By Sofia Michelakis & Celiz Aguilar McClish

The long days of summer bring endless invitations. There is a persistent beckoning to pursue joy and delight in life’s simple pleasures. Dare we submit that watermelons taste sweeter, birds sound happier, and the stars gleam brighter during the summer.

The long days of summer also tempt us to slow down and let our minds wander. During warm afternoons and time spent in nature, we have opportunities to pause and reflect, our minds thankful for the reprieve from frequent business. New ideas can take hold as we make space to observe, listen, and imagine. 

As you look towards the warm months ahead, the Phīla team invites you to peruse our curated reading list that’s sure to cultivate joy, challenge ideas, and invigorate your mind. This year’s edition of our Annual Recommended Summer Reads has a little bit of everything - dynamic writings on rest and delight, the journey of women in philanthropy, and narratives from the diaspora. Allow yourself to be surprised by what emerges as your new favorite summer read! 

Our Recommendations:

Sewheat Asfaha: I read Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo through a book club organized by Sudanese Diaspora Network, which is a global hub to unify, mobilize, and empower the youth toward a better, more sustainable Sudan. This work of fiction is a vivid portrait of the diaspora experience, weaving in themes of nostalgia, displacement, connection to culture, and belonging. We follow the journey of Nima, who is a middle school aged Sudanese girl growing up in the states with her single mother. She navigates her identities as an American born second generation immigrant, continuously reflecting on who she would have been had she been born in Sudan. Elhillo's poetry is striking to read, creating a cinematic and deeply personal experience for the reader. Through magical realism, we are able to gain a deep reflection of identity, and an appreciation of "who we are and who we could be, and the dangerous and beautiful place in between."

Stephanie Ellis-Smith: I recommend The Red-Haired Woman, by the Nobel Prize winning author Orhan Pamuk. I recently had the pleasure of taking some time off for family time abroad and I wanted a novel to get lost in. I’m a sucker for a good story and intricately woven tales; Pamuk did not disappoint. This dreamy and literary novel, taking place in contemporary Istanbul, is about a series of tensions: East versus West, fathers versus sons, youth versus experience, and the secular versus the sacred. It was a beautiful read that compels one to think about how we as humans deal with personal hardship and uneasy relationships with those we are closest to. As far and distance as Istanbul is from Seattle in many ways, it is yet so very relatable and imaginative.

Mark Greer: As a millennial steeped in the world of philanthropy and social impact, I am always fascinated by profiles of the next generation of donors and how we think about giving from both practical and heart felt approaches. Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors are Revolutionizing Giving, written by colleagues in the philanthropic advising field Sharna Goldseker and Michael Moody, reveals how next gen donors are driving impact with their giving in deep partnership with the communities they are seeking to invest in.

Celiz McClish: Ross Gay is back with more delights! In The Book of (More) Delights, Gay chronicles his daily delights throughout the course of a year. The essays are short, poetic, tender, and, put plainly, just delightful. I would read his essays in the morning, before bed, during my lunch break, and anytime in between. His observations on daily life and the beauty that exists on this earth is such a welcome reprieve from the constant business that seems to surround us. 

I'm drawn to ideas that invite us to rethink the conventional. In The Other Significant Others, NPR's Rhaina Cohen encourages the reader to consider how friendships might be able to have a larger, more significant footprint in our lives. She highlights stories from individuals who have chosen to own homes, co-parent, and care-give with friends. While people across America may be experiencing a greater sense of loneliness and disconnectedness, it may be worth rethinking the expansive possibilities of friendships in our lives. I highly recommend this book as someone who lives in a communal household and believes in the power of community. 

Sofia Michelakis: Ordinarily a fiction lover, I’m stepping outside of my familiar boundaries with two nonfiction recommendations this summer! A book that really spoke to me this year is Rest as Resistance, by Tricia Hersey. Through a blend of personal storytelling and economic analysis, Hersey joyfully reminds us that rest, healing and repair are prerequisites for Black liberation and should not be viewed as a luxury. While reading this book, I'll confess that I did take several naps. Not because the book exhausted me or was boring, but rather, because I was invited to listen to my body and what it needed. I would wake up more energized and inspired, feeling more empowered to return to my work with clients to advance racial equity and economic and social justice.

Second, I learned about The Guarantee: Inside the Fight For America's Next Economy through an Aspen Ideas Book Talk that author Natalie Foster gave recently. I've been interested in the guaranteed income movement and have been looking for a resource to learn more. Foster is a leading architect of the movement to build an inclusive and resilient economy. Through this book, she elicits what's possible and how we have the power to transform systems and co-create better realities for our communities.

Sonia Nussbaum: I found The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid on the shelf of a Little Free Library. After a few chapters, I knew it was one of those moments of being in the right place at the right time! Over the course of a meal and tea, Changez, our narrator, has a conversation with an American man in his home of Lahore, Pakistan. He shares bits and pieces of his life story—moving to the United States from Pakistan for school and work, falling in (and out of) love with people and places, and attempting to come of age on your own while people are defining your identity for you. This book is told as a "frame story", which also makes it rather unique!

Janell Turner: As a philanthropic advisor, it's hard not to get engulfed in personal stories. Storytelling is at the heart of philanthropy, connecting founders to their missions and illustrating the transformative impact on beneficiaries. In The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, Melinda French Gates bares her soul! She offers an unforgettable narrative of her own "becoming," weaving together deeply personal reflections about her wealth, finding her voice as a woman in philanthropy, and providing a platform for voices and stories of women worldwide who have faced unimaginable harm and neglect. This book touched my heart so deeply and has sparked thought-provoking conversations with many of my clients--it's a must-read for women who are defining their why and leaning into their purpose.