Some of our staff and community members have provided recommendations for books, movies, documentaries, podcasts, and learning resources for our community. Many of these resources provide insight into topics related to the Catherine McAuley Center mission, including (but not limited to): the refugee/immigrant experience, women’s equality and empowerment, language, and diversity.
Please note: These were submitted by members of the CMC community. CMC does not endorse any particular point of view shared in these resources. Viewer discretion is advised in some cases- please view synopsis at links provided before viewing/reading.
Books (non-fiction)
- We, the Interwoven: An Anthology of Bicultural Iowa – Vol. 1 and 2 – Goodreads
- The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler – Goodreads
- The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman – Goodreads
- A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming – Goodreads
- Essential Linguistics: What Teachers Need to Know to Teach ESL, Reading, Spelling, and Grammar by David and Yvonne Freeman – Goodreads
- Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by Bell Hooks – Goodreads
- Asylum Denied: A Refugee’s Struggle for Safety in America by David Ngaruri Kenney, Philip G. Schrag – Goodreads
- The Genius of Language: Fifteen Writers Reflect on Their Mother Tongue by Wendy Lesser – Goodreads
- Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario – Goodreads
- The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community by Mary Pipher, Susan Cohen – Goodreads
- Tender Courage: A Reflection on the Life and Spirit of Catherine McAuley, First Sister of Mercy by M. Joana Regan – Goodreads
- Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions by Gloria Steinem – Goodreads
- Love Thy Neighbor by Ayaz Verji – Goodreads
- A Century of Votes for Women: American Elections Since Suffrage by Christina Wolbrecht – Goodreads
- Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf – Goodreads
- The Late Homecomer by Kao Kalia Yang – Goodreads
- A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn – Goodreads, https://www.zinnedproject.org/
Books (fiction)
- A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi – Goodreads
- Sea Prayer by Khalid Hosseini – Goodreads
- Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty series (The Unquiet Dead, The Language of Secrets, A Death in Sarajevo, Among the Ruins, A Dangerous Crossing, A Deadly Divide) by Ausma Zehanat Khan – Goodreads
- The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman – Goodreads
- Season of Migration to the North, by Al-Tayyib Salih – Goodreads
Books for kids
- My Name is Not Refugee by Kate Milner – Goodreads
- Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers, and Rebels by Linda Skeers and Livi Gosling – Goodreads (a Hiawatha author!)
Podcasts and TED Talks
- Corridor Business Journal: Diversity Straight Up
- Duolingo – for intermediate French & Spanish speakers
- “Our refugee system is failing. Here’s how we can fix it”– Alexander Betts
- “The Power of Vulnerability” by Brene Brown
- “Let’s help refugees thrive, not just survive” by Melissa Fleming
Things to watch
