book when we need fulfillment or simply a reminder of who we are and where we come from.
Right now, my focus has been on African American identity and what it is made of. Our lost history, the forgotten facts about our existence, how we present ourselves through the garbs we choose, and how we love one another. There are no set reading dates. Instead, there are books and topics offered for inspiration. Follow me on this journey through the rest of 2026 as I blog my deepest thoughts, grow, and transform in front of you with books that support my Master’s in Clinical Counseling studies.
Today, we begin bibliotherapy together.
Take Care,
Sierra Ayonnie
