I’ve been reading a lot lately, and I thought this week I would share ten of my favorite books with you in case you are finding yourself needing something new to do during this new season of life we are going through together. Given the current circumstances – that we’ve all been cooped up in our homes with nowhere to go but the grocery store – I’m guessing ideas of new things to do or read may be welcome?
I’m mostly a non-fiction reader. I won’t way that I’ve never enjoyed a work of fiction, but 95% of my library consists of biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, self-help, personal growth or how-to books. So keep in mind that my list will be 100% non-fiction, and I am also tailoring it to the personal growth/development here since that’s what I write most about on this blog.
So, buckle up, and check these out!
(P.S. Full disclosure, if you purchase any of these by clicking on the images below, I’ll get a little kickback, but I would never recommend anything I didn’t love!)
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
You knew I’d include this, didn’t you?! To be honest, I haven’t even finished it yet, but the prologue had such an effect on me that I have seriously been madly devouring the audiobook, looking for any excuse I can to go for a nice, long run.
This book is one that you feel as you read it. It examines the restrictive expectations women are issued from birth. It shows how hustling to meet those expectations leaves women feeling dissatisfied and lost; and it reveals that when we quit abandoning ourselves and instead abandon the world’s expectations of us, we become women who can finally look at ourselves and recognize our true power and beauty.
I think so many women struggle with this, and it is so much of the work I do – to help women answer the voice they are hearing that says there is more for them. To help them figure out what that “more” is, and to start shedding the “shoulds” so they can go get what is true to them.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
I freaking love this book, and I read it at least once a year. It’s a simple and wise story about an Andalusian shepherd boy who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids.
Along the way, he meets a gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point the boy in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if the boy will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a meditation on the treasures found within.
This story shows the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
The Crossroads Between Should and Must by Elle Luna
We arrive at this crossroads over and over again, every single day. And we get to choose our direction.
Starting out, or starting over, making a career change or life change, the most life-affirming thing you can do is honor the voice inside that says you have something special to give and then heed the call and acct.
This book is an easy read and really got me to start thinking about the idea that I have the power to choose my path – to create the life that is true to ME. Do I want to choose the “shoulds” that will lead me down a path that is acceptable to the world, or the “musts” that will lead me to where I want to be? (this book is a great gift!)
The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
There was a time when my mind held me as a starved prisoner. I felt like my life was one big joke – one where I existed just to be tormented.
This book helped me so much – in a way, it was the start of my mindfulness practice. I was introduced to the concept of letting go of attachment to the negative thoughts and emotions in my life that were holding me back from happiness and inner peace.
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
I’ve been a Brené Brown fan since one of her first books: I Thought It Was Just Me, but several years ago, I fell in love with this one when Brene and Oprah offered an online course for this book.
Each chapter had an art journaling exercise associated with it, the first one being to write “I Am Enough” on our hand and posting a selfie of ourselves holding our hand up for the world to see. This activity alone opened up doors in my mind. My quest to explore my innate perfectionism began, and I started to learn what it meant to be imperfect.
As a perfectionist, I had unrealistic (and unattainable) expectations and standards that I held myself to. Through this book, I explored Brené’s ten guideposts of authenticity and learned what I need to cultivate feelings of self-worth as well as acceptance and love for myself. I learned what it means to have the courage to show up as an imperfect human being, and be able to know that, in itself, is enough.
The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron
Really, I love anything by Pema. You really can’t go wrong.
Life is full of difficult times for sure, and this book helped me learn that I have a choice to let my circumstances harden me – making me resentful and afraid, or to let them soften me, making me kinder to myself. Pema offers tools to deal with the struggles that life puts in our path and shares that this wisdom is always available to us, but we usually block it with habitual patterns that are rooted in fear.
Beyond our fear lies a state of openheartedness and tenderness. Pema teaches us to awaken our basic goodness and connect with others, to accept ourselves and others, complete with faults and imperfections, and to stay in the present moment by seeing through the strategies of the ego that cause us to resist life as it is.
I learned that resisting circumstances is what causes suffering and the more I can lean into my struggles and accept, them, the less pain I will have.
Some other titles by Pema Chodron that I love are: When Things Fall Apart, How to Meditate, and Comfortable with Uncertainty.
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Of course I have two Brené Brown books on the list! I really love anything by her, but this book is where she introduced the quote by Theodore Roosevelt about the arena. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click HERE.
Studying this book made me realize that in order to get where I want to go in life, I need to show up with the courage to be myself.
I have to accept that in doing hard things, I am going to fail. I’m going to get my ass kicked, but I have to show up (and keep showing up) and do the hard things, even when it’s scary. This requires vulnerability, and vulnerability is hard, but it’s work worth doing.
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
This simple, but amazing little book reveals the source of self-limiting that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. The agreements are:
- Be Impeccable With Your Word
- Don’t Take Anything Personally (good or bad)
- Don’t Make Assumptions
- Always Do Your Best
These four simple agreements offer a code of conduct that can quickly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness and love. They help focus our energy inward to what we are able to control – ourselves.
Love is Letting Go of Fear by Gerald Jampolsky
So much of our struggle in life is fear-driven. This book reminded me that the only roadblocks to living the life that I want are the limitations my own mind has imposed. Living in fear is not my authentic way of being, and the way to live as my true self, the essence of which is love, is a matter of releasing those limiting beliefs.
In the self-work that I’ve done, I’ve found that so much of my suffering has been related to limiting beliefs and stories that I accepted as truth without ever questioning. Once I started to ask questions about these beliefs and stories, a door opened – almost like clearing a path so I can forge ahead.
The eye opener for me was that the stories we tell ourselves and the beliefs we hold are not always true, or helpful. It is absolutely possible to dismantle limiting beliefs and build new ones as well as rewrite our unhelpful Stories.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
In our society, we are burning out trying to achieve the unachievable and reach the peak of success. The book offers perspective on the attainment of success: if we can turn inward and understand our true nature and learn to live in harmony with natural law, a sense of well-being, good health, fulfilling relationships, energy and enthusiasm for life and material abundance will spring forth easily and effortlessly.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success also really got me to think differently about what success really is to me. It wasn’t what I originally thought.
So there you have it. Ten of my favorite books. It was really hard for me to narrow it down to ten, so I’ll do another one of these posts in the future to share some of my other favorites.
Have you read any of these books?
Which ones are your favorites?
I would absolutely love it if you’d comment below, on social media, or shoot me an email with books that YOU love!
