Do I Belong?

Do I Belong?
Author: Antony Lerman
Publisher: Pluto Press (UK)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780745399942

Beginning in childhood, one of our strongest and most fundamental human emotions is the desire to belong. This emotion extends beyond merely the self, affecting on a macro scale at a political level. Since its foundation in 1957, the European Union has encouraged people across its member states to feel a sense of belonging to one united international community--with very mixed results. Today, faced with the fracturing impact of the migration crisis, threats of terrorism, and rising tensions, governments within and outside the EU now seek to impose a different kind of belonging through policies of exclusion and border control. In this collection of personal essays, a diverse group of novelists, journalists, and activists reflect on their own individual senses of citizen belonging. In creative and disarming ways, they confront the challenges of nationalism, populism, racism, and fundamentalism and offer fascinating insights into some of the most pressing questions of our day: Why do people fear growing diversity? Is there truly a European identity? Who determines who belongs? ​ Literary, accessible, and timely, Do I Belong? provides unique commentary on an insufficiently understood and defining phenomenon of our age.

Maybe I Don't Belong Here

Maybe I Don't Belong Here
Author: David Harewood
Publisher: Boxtree
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2021-11-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1760989665

As a Black British man I believe it is vital that I tell this story. It may be just one account from the perspective of a person of colour who has experienced this system, but it may be enough to potentially change an opinion or, more importantly, stop someone else from spinning completely out of control.' – David Harewood Is it possible to be Black and British and feel welcome and whole? In this powerful and provocative account of a life lived after psychosis, critically acclaimed actor, David Harewood, uncovers devastating family history and investigates the very real impact of racism on Black mental health. When David Harewood was twenty-three, his acting career beginning to take flight, he had what he now understands to be a psychotic breakdown and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He was physically restrained by six police officers, sedated, then hospitalized and transferred to a locked ward. Only now, thirty years later, has he been able to process what he went through. What was it that caused this breakdown and how did David recover to become a successful and critically acclaimed actor? How did his experiences growing up Black and British contribute to a rupture in his sense of his place in the world? Maybe I Don't Belong Here is a deeply personal exploration of the duality of growing up both Black and British, recovery from crisis and a rallying cry to examine the systems and biases that continue to shape our society.

Back Roads to Belonging

Back Roads to Belonging
Author: Kristen Strong
Publisher: Revell
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2019-08-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493417908

At one time or another, shifting seasons in family, friendships, employment, and communities will bring each of us face-to-face with the feeling of being on the outside looking in. Because we are made for connection, this will often lead us down one of two roads. Either we will hop on the popular but crowded highway that asks us to do whatever it takes to get noticed, or we'll stand still, paralyzed by the fear that we're not important, loveable, or worth other people's time and attention. But what if there is another way? With an understanding voice that will speak into your own circumstances, Kristen Strong walks beside you along the less traveled but more satisfying third way--the back road way--to belonging: remaining in Christ and relaxing into the unique role God has for you. Along the way, you will learn simple, doable actions that not only will help you feel and know that you belong but will welcome others in as well.

Where Do I Belong?

Where Do I Belong?
Author: Rena Cherry Brown
Publisher:
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2009-09
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781421890210

A Loblolly Tree is removed from the only home he has ever known and sent on a journey where he faces fear, uncertainty and physical transformation, all the time wondering where he belongs and where his new home will be. After a difficult adventure, he arrives at his new home, learning he was never really alone, and discovering new friends, new purpose and new opportunities

Everywhere You Don't Belong

Everywhere You Don't Belong
Author: Gabriel Bump
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2020-02-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1643750224

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2020 Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence “A comically dark coming-of-age story about growing up on the South Side of Chicago, but it’s also social commentary at its finest, woven seamlessly into the work . . . Bump’s meditation on belonging and not belonging, where or with whom, how love is a way home no matter where you are, is handled so beautifully that you don’t know he’s hypnotized you until he’s done.” —Tommy Orange, The New York Times Book Review In this alternately witty and heartbreaking debut novel, Gabriel Bump gives us an unforgettable protagonist, Claude McKay Love. Claude isn’t dangerous or brilliant—he’s an average kid coping with abandonment, violence, riots, failed love, and societal pressures as he steers his way past the signposts of youth: childhood friendships, basketball tryouts, first love, first heartbreak, picking a college, moving away from home. Claude just wants a place where he can fit. As a young black man born on the South Side of Chicago, he is raised by his civil rights–era grandmother, who tries to shape him into a principled actor for change; yet when riots consume his neighborhood, he hesitates to take sides, unwilling to let race define his life. He decides to escape Chicago for another place, to go to college, to find a new identity, to leave the pressure cooker of his hometown behind. But as he discovers, he cannot; there is no safe haven for a young black man in this time and place called America. Percolating with fierceness and originality, attuned to the ironies inherent in our twenty-first-century landscape, Everywhere You Don’t Belong marks the arrival of a brilliant young talent.

You Belong

You Belong
Author: Sebene Selassie
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2020-08-25
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0062940678

"A POWERFUL WORK OF SPIRITUALITY AND ANTI-RACISM"—Publishers Weekly "IF YOU READ ONE BOOK IN 2020, MAKE IT THIS ONE."—Tricycle From much-admired meditation expert Sebene Selassie, You Belong is a call to action, exploring our tangled relationship with belonging, connection, and each other You are not separate. You never were. You never will be. We are not separate from each other. But we don’t always believe it, and we certainly don’t always practice it. In fact, we often practice the opposite—disconnection and domination. From unconscious bias to “cancel culture,” denial of our inherent interconnection limits our own freedom. In You Belong, much-admired meditation expert Sebene Selassie reveals that accepting our belonging is the key to facing the many challenges currently impacting our world. Using ancient philosophy, multidisciplinary research, exquisite storytelling, and razor-sharp wit, Selassie leads us in an exploration of all the ways we separate (and thus suffer) and offers a map back to belonging. To belong is to experience joy in any moment: to feel pleasure, dance in public, accept death, forgive what seems unforgivable, and extend kindness to yourself and others. To belong is also to acknowledge injustice, reckon with history, and face our own shadows. Full of practical advice and profound revelations, You Belong makes a winning case for resisting the forces that demand separation and reclaiming the connection—and belonging—that have been ours all along.

Where I Belong

Where I Belong
Author: Marcia Argueta Mickelson
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab ®
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1728432286

A Pura Belpré Honor Book An immigrant teen fights for her family, her future, and the place she calls home. In the spring of 2018, Guatemalan American high school senior Milagros "Millie" Vargas knows her life is about to change. She has lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, ever since her parents sought asylum there when she was a baby. Now a citizen, Millie devotes herself to school and caring for her younger siblings while her mom works as a housekeeper for the wealthy Wheeler family. With college on the horizon, Millie is torn between attending her dream school and staying close to home, where she knows she's needed. She is disturbed by what's happening to asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, but she doesn't see herself as an activist or a change-maker. She's just trying to take care of her own family. Then Mr. Wheeler, a U.S. Senate candidate, mentions Millie's achievements in a campaign speech about "deserving" immigrants. It doesn't take long for people to identify Millie's family and place them at the center of a statewide immigration debate. Faced with journalists, trolls, anonymous threats, and the Wheelers' good intentions—especially those of Mr. Wheeler's son, Charlie—Millie must confront the complexity of her past, the uncertainty of her future, and her place in the country that she believed was home.

Elephants Do Not Belong in Trees

Elephants Do Not Belong in Trees
Author: Russ Willms
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Total Pages: 37
Release: 2021-02-16
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1459826019

"Elephants do not belong in trees. It’s not natural. It makes other animals uncomfortable." This is the story of Larry, an elephant who wanted to live in a tree. This is a story about being the new kid and being a little bit different (okay, A LOT different). A story about acceptance and making friends. When Larry decides he wants to live in the big bushy tree in the middle of the wide-open field, the current residents, Bird, Squirrel and Monkey, are not very welcoming. They throw nuts at him and peck at his head; they tell him to leave and are downright rude. But Larry persists—why can’t he live in the tree? When his new home is threatened by something much bigger than all the animals combined, Larry shows everyone that he cares just as much about the tree as they do.

Which One Doesn't Belong?

Which One Doesn't Belong?
Author: Christopher Danielson
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2019-02-12
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 163289811X

Talking math with your child is simple and even entertaining with this better approach to shapes! Written by a celebrated math educator, this innovative inquiry encourages critical thinking and sparks memorable mathematical conversations. Children and their parents answer the same question about each set of four shapes: "Which one doesn't belong?" There's no one right answer--the important thing is to have a reason why. Kids might describe the shapes as squished, smooshed, dented, or even goofy. But when they justify their thinking, they're talking math! Winner of the Mathical Book Prize for books that inspire children to see math all around them. "This is one shape book that will both challenge readers' thinking and encourage them to think outside the box."--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

Girl Meets Change

Girl Meets Change
Author: Kristen Strong
Publisher: Revell
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2015-09-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 144124851X

Whether chosen and celebrated--like going off to college or welcoming your first baby--or unexpected and anxiety-inducing--like losing a job or grappling with a broken trust--all change brings stress. Kristen Strong knows about change--especially the kind you didn't choose or expect. What she's fought hard to learn over the years is that change is not something to be feared but something to be received as a blessing from a God who, more often than not, works through change, not in spite of it. Strong has learned to see change not as a grievance but as a grace. In this hope-filled book, she shows women how when we follow God's will, we receive blessings of contentment, purpose, and renewed strength. She encourages women to see change not as the end of their story but as the scenery for this part of life's journey. And she offers practical advice for coping with change in every part of life. Anyone who has struggled to adjust to life's transitions will welcome this warm and personal perspective.