Why am I passionate about this?

As with many people, my life has been full of twists and turns. I know what it means to be an outsider and to be cast aside as though my voice and presence doesn’t matter. But, with grit and determination, I battled systemic racism head-on, and with my good L.U.C.K (labor under correct knowledge), encouragement, and faith, I am thriving in an environment that was designed to be non-inclusive for People of Color. Currently, I am the only Black female professor in the 94-year history in the college where I am employed.


I wrote

Resilience: Bravery in the Face of Racism, Corruption, and Privilege in the halls of Academia

By Marilyn K. Easter,

Book cover of Resilience: Bravery in the Face of Racism, Corruption, and Privilege in the halls of Academia

What is my book about?

Emma shines a light on the discriminatory practices deeply embedded in this country’s education system. She is bright, eager to…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Beyond Retention: Cultivating Spaces of Equity, Justice, and Fairness for Women of Color in U.S. Higher Education

Marilyn K. Easter Why did I love this book?

Beyond Retention is a non-fiction title that has the same narrative as my novel Resilience. Through various stories of lived experience, this title brings to light all the issues of race and gender inequality in higher institutions. What makes this book special is that it doesn't focus only on faculty but deals with administrators as well. Every woman who is interested in a career in academia should have and read Beyond Retention, as it offers ways through which one can thrive and not just survive in higher education.

By Brenda L. H. Marina (editor), Sabrina N. Ross (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Beyond Retention as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Beyond Retention: Cultivating Spaces of Equity, Fairness, and Justice for Women of Color in U.S. Higher Education, Brenda Marina and Sabrina N. Ross address the continued underrepresentation of women faculty of color at predominantly White colleges and universities through a creative convergence of scholarship focused on intellectual activism and structural change. Inspired by the African American oral tradition of call and response, this text illuminates the calls, or personal narratives of women faculty of color who identify racialized, gendered, sexualized, and class-based challenges associated with work in predominantly White institutions. Accounts of social justice-oriented strategies, policies, and practices that…


Book cover of Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Careers

Marilyn K. Easter Why did I love this book?

Ten Stupid Things Women Do To Mess Up Their Careers is a cutting-edge, accessible resource tool for every woman. It provides information on what is needed to compete in a "man's world." According to the statistics, women still earn 70% of each dollar compared to a man's income, regardless of their education. At a glance, Dr. Patricia Mitchell introduces the reader to common mistakes that could cost one's career, and she highlights issues that need to be examined before a woman plunges into a career or seeks to increase her position within a company. This book is about empowerment and it has helped me – and still does.  

By Patricia Mitchell, Giselle Parry, Virginia Fordice (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Careers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

They Can’t Touch You... Know Your Own Power!

Women are challenged to still compete in a man’s world. This is hard to believe when in many respects we have come so far. But statistics do not lie and women still earn only seventy cents to each dollar a man earns. Despite the high levels of education women obtain, we still only hold a very small percentage of senior executive positions.

If you are embarking on a career or if you are still in the game, maybe it will be of assistance to read about the Ten Stupid Things Women Do…


Book cover of Cracking the Wall 20 Years Later: Women in Higher Education Leadership

Marilyn K. Easter Why did I love this book?

Cracking the Wall 20 Years Later is a special title for me, not only because of the significance of its content. I used the original edition in 1993 as a student at the University of San Francisco and then later as a professor at the College of Notre Dame. This book showcases the history of 14 women in academia and highlights the importance of the array of significant changes that need to be made today. What I love most about this book is that the same authors have updated their original chapters and their personal perspective of their experiences and career paths as leaders.  They speak from the heart as they share their transformational stories. They do not sugarcoat anything.  Even though there have been considerable changes in two decades, a great deal has remained the same for women. This is another essential title of empowerment, which lets women know they are not alone when confronting the inequalities in their careers.

Book cover of Sarah

Marilyn K. Easter Why did I love this book?

Sarah by Laura Albert aka JT LeRoy captivated my attention right from the start. The story crackles with originality even years after its release. The writing is so vivid that it engulfs the reader in the story. The characters are three dimensional, and the tale being told in the first person and present tense makes you empathize more with the main character. Having gone through a difficult upbringing, the story of Cherry Vanilla and their quest to find love and acceptance spoke to me. This is a title I would highly recommend, not only for the merit of the writing but also because its message continues to resonate to this day. Also check out the audiobook of Sarah, read splendidly by Winsome Brown.

By Laura Albert aka JT LeRoy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sarah as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A reissue of the national bestselling novel by JT LeRoy/Laura Albert - published to coincide with the Jeff Feuerzeig documentary: Author: The JT LeRoy Story.

'A deft and imaginative...novel' New York Times Book Review

Sarah never admits that she's his mother, but the beautiful boy has watched her survive as a "lot lizard": a prostitute working the West Virginia truck stops. Desperate to win her love, he decides to surpass her as the best and most famous lot lizard ever. With his own leather mini-skirt and a makeup bag that closes with Velcro, the young "Cherry Vanilla" embarks on a…


Book cover of My Monticello: Fiction

Marilyn K. Easter Why did I love this book?

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s My Monticello is a title to be treasured. Through a series of masterfully woven stories, Johnson brings forth and highlights the deep-rooted racial inequalities in our country. Having my debut novel published later in life, I feel a special connection because Johnson’s recent release is about resilience and passion for the arts – and it proves that ageism has no place in the art world. This is another fiction title I would highly recommend. There’s a lesson to be learned from every character and every story penned in My Monticello.  

By Jocelyn Nicole Johnson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked My Monticello as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“A badass debut by any measure―nimble, knowing, and electrifying.” ―Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Nickel Boys and Harlem Shuffle

"...'My Monticello' is, quite simply, an extraordinary debut from a gifted writer with an unflinching view of history and what may come of it." ― The Washington Post

Winner of the Weatherford Award in Fiction
A winner of 2022 Lillian Smith Book Awards

A young woman descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings driven from her neighborhood by a white militia. A university professor studying racism by conducting a secret social experiment on his own son. A single mother…


Explore my book 😀

Resilience: Bravery in the Face of Racism, Corruption, and Privilege in the halls of Academia

By Marilyn K. Easter,

Book cover of Resilience: Bravery in the Face of Racism, Corruption, and Privilege in the halls of Academia

What is my book about?

Emma shines a light on the discriminatory practices deeply embedded in this country’s education system. She is bright, eager to learn and willing to work hard. But racial rebuffs from teachers and colleagues present her with a tidal wave of deterrents. This book takes readers through Emma’s past in a way that clearly lays out the obstacles young African American girls confront in a highly encoded education system—and it reveals the successful strategies Emma develops to surmount them. It also points out that these hurdles shouldn’t exist and brings hope that those who follow in Emma’s footsteps and learn from her can build on her experiences and change that system. 

Book cover of Beyond Retention: Cultivating Spaces of Equity, Justice, and Fairness for Women of Color in U.S. Higher Education
Book cover of Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Careers
Book cover of Cracking the Wall 20 Years Later: Women in Higher Education Leadership

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Sor Juana, My Beloved

By MaryAnn Shank,

Book cover of Sor Juana, My Beloved

MaryAnn Shank Author Of Sor Juana, My Beloved

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I once saw a play at the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Theatre. A play about Sor Juana. It was a good play, but it felt like something was missing like jalapenos left out of enchiladas. The play kept nudging me to look further to find Sor Juana, and so for the next five years, I did so. I read and read more. I listened for her voice, and that is where I heard her life come alive. This isn’t the only possibility for Sor Juana’s life; it is just the one I heard.

MaryAnn's book list on the mystical Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz

What is my book about?

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, this brilliant 17th century nun flew through Mexico City on the breeze of poetry and philosophy. She met with princes of the Church, and with the royalty of Spain and Mexico. Then she met a stunning, powerful woman with lavender eyes, la Vicereine Maria Louisa, and her life changed forever. As her fame grew, she dared to challenge the diabolical Archbishop once too often, and he threw her in front of the Inquisition, where she stood, alone.

Sor Juana's work is studied still today, and justifiably so. Scholars study her months on end; mystics…

Sor Juana, My Beloved

By MaryAnn Shank,

What is this book about?

This astonishingly brilliant 17th century poet and dramatist, this nun, flew through Mexico City on wings of inspiration. Having no dowry, she chose the life of a nun so that she might learn, so that she might write, so that she might meet the most fascinating people of the western world. She accomplished all of that, and more.

One day a woman with violet eyes, eyes the color of passion flowers, entered her life. It was the new Vicereine, Maria Luisa. As the two most powerful women in Mexico City, the bond between them crossed politics and wound them in…


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Interested in higher education, West Virginia, and Sally Hemings?

Higher Education 38 books
West Virginia 37 books
Sally Hemings 8 books