Aware,Awake,Alive
by: Elliot S. Dacher, M.D.
Before reading this book, I had heard a good deal of Eastern wisdom from various sources—expounding the virtues of mental stillness, open heartedness, and simple acceptance of the entire lived experience. I had rejected all of it! I was too defended to hear it. This book changed all that. Elliot Dacher has done the incredible work of distilling Eastern wisdom for a “Westernized mind.”
The Upside of Stress
by: Kelly McGonigal, PhD
I really like Kelly McGonigal’s alternative take on stress. She points out that stress mobilizes energy, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. And there are different types of stress. When you can identify each of them for what they are, they can serve their unique purposes to move you forward.
Wired to Connect
by: Amy Banks, M.D. with Leigh Ann Hirschman
Just as our neurobiology supports a fight-or-flight response in the face of potential bodily harm, it also supports creating and maintaining connections with others. And it’s because our interconnections are equally important to our survival. “Pack mentality” is alive and well within us. We know our power is greater when we coordinate our efforts, so our brains are literally encoded to ensure that we do. Sound interesting? Read this book.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
by: Carol S. Dweck, PhD
I’d say this book answers one essential question: “What are your mental constructs around adversity, and are they helping you or hurting you?” Carol Dweck posits that our attitude towards ideas of success, failure, and struggle is a major determining factor in the way our lives unfold. For me personally, this book conveyed some hard truths about how I end up standing in my own way. It was the exact type of “tough love” I needed.
Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual
by: Michael Pollan
Here’s an unlikely confession from a wellness coach: I mostly dislike books about food and/or eating practices. I find they have too often been co-opted for purposes other than genuine human health. Many are too “preachy,” assumptive, or narrow in their scope. I’m of the opinion that none of us should eat exactly alike, because we are all living in different bodies. This “food book” leaves room for your humanity: palette, morals, and culinary whims all included. With Food Rules, Michael Pollan offers useful guidelines with plenty of room to move. And I think that’s beautiful—because eating is an art, not an exact science!
The language of emotions
by: Karla McLaren
Have you ever wondered, “what purpose do emotions serve?” For a lot of us, the internal narrative is that emotions get in the way—of our relationships, our goals, our “professionalism,” et cetera. I’ve struggled with that narrative, and wasted precious energy trying to push my emotions away. This book helped me understand what emotions are for, and how to use them productively. Anger, sadness, and fear all have their place in a healthy human psyche. If welcomed as free-flowing energies, they tell us what we need, how to get it, and then they disappear (like waves crashing back into the ocean). If emotions are a “problem” in your life, there is no better book.