2026 Reflecting Pool Media Recommendations

The Braver Collective Reflecting Pool is made up of young leaders, activists, professionals and artists of all backgrounds who have been impacted by sexual violence. They offer valuable insights, champion the interests of the survivor community, and help us uphold our commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive, trauma-responsive, and supportive digital healing space. 

Each year, we ask the Reflecting Pool to share books, films, tv shows, video games, artwork, and other media that resonate with them as survivors. 

Read on for recommendations from the 2026 cohort! 

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Fire Keeper’s Daughter

Book Series by Angeline Boulley
Recommended by Brecken Styles

When the FBI shows up on reservation land in Northern Michigan investigating a drug ring, an 18 year old Ojibwe woman goes undercover to protect her community. 

WHO THIS IS FOR 

Young Adult readers and those who are interested in Ojibwe culture, and traditional healing.

WHY Brecken RECOMMENDS

We need amazing stories about survivors and this book is one of the best. Accessible for teen and adult audiences, this book is full of richly complex characters living in a technicolor world. This is also the first in a series of great young adult novels featuring indigenous female main characters.

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Art Saved My Life 

Original Artwork + Short Film
Recommended by Lauren Ward 

A collection of artwork that reflects Lauren’s healing process as a survivor of domestic violence and abuse. Especially featuring a short film that Lauren filmed & edited, entitled Blessed Mama. 

WHO THIS IS FOR 

Anyone interested in art therapy, creative expression, survivor stories, the artist’s way.

WHY LAUREN RECOMMENDS 

Art has been a fundamental source of coping and nurture in my life, I have survived through some of the most difficult eras of my life by keeping my hands, my mind occupied with something I could create that is outside of myself. Through making something I find what I contain within. And art heals and guides us!

My website, laurenbennettward.com , features my practice–primarily painting and drawing, but also sculpture. My art is made from life experiences - I would say a more whimsical side than I get to display every day in person with people, but it’s a very emotionally charged process. I put my heart out there, because the artists who help me are always the ones that tell their story their way and no one else’s– from my perspective, as a survivor, I’m not trying to protect anyone from feeling any way about me. I am me and art helps me love me.

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Companion + Obsession

Films by Drew Hancock and Curry Barker 
Recommended by Calista Hennie
@calistahennie  

Companion (2025) Film Written and Directed by Drew Hancock;  Starring Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, and Lukas Gage

Obsession (2025) Film Written and Directed by Curry Barker; Starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, and Cooper Tomlinson

These two thriller/horror films that use sci-fi or supernatural elements to explore themes of sexual and domestic violence and the psychological experience of survivors. 

WHO THIS IS FOR 

Though many survivors agreed that these films accurately portrayed SA (sexual assault) and DV (domestic violence), many others found them incredibly triggering. I recommend these films for those who may feel validated by honest portrayals of coercive control, are aware of their triggers, and can handle watching violent scenes.

WHY Calista RECOMMENDS

I often struggle with feeling very misunderstood and alien as a survivor, and the way assault and abuse are portrayed in mainstream media doesn’t tend to help. Abusers are typically centered and violence serves mostly as a spectacle. These films stayed with me because, despite the fact that violence was portrayed, I felt as though it was done with honesty and with the survivor’s experience at the heart of the story. There were scenes that made me feel as though I was watching exact moments from my past reflected back at me. While that can be disturbing for many people and could have been for myself at another time, it made me feel profoundly seen and well represented. Seeing this achieved in widely popular movies helped me feel less alone in an experience that remains isolating long after the abuse has ended.

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Know My Name 

A Memoir by Chanel Miller
Recommended by Claire Bang

Know My Name: A Memoir by survivor Chanel Miller - the anonymous “Emily Doe” in People v. Turner - in which she recounts her experience as a survivor thrust into the spotlight in her trial against Brock Turner.

WHO THIS IS FOR 

I would recommend this memoir for survivors who are looking to read the first-person perspective of another survivor. (Warning: it may take you many months to read a little bit at a time as you are able!) I also recommend this memoir for anyone who wants to understand what survivors have to endure after a traumatic event, especially when one pursues justice through the legal route. 

WHY Claire RECOMMENDS

Chanel Miller’s writing of her own experience and lens put to words a lot of the emotions and thoughts that I had experienced when I became a survivor. Though this memoir came many years later, I felt validated and seen which helped me continue on my journey of healing.

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Baldur’s Gate 3 

Fantasy Roleplaying Video Game
Recommended by Andy Quintana Vendrell
@andyqv_coaching

This fantasy roleplaying video game by Larian Studios explores themes of body autonomy, power, identity, and morality through its story and the choices you are given as a player. Through one of the companion characters available, the game explores the complex journey of a male sexual trauma survivor. 

WHO THIS IS FOR 

18+  survivors who like video games and storytelling, as that’s one of the major strengths of this game. Male survivors might see themselves represented more but I still connected as a cis female survivor. Survivors who might relate to a healing journey away from hypersexuality as a response and way of valuing themselves. 

WHY Andy RECOMMENDS

Playing this game was such an emotional experience for me, especially in the last act, and especially playing out the survivor companion character’s (Astarion’s) storyline. I took a long time to play through my first runthrough of this game, but it felt like I played through each chapter of Astarion’s story at the right time, with where I was at in my healing journey. The way his survivorship is explored is so real and impactful. As the player, you get to choose how to respond to his journey and can be a friend to him, or even a lover. Choosing the healing options as I would have wanted on my own journey, struck an emotional cord with me and prompted important reflections around my relationships to sexuality in dating, vulnerability vs. emotional walls, true intimacy, and themes of rage and justice. I cried as I got to make meaningful choices for Astarion’s closure, in a narratively satisfying way that I haven’t been able to play out in real life.

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The Body Keeps the Score 

Book by Bessel van der Kolk
Recommended by Gurwant
@gurrr_wantwant / @gurrr_wantwant

The Body Keeps the Score explores how trauma reshapes the brain, nervous system, and body, often leaving us carrying the effects of traumatic experiences without realizing how deeply they are stored within us or how they continue to influence our daily lives. Through neuroscience, psychology, clinical research, and real-life stories, Bessel van der Kolk explains how trauma impacts our emotions, behaviors, relationships, and physical health while offering evidence-based approaches that inspire hope for healing and recovery.

WHO THIS IS FOR 

I would recommend this book to survivors at any stage of their healing journey who are looking to better understand the effects of trauma on the mind and body. I also believe it is a valuable resource for allies, loved ones, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and anyone supporting a survivor. The book fosters empathy and offers insight into why trauma can shape thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and physical responses long after the traumatic event. This helps us as readers process our healing journey.

WHY Gurwant RECOMMENDS

The Body Keeps the Score deeply resonated with me because it helped me understand trauma through both a personal and scientific lens. As someone who naturally wants to understand the "why" behind people's experiences, this book explained how trauma affects the brain, nervous system, and body in ways I had never fully understood before. It helped me realize that many emotional and physical responses to trauma are not signs of weakness or failure, but adaptive survival responses.

Having a nursing background also gave me a greater appreciation for the research and neuroscience presented throughout the book. I found it fascinating to see the connection between psychology, physiology, and healing explained in an evidence-based yet compassionate way. It reinforced something I now carry with me both personally and professionally: our bodies often remember what our minds try to move past, and healing requires patience, self-compassion, and understanding.

Most importantly, this book gave me language for experiences that once felt difficult to explain. It reminded me that healing is rarely linear, that setbacks don't erase progress, and that recovery is possible.

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Normal People

Book and Limited Series Written by Sally Rooney
Recommended by August
@aug_1221
 

Normal People follows Marianne and Connell as they try to navigate a relationship through different social dynamics, upbringings, and approaches to life. There is an added layer of context with Marianne’s lived experience being surrounded by physically and verbally abusive relationships with men through family and romantic connections. 

WHO THIS IS FOR 

I believe Normal People (the book and series) is for people who are ready to embrace that whatever happened to them, it wasn’t their fault. The storyline is authentic and devastating and mournful. There are opportunities for change for the better even when life does feel completely enshrouded in darkness. It makes you feel seen, especially if you are living with mental health conditions or major life changes.

WHY AUGUST RECOMMENDS

The intersection of coming-of-age relationships, mental health, and survivorship really comes through in a special way. Comparatively, other shows may glance over it or not make these points a piece of the storyline. Marianne and Connell’s emotions build the story from the start and last until the end as they are tested through events that challenge their own belief systems, narrative frameworks, and lifestyles. As a survivor, Normal People made me understand how I see myself and how I was approaching relationships in an unhelpful way post-trauma.

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The Power and Control Wheel

Tool created by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, MN.
Recommended by Miyanna C
@_herquietseason_

The Power and Control Wheel is a tool used to identify types of abuse individuals are impacted by. It lists types of abuse, but also names what it can look like for survivors to assess their own personal situations. 

WHO THIS IS FOR 

Anyone who is questioning mistreatment in different relationships.

WHY Miyanna RECOMMENDS

In my role as a Therapist, this tool has helped my client see different types of abuse and what it can look like for them. It has also opened up difficult conversations that most people didn’t know they needed.
 

DISCLAIMER

Every survivor’s journey is different. Braver Collective does not endorse, approve, or recommend any specific path or modality towards healing. All content on this page (written, visual, linked) is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to replace or provide medical, legal, or any professional advice or care. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for any health-related questions, concerns, or conditions. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, dial 911 or go to the closest emergency room.