Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve finally realized that you can’t outwork yourself out of systemic problems and that so many of the messages we receive have got the problem wrong. Growing up, I was taught to respect my elders. To defer to those who know what they are talking about. But just because someone says something with conviction doesn’t mean they are right. What we’ve been told is imposter syndrome could actually be imposter treatment, and it messes deeply with our sense of self. So even if I’ve taught at brand name institutions, at corporate heavyweights, and on six continents, I’m always seeking to learn.


I wrote...

Book cover of Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully

What is my book about?

A paradigm-shifting book looking at the pervasive influence of silence and how we can begin to dismantle it to find…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included)

Elaine Lin Hering Why did I love this book?

Self-care always seemed so fluffy and out of reach for me. There’s no way that going to the spa or having bubble baths solves the real challenges real people face. I love Pooja’s book because it looks at the systemic issues while making self-care real and practical.

I know I need to take care of myself. I’ve heard all the stuff about putting on your own oxygen mask before helping someone else, and my response has always been “yeahhhh, but.” My biggest takeaway from the book? Boundaries are not co-created.

By Pooja Lakshmin,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Real Self-Care as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

National Bestseller featured by Good Morning America, NPR's Code Switch, The New York Times, and The Guardian

NPR's "Books We Love for 2023"

Forbes' "Greatest Self-Help Books of All Time"

"Realistic and trustworthy" -- InStyle

"This isn't just another self-help book. It gives us a clear-eyed look at the way social systems drain our energy, and a concrete set of principles to rely on as we declare independence from these systems." -Martha Beck, New York Times bestselling author of The Way of Integrity

"This book is for anyone who's ever removed a 'relaxing' sheet mask only to realize it hasn't…


Book cover of Negotiating While Black: Be Who You Are to Get What You Want

Elaine Lin Hering Why did I love this book?

So many books on negotiation and communication basically say, “Imitate me!” And then, if the author’s advice doesn’t work for you, you must be the problem. Damali’s book and approach are the ones I wish I had existed when I was at Harvard Law School and in the years after when I was teaching well-regarded negotiation frameworks but feeling like something was missing.

Reading Damali’s observation that what makes you different might just become your superpower was the “finally!” moment I’d been waiting for. Instead of telling you to be more like someone else, Damali models and lays out a way for you to be most effective—by being yourself. 

By Damali Peterman,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A real-world, one-of-a-kind resource for anyone who has ever been underestimated, overlooked, or misunderstood at the negotiating table.

There’s no shortage of negotiation books that advise you to “get to yes,” urge you to “never split the difference,” and push you to “ask for more.” But these one-size-fits-all negotiation techniques disregard the reality of our complex, multifaceted, multicultural world, where snap judgements are made based on perceived differences. When bias lies behind every negotiation, the only constant is you. Learn to leverage who you are—and gain the upperhand.

Negotiating While Black is the indispensable guide that lawyer and mediator Damali…


Book cover of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Elaine Lin Hering Why did I love this book?

This book opened my eyes to see introversion as a strength rather than a weakness. But more so, it gave me the permission to question how things that we took as “just the way things are” might have been positioned incorrectly from the start.

If it wasn’t true that introversion is inherently worse than extroversion, what else might popular culture and mainstream workplace practices have gotten wrong? I felt seen by the book and hopeful of what more honest conversations about how people are wired might both reveal and help heal. 

By Susan Cain,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Quiet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SUSAN CAIN'S NEW BOOK, BITTERSWEET, IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

A SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE HOW YOU SEE INTROVERTS - AND YOURSELF - FOREVER.

Our lives are driven by a fact that most of us can't name and don't understand. It defines who our friends and lovers are, which careers we choose, and whether we blush when we're embarrassed.

That fact is whether we're an introvert or an extrovert.

The most fundamental dimension of personality, at least a third of us are introverts, and yet shyness, sensitivity and seriousness are often seen as…


Book cover of Decentering Whiteness in the Workplace: A Guide for Equity and Inclusion

Elaine Lin Hering Why did I love this book?

This is the book that changed my world. I’d never felt like I really fit in at work or, frankly, in many of the communities that I lived in. As much as I contorted myself or took people’s feedback, something always felt off. I worked hard. I learned to talk like the successful leaders around me. I played by the rules. But I was still always second string. I thought I was the problem.

From the first time I came across this title to reading it through with tears in my eyes—it finally clicked. All along, it wasn’t because I wasn’t smart, kind, hard-working, thoughtful, or likable enough. It was that the workplaces I was in all centered on Whiteness, to the detriment of everyone who wasn’t White. 

By Janice Gassam Asare,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Decentering Whiteness in the Workplace as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Your DEIJ efforts are stagnating because you continue to center whiteness. Creating a truly anti-racist organization requires learning how to identify and rectify the systemic, and often unconscious, centering of white culture and values in the workplace.

Corporate America continues to struggle with racial equity in a post-George Floyd world. As the U.S. becomes more diverse and the public consciousness continues to shift, there is a greater need for successful racial equity efforts in the workplace.

Decentering Whiteness in the Workplace exposes the ways that white culture and expectations are centered in the modern American workplace and the fears within…


Book cover of But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

Elaine Lin Hering Why did I love this book?

We have more in common than we realize. I’m not hard of hearing, nor did I grow up in a generation before digital hearing aids existed. But Claudia’s book transported me through that experience and stresses that while our experiences and identities might be different, the pain of unseen, unheard, and isolated is universally human.

When I’m impatient with progress, Claudia’s journey reminds me of how far we can come with technology, understanding, and awareness in a generation, how deeply impacted we are by the people in our families and communities, and how we can each make a difference in how we experience the world. 

By Claudia Marseille,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked But You Look So Normal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

By age four, Claudia Marseille had hardly uttered a word. When her parents finally had her hearing tested and learned she had a severe hearing loss, they chose to mainstream her, hoping this would offer her the most "normal" childhood possible. With the help of a primitive hearing aid, Claudia worked hard to learn to hear, lipread, and speak even as she tried to hide her disability in order to fit in. As a result, she was often misunderstood, lonely, and isolated-fitting into neither the hearing world nor the Deaf culture.

This memoir explores Claudia's relationships with her German refugee…


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully

What is my book about?

A paradigm-shifting book looking at the pervasive influence of silence and how we can begin to dismantle it to find our voices at home and work. Having a seat at the table doesn’t mean that your voice is actually welcome. Knowing something is wrong doesn't mean it's easy to speak up. In fact, there are incentives for us to stay silent. Why speak up if you know that it won’t be received well and, in fact, often makes things worse?

Through real-life examples, data-backed science, and personal stories, I explore how we’ve learned to be silent, how we’ve benefited from silence, how we’ve silenced other people—and how we might choose another way. 

Book cover of Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included)
Book cover of Negotiating While Black: Be Who You Are to Get What You Want
Book cover of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

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Why am I passionate about this?

Author Avid reader Lover of Music Astral Traveler Tarot Reader Grandmother

Jan's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Historical Fiction Post WW2.

A shocking proposal that changes everything.

Desperate to honor his father’s dying wish, Layken Martin vows to do whatever it takes to save the family farm.
Once the Army discharges him following World War II, Layken returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and in jeopardy. A foreclosure notice from the bank doubles the threat. He appeals to the local banker for more time—a chance to rebuild, plant, and harvest crops and time to heal far away from the noise of bombs and gunfire.

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A Beggar's Bargain

By Jan Sikes,

What is this book about?

A shocking proposal that changes everything.

Desperate to honor his father's dying wish, Layken Martin vows to do whatever it takes to save the family farm.

Once the Army discharges him following World War II, Layken returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and in jeopardy. A foreclosure notice from the bank doubles the threat. He appeals to the local banker for more time-a chance to rebuild, plant, and harvest crops and time to heal far away from the noise of bombs and gunfire.

But the banker firmly denies his request. Now what?

Then, the banker makes an…


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Interested in communication, extraversion and introversion, and leadership?

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