Nonfiction is one way we can get a glimpse into someone else’s world. This week’s theme for Nonfiction November—seeing through another’s eyes—reminds me that books have helped me understand more perspectives than I have access to in person. Books teach us so much about people of different cultures, politics, ages, abilities, and experiences.
And if we’re open to them, the diverse perspectives we meet in books can carry over to genuine connections in real life.
Here are 5 books I’ve read this year that showed me Diverse Perspectives.
The Migrants We Misjudge
Migration is one of the most natural human acts, yet certain people are punished for it while others are praised. It’s often the media we consume—not the actual facts—that determines how we view it.
In Dear America, renowned journalist Jose Antonio Vargas writes about his own difficult immigration story coming to America from the Philippines at 12 years old. But he also shares staggering statistics about immigration in general—like the billions in taxes undocumented workers pay each year and the reminder that “there is no line” here for people who want to become citizens.
“Even though it is an illegal act to enter the country without documents, it is not illegal for a person to be in the country without documents. That is a clear and crucial distinction. I am not a criminal. This is not a crime.”
As I read this book, I thought often of my own friends who have come to the United States to escape extreme violence in their own countries. I’m grateful they made it here alive.
The Justice We Skew
Arbitrary Death is quite an enlightening book about the death penalty in America.
The death penalty is often framed in legal absolutes, but author and prosecutor Rick Unklesbay—writing from firsthand experience—shows that decisions for a death sentence are actually quite arbitrary, including occasional wrongful sentencing of innocent people. Again and again he witnessed victims’ families feel no promised closure after decades of legal wrangling to see human executions.
“Are we willing to take the chance of an innocent person being executed? The alternative of life in prison without parole exists. Shouldn’t that be sufficient?”
The Struggles We Overlook
Disability Visibility opened my eyes to more struggles (practical and otherwise) than I ever knew existed for people living with disabilities. I picked this book from last year’s recommendations in Nonfiction November. So glad I did!
I learned so much from the multiple authors who share their real-life experiences in this collection of essays, including the perspective on the high cost of—and eventual resignation from—pursuing miracle cures:
“People ask me, ‘Have you tried yoga? Kombucha? This special water?’ And I don’t have the energy to explain that yes, I’ve tried them. I’ve tried crystals and healing drum circles and prayer and everything. What I want to try is acceptance. I want to see what happens if I can simply accept myself for who I am: battered, broken, hoping for relief, still enduring somehow.”
The Faith We Force
In How to End Christian Nationalism, Amanda Tyler writes from her research on Christian nationalism.
She concludes that when Christian nationalism abounds, there is no religious freedom for anyone. Why? Because . . .
“Religion that relies on state control for protection and enforcement is not a flourishing faith that can be freely chosen. . . . Christianity is not what unites us as Americans. Belonging in our society must never depend on how (or if) we worship, what we believe (or don’t), or how we identify (or don’t) religiously.”
Who is the “right person” to have a conversation with about Christian nationalism? Tyler says it’s someone you’re already connected to. Because if we can’t attend to it close to home, we won’t be able to end it in the public square. (Maybe not at the Thanksgiving table though?)
The “Them” We Mislabel
Finally, What’s Our Problem? makes a challenging suggestion: Get rid of our labels of Us vs. Them.
Tim Urban says it’s always a delusion to believe it’s only good guys vs. bad guys in this world. Rather, take the view that each person has the capacity to be both. So,
“There is no Them. Just one big Us.”
I don’t agree with everything Urban says in this book, but enough to wonder, as he suggests, if the real danger may not be that we just disagree, but that we’re losing trust in each other altogether.
Summary
Reading nonfiction through someone else’s eyes can be a shortcut to learn more compassion toward people different than us. Every person deserves to be treated with respect. The more we understand others’ lives and experiences, the easier it becomes to extend that respect.
But these particular books didn’t just help me see others more clearly—they also helped me see myself a little more clearly, too. For better and for worse. And isn’t that where real change begins?
What about you? Was there a book this year that opened your eyes to a perspective you hadn’t considered?
Share your thoughts and book suggestions in the comments.
It’s Week 4 of Nonfiction November. Find more book suggestions (and add your own) at Rebekah’s blog, She Seeks Nonfiction.
