Resmaa Menakem Non-Fiction books in order

A complete list of Resmaa Menakem's non-fiction books in order, from Rock the Boat (2015) to The Quaking of America (2022), covering racial trauma and healing.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Rock the Boat 2015 Resmaa Menakem Buy
2 Life, Leadership, and Legacy 2017 Resmaa Menakem Buy
3 My Grandmother’s Hands 2017 Resmaa Menakem Buy
4 Our Grandchildren’s Souls 2022 Resmaa Menakem Buy
5 The Quaking of America 2022 Resmaa Menakem Buy

Resmaa Menakem’s five non-fiction books span from 2015 to 2022 and address themes of trauma, race, and healing. Rock the Boat (2015) and Life, Leadership, and Legacy (2017) were his earlier works, but My Grandmother’s Hands (2017) brought him national recognition with its approach to understanding how bodies carry racial trauma.

His 2022 books, Our Grandchildren’s Souls and The Quaking of America, continued developing these ideas, looking at how collective trauma shows up in American culture and politics. All five books share Menakem’s focus on the physical dimensions of emotional and social pain.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Resmaa Menakem Non-Fiction series?

There are five books in the Resmaa Menakem Non-Fiction series, published between 2015 and 2022.

What is the first book in the Resmaa Menakem Non-Fiction series?

The first book in the Resmaa Menakem Non-Fiction series is Rock the Boat, published in 2015.

Should I read Resmaa Menakem's books in order?

My Grandmother’s Hands (2017) is the best starting point since it lays out Menakem’s core ideas about racial trauma in the body. The Quaking of America (2022) builds on those concepts with a focus on political and cultural tensions. The earlier books can be read in any order.

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