When we do a UU Common Read together, we share in reflection, learning, and action. A Common Read can take us on a powerful journey into what it means to be human and accountable in a world filled with both pain and joy.

Common Read 2024-25: Authentic Selves

The 2024-25 UU Common Read is Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families (Skinner House, 2023). Through interviews and photo portraits, the subjects of this book invite readers into their real lives--their revelations, challenges, joys, and networks of support. This Common Read invites UU groups to explore the nature of living authentically and the ways connections among us help us thrive.

To help protect the identities and stories of the individuals who participated in the book and in videos for our Common Read, we require you to log in or register with a uua.org account to access the Authentic Selves resource kit.

Previous UU Common Read Selections

• 2023-24 On Repentance and Repair by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg; UU Common Read resources for On Repentance and Repair
• 2022-23 Mistakes and Miracles by Nancy Palmer Jones and Karin Lin; UU Common Read Mistakes and Miracles resources
• 2021-22 Defund Fear by Zach Norris; UU Common Read Defund Fear resources
• 2020-21 Breathe by Imani Perry; UU Common Read Breathe resources
• 2019-20 An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (Beacon Press, 2015) and An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People  adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese (Beacon Press, 2019); UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 37 pages)
• 2018-19 Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and Environment, edited by Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Jennifer Nordstrom; UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 34 pages)
• 2017-18 Centering (UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 28 pages)) and Daring Democracy (UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 31 pages))
• 2016-17 The Third Reconstruction by The Reverend Dr. William J. Barber with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 27 pages))
• 2015-16 Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (UU Common Read discussion materials)
• 2014-15 Reclaiming Prophetic Witness by Paul Rasor (UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 20 pages))
• 2013-14 Behind the Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman (UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 20 pages))
• 2012-13 The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 19 pages))
• 2011-12 Acts of Faith by Eboo Patel (UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 17 pages))
• 2010-11 The Death of Josseline by Margaret Regan (UU Common Read discussion guide (PDF, 28 pages))