We’ve been working on developing our 2018 membership reading list for over six months. Half a year might seem like a lot of foresight, and we know many of you were patiently (or maybe not so patiently) awaiting the release of an updated list.
But we think the integrity and intention behind the process will pay off once you dig into these books! Reading is a personal (and societal!) investment and what you’re reading is the base of the knowledge you’re soaking up. Knowing that – the idea that your perception of the world can be changed by a single book or a dozen – then the careful aggregation of a reading list matters.
We devoted enough time for our team to read buckets and buckets of books and engage in multiple round-table discussion and debates to narrow down the list. We ultimately decided on 9 required books for the curriculum, with a section where students get to decide on which book to pursue out of three choices. The ever-present understanding was that we were putting together a conscious list that would be wholesome and inclusive in its entirety, a list that would share lasting lessons that speak to the overarching mission of DTI to build a global movement of doulas focused on birth justice and well-versed in how privilege (race, gender, country of birth) comes into play within the world of birth workers.
Reproductive Justice: An Introduction
Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger
Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy and Childbirth
Julia Oparah and Alicia Bonaparte
The Birth Partner
Penny Simkin
Pushed
Jennifer Block
Cut, Stapled and Mended
Rosanna Rosewood
Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others
Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky
Where’s The Mother: Stories from a Transgender Dad
Trevor MacDonald
The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother
Heng Ou, Amely Greeven, and Marisa Belger
Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws of Nursing Mothers
Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett PhD IBCLC
—students will choose one of the following—
You are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth
Jen Sincero
Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak up, Create and Lead
Tara Mohr
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms The Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead
Brené Brown
We’re so stoked to share this list with our incoming doulas!