Pride & Shame

These two emotions couldn't feel more different, yet pride and shame are linked by how we see ourselves—and how we want others to see us. This collection explores texts that navigate the emotional terrain of pride and shame.

An American Sunrise

by Joy Harjo

Publication year 2017

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Race, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Politics & Government, Indigenous Identity

Tags Lyric Poem, US History, American Literature, Food, Race & Racism, World History

Joy Harjo is a seminal voice in the US poetry canon, and she has long been an advocate for Native American women in the literary world. Her work has merited tremendous acclaim, such as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, the Josephine Miles Poetry Award, the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets, the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the American... Read An American Sunrise Summary

Anathema

by Keri Lake

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Shame & Pride, Social Class, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Horror & Suspense, Gothic Literature

... Read Anathema Summary

Anything Is Possible

by Elizabeth Strout

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Family, Memory, Guilt, Community, Shame & Pride, Love, Forgiveness, Fear, Hope

Tags Relationships, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Anything Is Possible is a 2017 novel by Elizabeth Strout in which each chapter features a character who is separate from but interconnects with the book’s other characters. Each chapter thus serves as both an autonomous short story and a piece of a larger, cohesive narrative and echoes or parallels other chapters.Strout, whose 2008 novel Olive Kitteridge won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, received the prestigious Story Prize for Anything Is Possible. The novel follows... Read Anything Is Possible Summary

A Piece Of Cake

by Cupcake Brown

Publication year 2006

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Good & Evil, Trust & Doubt, Perseverance, Gratitude, Hope, Loneliness, Shame & Pride, Race, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Addiction & Substance Abuse, Trauma & Abuse, Drama, Inspirational, Biography, Mental Illness

... Read A Piece Of Cake Summary

A Place to Stand

by Jimmy Santiago Baca

Publication year 2001

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Family

Tags Coming of Age, Incarceration, Education, Race & Racism, Education, Social Justice, Biography

Jimmy Santiago Baca, born in 1952, is an American poet and author of A Place to Stand. Poems by Baca include “Immigrants in Our Own Land” (1979) and “Who Understands Me but Me” (1979). This memoir begins with Baca’s early years at home with his drunken, abusive father and his unhappy mother. Baca loves his father, who is continually in and out of jail, but Baca’s mother abandons her three children to marry a man... Read A Place to Stand Summary

Araby

by James Joyce

Publication year 1914

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Memory, Guilt, Love, Shame & Pride, Perseverance, Loneliness, Religion & Spirituality, Beauty, Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Irish Literature, Education, Education

“Araby” is a short story by Irish writer James Joyce. The story is a part of Joyce’s renowned Dubliners collection, first published in 1914, which portrays daily life in the Irish city of Dublin in the early 20th century. In “Araby,” a young boy falls in love with his friend’s sister and attempts to purchase her a gift from the Araby Bazaar. The short story has been adapted as a song and a short film... Read Araby Summary

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age

Tags Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Relationships, Bullying, Parenting, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz is a young adult fiction novel published in 2012. The novel won a Lambda Literary Award, a Pura Belpre Award, and a Stonewall Book Award. It was also named a Printz Honor Book and has achieved popularity on BookTok. Told from a first-person point of view, the book is a work of realistic fiction set in El Paso, Texas, in the late... Read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Summary

A River in Darkness

by Masaji Ishikawa, Transl. Martin Brown, Transl. Risa Kobayashi

Publication year 2000

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Regret, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Childhood & Youth, Fathers, Social Class, Colonialism, Immigration, Politics & Government, Safety & Danger

Tags World History, Japanese Literature, Biography, Asian History, Politics & Government, Inspirational

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As Bright As Heaven

by Susan Meissner

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Family, Grief, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Regret, Nostalgia, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Death, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II

... Read As Bright As Heaven Summary

Ask Not

by Maureen Callahan

Publication year 2024

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Family, Marriage, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags World History, Biography, Politics & Government, Gender & Feminism

... Read Ask Not Summary

A Thousand Steps into Night

by Traci Chee

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Hate & Anger, Grief, Hope, Love, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Wins & Losses, Appearance & Reality, Space, Animals, Place, Daughters & Sons, Friendship, Fathers, Family, Teamwork, Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Social Class

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mythology, Coming of Age, Historical Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Asian Literature, Japanese Literature

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by Betty Smith

Publication year 1943

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Gender Identity

Tags World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1943 semi-autobiographical novel by American author Betty Smith. It tells the story of a girl coming of age in an impoverished family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, during the early 20th century. The book was a success upon publication and has become a classic of American literature. It was adapted into a 1945 film that won Academy Awards for its child star, Peggy Ann Carson, and for actor James Dunn... Read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Summary

Beartown

by Fredrik Backman

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Grief

Tags Humor, Sports, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Written by Fredrik Backman in 2017, Beartown is the first of a trilogy and is followed by the similarly hockey-themed novels, Us Against You (2017) and The Winners (2021). All three novels are set in the town of the same name, and Beartown focuses on the local junior hockey team, the in-game success or failure of which deeply impacts the economy of the town as a whole. As the town's intense focus on the sport... Read Beartown Summary

Beautiful Country

by Qian Julie Wang

Publication year 2021

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Coming of Age, Immigration, Language, Safety & Danger, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Race, Food, Education, Shame & Pride, Perseverance

Tags Chinese Literature, Immigration & Refugeeism, Poverty, American Literature, Education, Biography

... Read Beautiful Country Summary