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I’m going to take a break from politics in this post (well, mostly) and tell you about a few of the books that have had the biggest impact on my life.
Are you surprised to find out I’m a big reader? Folks who know me as an athlete sometimes are, but growing up with a mom and an aunt who were teachers, I was always a bookworm. In fact, I used to treat our local Barnes & Noble store like a library, sitting among the stacks and reading books from cover to cover because I couldn’t afford to buy them.
For a kid who never traveled farther from home than visiting my grandparents in Brownsville, books were my ticket to the rest of the world, to learning about people from all walks of life and cultures different from my own. So today, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites – and I’d love to hear yours in the comments.
“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas
Once I was old enough to read on my own, this became my favorite book, and still is to this day. It’s not hard to see what 10-year-old me liked about it. Adventure, romance, revenge, a poor kid finding treasure and becoming fabulously wealthy… you get the idea.
But in all seriousness, something that’s stuck with me is that – while the main character is on his journey to hold his enemies accountable for wrongful imprisonment, he makes sure to repay all of the kind strangers who helped him along the way.
This is something I really connect to – growing up with a single mom and without much money, I had a lot of help from folks in my community. Teachers, coaches, staff at the YMCA… they say it takes a village to raise a child, and I definitely had one.
My whole career – from becoming a civil rights lawyer and serving in Congress to now running for Senate – has been about serving the community that raised me and making sure more kids have access to the opportunities and care that I did.
“Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak
This is one I remember my mom reading to me a lot as a kid. It was always one of my favorites, and now, I feel like we’ve come full circle, because my 4- and 6-year-old kids love it, too. I get such a kick out of the fact that, despite everything that’s changed in the world since the 1960s, when it was published, or the 1980s, when my mom was reading it to me, my kids are laughing over the same vibrant images and story today.
I think it’s also a really important book to read to kids because it’s all about emotions, dealing with anger, and leaving space for what you’re feeling. I’m not one to dole out unsolicited parenting advice, but anything that gets kids talking about their feelings in a positive way is all right in my book (sorry, can’t resist a dad joke).
“Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63” by Taylor Branch
This is a book I’ve read several times and found myself coming back to recently.
It’s probably the most comprehensive history of the civil rights movement that we have, and so, as you’d expect, it covers a lot of the big moments and heroes you’ve heard of. But it also tells the stories of lesser-known figures who history has largely forgotten but whose actions were no less heroic and important.
It gets me thinking about the stories they’ll write about what we’re living through now. I say this a lot, but I know I want to be able to look my kids in the eyes and tell them I stood up for democracy, did what I could to protect it, and put everything I had into making our state and our country the best it could be.
Every time I read this book, different things stand out. Given the dark time we’re in now, it’s centering for me to be reminded of what we’ve been through, that our democracy has seen dark times and prevailed. It’s a real testament to the strength of the American character and a reminder of what we can accomplish when we fight together.
Thanks for reading about a few of the books that have shaped my life. I hope you’ll check one (or all) of them out, and I’d love to hear about yours in the comments below.
Colin
Colin Allred is a fourth-generation Texan, civil rights lawyer, and Democratic Congressman running for U.S. Senate in what experts are calling one of the most competitive races in the country. Early polls show Colin can win, but with corporate PACs and right-wing millionaires pouring money into Texas to stop him, he relies on supporters like you to fund his campaign. If you agree that it’s time for a new generation of leaders in Washington, please chip in now to help Colin flip Texas and the Senate blue. [ [link removed] ]
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