William Ferrand

Reading List

William

🟩 PART I: The Identity Trap

Theme: How identity labels became social scripts

Recommended Reads:

Reading Complete: 0/5
Reading In Progress: #1
Purchased: 5/6

“Discipline and Punish” – Michel Foucault
The concept of normalization and how institutions shape “truth.”

Bought off Amazon for $20

Reading Now!

Progress Bar
50%

“The Saturated Self” â€“ Kenneth Gergen
Postmodern psychology exploring how identity is constructed socially.

  • Purchased off Better World Books for $5

  1. “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” – Erving Goffman
    The performance of identity in social spaces.
    • Purchased off Better World Books for $5
  2. “Gay New York” – George Chauncey
    Deconstructs assumptions about sexuality, history, and labels.
    • Purchased off Better World Books for $5
  3. “As Nature Made Him” – John Colapinto
    Explores gender identity through the tragic true story of David Reimer.
    • Purchased off Better World Books for $5

Islamic Anchor:

  • “Purification of the Heart” – Hamza Yusuf (for reframing identity as internal states, not external signs)

THEN

Theme: Labels as tools of social control, early self-definition, and false scripts.

🔖 Additional Books & Essays:

  1. “The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class” – Thom Hartmann
    Class-based identity and how society manipulates self-image for power.
  2. “The True Believer” – Eric Hoffer
    Psychology of mass movements, identity, and conformity.
  3. “Nobody Knows My Name” – James Baldwin
    Essays on race, labels, and societal expectation with poetic insight.
  4. “We Have Always Been Here” – Samra Habib
    Queer Muslim memoir tackling labels from multiple perspectives.
  5. “Whipping Girl” – Julia Serano
    On gender norms, transgender identity, and the cultural policing of difference.
  6. “You Just Need to Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People – Aubrey Gordon
    Body politics as identity politics.

🕌 Islamic Reads:

  • “Agenda to Change Our Condition” – Hamza Yusuf & Zaid Shakir
  • “Revive Your Heart” – Nouman Ali Khan
    Gentle, direct Islamic reflections on being lost and found in a noisy world.

đŸŸȘ PART II: Neurodivergent Identity Formation

Theme: How autistic people experience and construct identity

Recommended Reads:

  1. “Unmasking Autism” – Devon Price
    Essential for understanding masking and reclaiming neurodivergent selfhood.
  2. “NeuroTribes” – Steve Silberman
    Historical and cultural context of autism and diagnosis.
  3. “Odd Girl Out” – Laura James
    A memoir about late-diagnosed autistic identity from a female perspective.
  4. “The Reason I Jump” – Naoki Higashida
    Direct insight into the inner world of non-speaking autistic individuals.
  5. “Look Me in the Eye” – John Elder Robison
    Autistic memoir by someone who also explores masculinity and performance.

Islamic Anchor:

  • “Counseling Muslims” – Sameera Ahmed & Mona Amer (ed.)
    For bridging mental health and faith, with a section on neurodivergence.

THEN

Theme: Autistic experience, masking, belonging, and self-discovery.

🔖 Additional Books & Memoirs:

  1. “Divergent Mind” – Jenara Nerenberg
    Women, ADHD, autism, and how diagnosis shapes identity.
  2. “Pretending to Be Normal” – Liane Holliday Willey
    Early, powerful work on masking and social camouflage.
  3. “Drama Queen” – Sara Gibbs
    A funny and honest memoir by an autistic woman navigating adult life.
  4. “The Journal of Best Practices” – David Finch
    An autistic man’s journey to improve his marriage and self-understanding.
  5. “We’re Not Broken” – Eric Garcia
    Journalism-meets-memoir challenging the dominant narratives about autism.
  6. “Strong Female Character” – Fern Brady
    Scottish comedian’s brilliant autistic memoir—funny and searing.

🕌 Islamic Reads:

Zaytuna College lectures on the self and suffering â€“ Often free online and spiritually affirming.

“Healing the Emptiness” – Yasmin Mogahed
While not autism-specific, it deeply resonates with those masking pain.

đŸŸ© PART III: Faith Without Flags

Theme: Islam as wholeness, not as tribal identity

Recommended Reads:

  1. “Being Muslim: A Practical Guide” â€“ Asad TarsinSimple, powerful introduction to grounded Islamic identity.
  2. “Purification of the Soul” â€“ Ibn Rajab, Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Ghazali (various editions)Helps decenter ego and reorient toward sincerity.
  3. “Reclaiming the Mosque” â€“ Jasser AudaSpiritual Islam vs. identity politics.
  4. “Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition” â€“ Omid SafiIslam beyond legalism and tribalism.
  5. The Amman Message (official website)Read the full declaration and accompanying letters—it’s a blueprint for intra-Muslim respect.

Theme: Islam beyond politics, tribes, or public declarations.

🔖 Additional Books:

“The Fragrance of Faith” â€“ Jamal RahmanInterfaith yet deeply rooted in Islam, gentle guidance on authenticity and God-consciousness.

“Islam and the Future of Tolerance” â€“ Sam Harris & Maajid NawazA controversial dialogue; useful for understanding modern framings of Muslim identity.

“Living Islam Out Loud” â€“ Ed. Saleemah Abdul-GhafurMuslim women’s voices navigating identity and spirituality in the West.

“The Study Quran” â€“ Ed. Seyyed Hossein NasrAn essential companion for deep reflection on faith and context.

“Being and Belonging” â€“ Ed. Katherine EwingMuslim identities in South Asia and diaspora; case studies that resist monoliths.

“In the Footsteps of the Prophet” â€“ Tariq RamadanA reflective look at the Prophet’s ï·ș character and moral leadership.

🟹 PART IV: The Collapse of Compassion

Theme: When inclusivity becomes coercion

Recommended Reads:

  1. “Cynical Theories” â€“ Helen Pluckrose & James LindsayA controversial but useful critique of social justice orthodoxy.
  2. “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” â€“ Jon RonsonCase studies of cancel culture and its human costs.
  3. “The Coddling of the American Mind” â€“ Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan HaidtOverprotection and the death of nuance in activism.
  4. “I Find That Offensive” â€“ Claire FoxShort but sharp critique of moral authoritarianism in progressive spaces.
  5. “Islam and the Blackamerican” â€“ Sherman JacksonOffers insight into how identity, power, and Islam can conflict—without falling into binaries.

Theme: Tribalism, virtue signaling, coercion masked as inclusion.

🔖 Additional Books:

  1. “The Madness of Crowds” â€“ Douglas MurrayConservative-leaning but useful critique of identity politics.
  2. “The Tyranny of Merit” â€“ Michael SandelHow performance-based value systems hurt compassion and solidarity.
  3. “Disintegration” â€“ Eugene RobinsonOn Black identity fragmentation, applicable to other groups.
  4. “The Twittering Machine” â€“ Richard SeymourDeep dive into social media, performance, and self-policing.
  5. “Conflict Is Not Abuse” â€“ Sarah SchulmanMisuse of victimhood language in modern discourse—eye-opening.
  6. “Them” â€“ Ben SasseExplores political tribalism, loneliness, and cultural polarization.

🕌 Islamic Reads:

  • “Prayers of the Pious” â€“ Omar SuleimanA return to humility and sincerity in an age of digital shouting.
  • “Al-Adab al-Mufrad” â€“ Imam Bukhari (Ethics in Action)
  • “The Purification of the Soul” â€“ Classic commentary on humility and judgment.

đŸŸ„ PART V: Unlabel Yourself

Theme: Replacing identity with sincerity, action, and submission

Recommended Reads:

  1. “The Ego Is the Enemy” â€“ Ryan HolidayFor decentering the self in a culture obsessed with performance.
  2. “Atomic Habits” â€“ James ClearSubtly reinforces the idea that you become what you do, not what you say you are.
  3. “The Road to Character” â€“ David BrooksContrasts “rĂ©sumĂ© virtues” with “eulogy virtues.”
  4. “In the Early Hours” â€“ Khurram MuradA short and deep Islamic work on character-building and sincerity.
  5. “The Quran” â€“ Translation by Abdel Haleem or Mustafa KhattabDirect reading with a focus on ayat related to sincerity (ikhlas), identity, and the soul (nafs).

Theme: Letting go of false categories, embracing sincerity and submission.

🔖 Additional Books:

  1. “Essentialism” â€“ Greg McKeownModern productivity book, but deeply relevant to clarity and purpose.
  2. “The Art of Letting Go” â€“ Rania Awaad & Stanford Muslim Mental Health Lab (available online)Short, spiritual psychology reflections.
  3. “Awaken the Giant Within” â€“ Tony RobbinsTake with a grain of salt, but helps with shifting internal narratives.
  4. “Letters to a Young Muslim” â€“ Omar Saif GhobashFather’s letters to his son about faith, moderation, and inner strength.
  5. “A Thinking Person’s Guide to Islam” â€“ H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin MuhammadIslam stripped of slogans—rooted, intellectual, unflinching.

🕌 Islamic Reads:

  • “The Book of Assistance” â€“ Imam al-HaddadSoulful guide to sincerity and character.
  • “Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship” â€“ Imam al-GhazaliIdentity through submission, not self-promotion.
X

Surah Al-Hujurat (49:11–13) — “[We made you into nations and tribes so you may know one another, not despise one another.]”

🧠 Bonus for Thematic Threading Across All Parts

  • “Man’s Search for Meaning” – Viktor Frankl
    Essential for exploring purpose beyond identity.
  • “The Ethics of Authenticity” – Charles Taylor
    How modern identity culture can paradoxically destroy authenticity.
  • “The Second Sex” – Simone de Beauvoir
    Philosophical roots of gender as performance.
  • Islamic Texts: Al-Adab al-Mufrad, Riyad as-Salihin, and The Book of Assistance by Imam al-Haddad—great sources on character and non-performative virtue.

You might also like