April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a time to educate, advocate, and support survivors in their healing journey. At Sierra Community House, we are dedicated to fostering a community of safety, resilience, and empowerment. Books can be a powerful tool for deepening our understanding, offering comfort, and inspiring action. This month, our staff is sharing their top book recommendations related to sexual assault awareness, trauma recovery, and advocacy. We hope these books provide insight, encouragement, and hope to those who need it.
To see our staff’s book recommendations in person, visit the Incline Public Library, Truckee Library or Word after Word Bookstore in Truckee.
Recommended Reads
All About Love, Bell Hooks
Recommended by: Jessica Haller, Senior Accountant
Why I Recommend It: During SAAM month, it is important to read about Sexual Assault. I also think it is important to examine the modern dominant culture and the flaws within it that lend to abuse, dominance, and lack of empathy. Bell Hooks examines the lack of care, compassion, and unity in our modern nation in her trilogy Love Song to the Nation, which begins with the first book of the series: All About Love. In this book, Hooks offers insight into society’s failure to provide a model for learning love and highlights the cultural paradigm that “ideal love is infused with sex and desire”. Hooks offers an alternative, radical approach to love that offers redemption, healing, and “asserts the place of love to end struggles between individuals, in communities, and among societies”.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Besser Van Der Kolk
Recommended by: Catalina McFarland, Marketing and Development Coordinator
Why I Recommend It: This book explores the profound impact of trauma on the body and mind, highlighting how traumatic experiences can physically alter the brain and lead to long-term psychological effects. Especially during SAAM, learning about the effects of trauma and how to heal them in the mind and body can make a difference to help yourself and survivors.
Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide, Andrea Smith
Recommended by: Paul Bancroft, Executive Director
Why I Recommend It: This book is must read for anyone wanting to understand the connections between violence against native women and violence against the earth. Sexual Assault is much more than a “crime of passion”, it is a tool of genocide that continues to this day. Smith makes clear the horrors and complexities of sexual violence against native women and how differences between tribal and non-tribal enforcement is used to not hold perpetrators accountable. Smith concludes with, “ The project of creating a new world governed by an alternative system not based on domination, coercion, and control does not depend on an unrealistic goal of being able to fully describe a utopian society….nevertheless, we can be part of a collective , creative process that can bring us closer to a society not based on domination”.
Know My Name, by Chanel Miller
Recommended by: Shannon Falker, Communications and Operations Director
Why I Recommend It: An incredibly powerful written by a victim of assault who was once referred to as Emily Doe. I will always carry this story with me. It has challenged me to interrogate my own assumptions, strive for more empathy, deconstruct the narratives our society has built around not only sexual assault but also the legal system and what ‘justice’ really looks like. To put people first, rather than power structures. To question how something seems and see it for what it really is.
Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement, Tarana Burke
Recommended by: Dom Apollon, Community Education & Prevention Manager
Why I Recommend It: The founder of the Me Too Movement shares her life story, filled with content to inform the “courageous conversations” we need to have to put an end to sexual assault. From navigating the unwarranted self-blame she lived with as a survivor of child molestation, to frank descriptions of how devaluing it felt to have been called some version of ‘ugly’ since [she] was a teenager”, to discussion of why the voice-giving, viral #MeToo moment led to a greater outpouring of support and validation from White women than from Black women, and other Women of Color, Burke provides inspiration to readers to help transform pain into power.
Why These Books Matter
Books have the power to shed light on difficult topics, helping survivors feel seen and heard while equipping allies with the knowledge to support them. Whether through personal stories, expert insights, or advocacy-focused literature, these books align with our mission at Sierra Community House: to provide compassionate support and resources to those affected by sexual violence. We invite you to explore these recommendations, share them with others, and continue the conversation on creating a world free from violence.
If you or someone you know needs support, we are here to help. Visit our website or reach out to learn more about our services and resources.
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