diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9a611ee..75ba49c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ build: .venv/deps
 
 # only works with python 3+
 lint: .venv/deps
-	.venv/bin/python -m pip install black==21.12b0
+	.venv/bin/python -m pip install black==22.3.0
 	.venv/bin/python -m black --check .
 
 test: .venv/deps
diff --git a/deepmerge/extended_set.py b/deepmerge/extended_set.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d51b43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deepmerge/extended_set.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+class ExtendedSet(set):
+    """
+    ExtendedSet is an extension of set, which allows for usage
+    of types that are typically not allowed in a set
+    (e.g. unhashable).
+
+    The following types that cannot be used in a set are supported:
+
+    - unhashable types
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, elements):
+        self._values_by_hash = {self._hash(e): e for e in elements}
+
+    def _insert(self, element):
+        self._values_by_hash[self._hash(element)] = element
+
+    def _hash(self, element):
+        if getattr(element, "__hash__") is not None:
+            return hash(element)
+        else:
+            return hash(str(element))
+
+    def __contains__(self, obj):
+        return self._hash(obj) in self._values_by_hash
diff --git a/deepmerge/strategy/list.py b/deepmerge/strategy/list.py
index ca42828..2e42519 100644
--- a/deepmerge/strategy/list.py
+++ b/deepmerge/strategy/list.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 from .core import StrategyList
+from ..extended_set import ExtendedSet
 
 
 class ListStrategies(StrategyList):
@@ -26,5 +27,5 @@ class ListStrategies(StrategyList):
     @staticmethod
     def strategy_append_unique(config, path, base, nxt):
         """append items without duplicates in nxt to base."""
-        base_as_set = set(base)
+        base_as_set = ExtendedSet(base)
         return base + [n for n in nxt if n not in base_as_set]
diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
index ee1edbc..df0dc4d 100644
--- a/docs/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -52,18 +52,18 @@ source_suffix = ".rst"
 master_doc = "index"
 
 # General information about the project.
-project = u"deepmerge"
-copyright = u"2016, Yusuke Tsutsumi"
-author = u"Yusuke Tsutsumi"
+project = "deepmerge"
+copyright = "2016, Yusuke Tsutsumi"
+author = "Yusuke Tsutsumi"
 
 # The version info for the project you're documenting, acts as replacement for
 # |version| and |release|, also used in various other places throughout the
 # built documents.
 #
 # The short X.Y version.
-version = u"0.1"
+version = "0.1"
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags.
-release = u"0.1"
+release = "0.1"
 
 # The language for content autogenerated by Sphinx. Refer to documentation
 # for a list of supported languages.
@@ -271,8 +271,8 @@ latex_documents = [
     (
         master_doc,
         "deepmerge.tex",
-        u"deepmerge Documentation",
-        u"Yusuke Tsutsumi",
+        "deepmerge Documentation",
+        "Yusuke Tsutsumi",
         "manual",
     ),
 ]
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ latex_documents = [
 
 # One entry per manual page. List of tuples
 # (source start file, name, description, authors, manual section).
-man_pages = [(master_doc, "deepmerge", u"deepmerge Documentation", [author], 1)]
+man_pages = [(master_doc, "deepmerge", "deepmerge Documentation", [author], 1)]
 
 # If true, show URL addresses after external links.
 #
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ texinfo_documents = [
     (
         master_doc,
         "deepmerge",
-        u"deepmerge Documentation",
+        "deepmerge Documentation",
         author,
         "deepmerge",
         "One line description of project.",
diff --git a/docs/guide.rst b/docs/guide.rst
index 39f414a..a13bb01 100644
--- a/docs/guide.rst
+++ b/docs/guide.rst
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ it's recommended to choose your own strategies, deepmerge does
 provided some preconfigured mergers for a common situations:
 
 * deepmerge.always_merger: always try to merge. in the case of mismatches, the value from the second object overrides the first o ne.
-* deepmerge.merge_or_raise: try to merge, raise an exception if an unmergable situation is encountered. 
+* deepmerge.merge_or_raise: try to merge, raise an exception if an unmergable situation is encountered.
 * deepmerge.conservative_merger: similar to always_merger, but in the case of a conflict, use the existing value.
 
 Once a merger is constructed, it then has a merge() method that can be called:
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ Once a merger is constructed, it then has a merge() method that can be called:
 Merges are Destructive
 ======================
 
-
 You may have noticed from the example, but merging is a destructive behavior: it will modify the first argument passed in (the base) as part of the merge.
 
 This is intentional, as an implicit copy would result in a significant performance slowdown for deep data structures. If you need to keep the original objects unmodified, you can use the deepcopy method:
@@ -96,3 +95,13 @@ Example:
 If a strategy fails, an exception should not be raised. This is to
 ensure it can be chained with other strategies, or the fall-back.
 
+Uniqueness of elements when merging
+===================================
+
+Some strategies require determining the uniqueness
+of the elements. Since deepmerge primarily deals with nested
+types, this includes structures that are not hashable such as
+dictionaries.
+
+In those cases, built-in deepmerge strategies will call repr()
+on the object and hash that value instead.
\ No newline at end of file

diff --git a/deepmerge/tests/strategy/test_list.py b/deepmerge/tests/strategy/test_list.py
index 39215a9..7eb2d3b 100644
--- a/deepmerge/tests/strategy/test_list.py
+++ b/deepmerge/tests/strategy/test_list.py
@@ -19,3 +19,15 @@ def test_strategy_append_unique(custom_merger):
     expected = [1, 3, 2, 5, 4]
     actual = custom_merger.merge(base, nxt)
     assert actual == expected
+
+
+def test_strategy_append_unique_nested_dict(custom_merger):
+    """append_unique should work even with unhashable objects
+    Like dicts.
+    """
+    base = [{"bar": ["bob"]}]
+    nxt = [{"bar": ["baz"]}]
+
+    result = custom_merger.merge(base, nxt)
+
+    assert result == [{"bar": ["bob"]}, {"bar": ["baz"]}]

list merge strategy append_unique does not work for lists of dicts
Hi developers, especially @morph027 ,

I get an error when trying to apply list merge strategy `append_unique` for lists of dictionaries.
I am using deepmerge 1.0.1 and python 3.7.7.

When I am running the following code
```python
from deepmerge import Merger

my_merger = Merger(
    # pass in a list of tuple, with the
    # strategies you are looking to apply
    # to each type.
    [
        (list, ["append_unique"]),
        (dict, ["merge"]),
        (set, ["union"])
    ],
    # next, choose the fallback strategies,
    # applied to all other types:
    ["override"],
    # finally, choose the strategies in
    # the case where the types conflict:
    ["override"]
)
base = {"foo": ["bar"]}
next = {"foo": ["bar","baz"]}

result = my_merger.merge(base, next)

assert result == {'foo': ['bar', 'baz']}

base = {"foo": [{"bar": ["bob"]}]}
next = {"foo": [{"bar": ["baz"]}]}

result = my_merger.merge(base, next)

assert result == {'foo': [{'bar', ["bob"]}, {"bar": ["baz"]}]}

```

I get the following exception

```bash
python3 test_merge.py 
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "test_merge.py", line 29, in <module>
    result = my_merger.merge(base, next)
  File "/home/horst/venv/lib64/python3.7/site-packages/deepmerge/merger.py", line 33, in merge
    return self.value_strategy([], base, nxt)
  File "/home/horst/venv/lib64/python3.7/site-packages/deepmerge/merger.py", line 43, in value_strategy
    return strategy(self, path, base, nxt)
  File "/home/horst/venv/lib64/python3.7/site-packages/deepmerge/strategy/core.py", line 35, in __call__
    ret_val = s(*args, **kwargs)
  File "/home/horst/venv/lib64/python3.7/site-packages/deepmerge/strategy/dict.py", line 23, in strategy_merge
    base[k] = config.value_strategy(path + [k], base[k], v)
  File "/home/horst/venv/lib64/python3.7/site-packages/deepmerge/merger.py", line 43, in value_strategy
    return strategy(self, path, base, nxt)
  File "/home/horst/venv/lib64/python3.7/site-packages/deepmerge/strategy/core.py", line 35, in __call__
    ret_val = s(*args, **kwargs)
  File "/home/horst/venv/lib64/python3.7/site-packages/deepmerge/strategy/list.py", line 29, in strategy_append_unique
    base_as_set = set(base)
TypeError: unhashable type: 'dict'
```

Best,
Oliver

deepmerge/tests/strategy/test_list.py::test_strategy_append_unique_nested_dict
deepmerge/tests/strategy/test_list.py::test_strategy_append_unique