Shorter days and cooler weather always send me into reading mode. I thought I’d share some of the books that have been helpful to me over the years. I’d love to hear about yours! These are only a few of the incredible books out there—this is by no means a comprehensive list.
About Love by bell hooks
I was on a cross-country flight frantically underlining passages in this thoughtful and powerful look at love and what it truly is. Incredibly helpful in undoing that Disney fairy-tale brainwashing! http://www.bellhooksinstitute.com/
Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating by Geneen Roth
Or anything by Geneen Roth. She dives into food (and sometimes money) as a lens into how we relate to everything else in our lives. Many of her books have simple, loving guidelines to help shift our relationship with food and begin to trust ourselves. https://geneenroth.com/
I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brené Brown
This is one of her earlier books, but I still go back to it as a solid guide to identifying shame triggers, taking steps to build shame resilience, and a broad perspective on shame versus guilt. I will warn you that it was written based on research with women, so it does have a binary gendered slant. If you can move past that, it is a helpful read. As are all of her other books! https://brenebrown.com
The Places that Scare You by Pema Chodron
I was so scared of this book. It came to me as an unexpected gift, and I liked the idea, but it took me a year to open it and read it. I’m so glad that I did. She does not deny the realities of life, but she offers gentle humor and compassion in the struggle. You don’t have to be Buddhist to benefit from the wisdom in here. https://pemachodronfoundation.org/
Transformation Soup by SARK
SARK has spent decades transforming grim pain into honest, vulnerable explosions of color and vibrancy. I discovered her books during some dark days back in college and found them both validating and encouraging. http://planetsark.com/
That’s a good start for now. Curl up with a nice mug of something and dive in! If you find you need a little help implementing what you learn, let’s meet and talk about it.