Recommended Reading for Joy & Sisterhood

Black Sororities & Women’s Networks

Giddings, Paula J. In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. New York: William Morrow, 1988.
A definitive history of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., this book explores its origins, activism, and influence. Giddings demonstrates how sisterhood within sororities fosters resilience, joy, and generational impact.

Read, Catherine. Finer Women: Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, 1920–1935. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2018.
Read documents the founding and early history of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, highlighting its emergence in the 1920s and 1930s. The book situates the organization within the broader landscape of Black women’s activism, education, and community leadership during the early twentieth century.

Ross, Lawrence C. Jr. The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities. New York: Kensington, 2000.
Ross provides a comprehensive history of the nine Black Greek-letter organizations, highlighting their role in education, activism, and community. It underscores how structured networks of sisterhood and brotherhood cultivate joy and lasting solidarity.

Thorsson, Courtney. The Sisterhood: How a Network of Black Women Writers Changed American Culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2023.
Thorsson traces the literary and activist collaborations among Black women writers such as Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and June Jordan. She shows how their sisterhood reshaped culture, grounding joy in creativity and collective power.

Fiction

Hibbert, Talia. The Brown Sisters Series. New York: Avon, 2019–2021.
This contemporary romance trilogy (Get a Life, Chloe Brown; Take a Hint, Dani Brown; Act Your Age, Eve Brown) follows three sisters navigating love, growth, and sisterhood. Joy radiates through humor, tenderness, and the bonds that carry them through hardship.

Hostin, Sunny. Summer on the Bluffs: A Life-Changing Summer Among Friends. New York: William Morrow, 2021.
Set in a historic Black beach community, this novel celebrates intergenerational friendship and romance against a backdrop of leisure and tradition. Hostin portrays joy in belonging and sisterhood in shared legacy.

Reed, Daines L. Trust: A Novel. Charlotte: Red Ink Press, 2021.
Centered on relationships and emotional vulnerability, Trust examines the bonds between women as they navigate life’s challenges. The narrative highlights sisterhood as both strength and healing.

Roby, Kimberla Lawson. Sister Friends Forever. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2022.
A heartfelt novel about four lifelong friends navigating relationships, faith, and life changes. It affirms sisterhood as a sustaining force, where joy emerges from support and unconditional love.

Joy & Inspiration

Coleman, Chrisena, ed. Just Between Girlfriends: African-American Women Celebrate Friendship. New York: Kensington, 1999.
A collection of essays and reflections by Black women on friendship, love, and mutual support. It affirms the sustaining role of sisterhood in creating joy amid everyday challenges.

Cruz, Kleaver. The Black Joy Project. New York: Amistad, 2023.
Born from a viral social movement, Cruz’s anthology collects essays, images, and reflections centering joy as resistance. It shows how communal joy, shared in sisterhood, becomes an act of radical care and healing.

Gandy, Debrena Jackson. All the Joy You Can Stand: 101 Sacred Power Principles for Making Joy Real in Your Life. New York: Broadway Books, 2002.
Blending spirituality and self-help, Gandy offers practical and sacred strategies for embodying joy. She portrays joy as a principle of daily living, strengthening sisterhood through shared abundance.

Wilson, Jamia, curator. A Year of Black Joy: 52 Black Voices Share Their Life Passions. New York: Chronicle Books, 2023.
This anthology gathers diverse Black voices—from activists to artists—each offering a reflection on joy. The collection affirms sisterhood across generations, with joy presented as both individual celebration and collective nourishment.

Memoirs

Lewis, Jenifer. Walking in My Joy: In These Streets. New York: Amistad, 2022.
The beloved actress and entertainer shares candid, humorous, and heartfelt stories from her life. Lewis frames joy as a radical practice, with sisterhood and laughter sustaining her through challenges.

Travel & Adventure

Lawton, Georgina. Black Girls Take World: The Travel Bible for Black Women with Boundless Wanderlust. London: Hardie Grant Travel, 2021.
A vibrant travel guide blending memoir, tips, and cultural insight, Lawton’s book encourages Black women to embrace wanderlust. It positions joy in global discovery and strength in creating safe passage for others.

Lee, Elaine. Go Girl!: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure. Portland, OR: Eighth Mountain Press, 1997.
This groundbreaking anthology of Black women travelers shares stories of adventure, discovery, and cultural exchange. It highlights joy in exploration and the sisterhood that emerges from shared journeys.

Lee, Elaine, ed. Go Girl 2: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure. San Francisco: Go Girl Press, 2019.
A follow-up collection featuring new voices, this volume expands the travel narratives of Black women across the globe. It affirms travel as both self-liberation and communal sisterhood.

Morgan, Joph. Historically Black Beach Communities: Discover Summer and Year Round Coastal Areas Where African Americans Safely Lived and Went on Vacation. Self-published, 2022.
Part history, part travel guide, Morgan documents coastal areas that historically welcomed African American vacationers. It emphasizes leisure, joy, and the legacy of safe community spaces.

Nabongo, Jessica. The Catch Me If You Can: One Woman’s Journey to Every Country in the World. Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2022.
Nabongo, the first Black woman to visit every country, blends memoir and travelogue to capture her global journey. Her reflections highlight joy in adventure and the universal sisterhood found across borders.