Fall Reading Recommendations

If there is a book you would like to recommend, email us at nclibraryfriends@gmail.com.

Patty O’Brien
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
by Robert Kolker
This is the true story of an American family with six out of their twelve children diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the mid-1970’s, while the Galvins struggled with the societal stigma of mental illness, they became the first family to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. Unbeknownst to them, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today in the search for treatment and perhaps eradication of this disease. This unsettling book showcases, with great compassion, a family’s suffering, parental choices, and ultimate hope.


Fern Toner-Horisk
In Five Years
by Rebecca Serle
This whimsical tale is an unforgettable story of two best friends, Danni and Bella. It is described as “heartbreaking, redemptive, and authentic,” as it looks at destiny and our purpose on earth. It is a book you will read and immediately want to share with a friend.


Bruce Burk
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
by Carol Anderson
White rage is the blind anger some white members of our society experience when faced with African Americans seeking their rights as equal citizens. This book, written in 2016 by historian Carol Anderson, is a well-sourced account of systemic racism. It opens in 1861 and records the organized, political movement to suppress African Americans’ full participation in democracy over the course of history, to modern day. This is a sobering primer of reactions and rollbacks to the legal gains of African Americans by presidents, politicians, and pundits fueled by white rage. White rage and suppression continue today, making this text a timely addition to our national conversation about race in America.