Holistic Harley Spring Book Club
These are 10 great books I’ve read recently. If you’re looking for more book recommendations, you can check out my previous posts: Winter Book Club, Fall Book Club and Social Distancing Book Club.
Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David R. Hawkins - I heard about this book through Chelsea Handler’s naked book club which is essentially her taking pictures of herself naked holding good books - check it out on Instagram. It is long, but it is based on a really interesting, simple and helpful concept. One I will certainly re-read again. Some of the examples he uses are a little sexist, but it doesn’t take away from the power of the message.
State of Affairs by Esther Perel - I think this book is great for anyone to read even if you haven’t been directly impacted by infidelity. The way we think of infidelity in this country is so black and white when it’s an incredibly nuanced thing that deserves more conversation and openness (and even sometimes compassion). This book does not condone affairs in anyway, but it shows that the reasons people have affairs are as varied as human beings themselves.
Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Anything by Geneen Roth - This is a book I recommend to anyone who has a challenging relationship with food and their body. Your struggles with food can actually be your greatest teacher if you let them.
Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker - I bought this book after seeing a glowing endorsement from the Whole30 founder Melissa Urban without really knowing anything else about it. I was a bit surprised to open it (while sitting on the beach drinking a beer) and see her stance that she doesn’t think anyone can have a healthy relationship with alcohol and that basically no one should drink ever. I do believe that alcohol is much more problematic than we acknowledge as a society. However, I also believe it can be part of a healthy life for some of us. That point aside, the book is still completely worth reading. It will educate you on addiction, the inequities in current addiction treatment, and it will illuminate where you have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.
Awakening Fertility by Amely Greeven, Heng Ou, and Marisa Belger - I love this book! It was written by the same authors who wrote the well-known book, The First Forty Days. I think it is great for any woman to pick up even if you have no plans of ever getting pregnant. It addresses mind, body and spirit. Being fertile is really about being a healthy, embodied woman, so the advice in here is relevant to anyone with a female reproductive system.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Richard Riso - I love the Enneagram. In my opinion, it is the best personality system that exists. I love how with your type, it shows you how an unhealthy, average, and healthy type presents. This helps you more clearly identify your unique growth areas. The Enneagram will make you feel seen and understand yourself in ways you didn’t before. I am a Type 8.
Inheritance by Dani Shapiro - A wild and compelling memoir about a woman’s path to understanding her identity after a genetic test reveals the man she thought was her biological father her whole life was not.
Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss - This and Signs by Laura Lynn Jackson are the top 2 mind-opening books I’ve read recently. I am fascinated by past lives and reincarnation, and this book is a very compelling case for multiple lives written by a highly respected psychiatrist. If I had to choose one book from this list to recommend, it would be this one.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - I will admit this book starts off slow and it is long. In the first quarter of the book, I thought of abandoning it a few times but I’m SO GLAD I didn’t. It is a beautiful, fictional story that I was thinking about for days after I finished it.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - The perfect fiction book to complement my current fascination with past lives and quantum physics. It is about a girl caught between life and death with an opportunity to see how her life would turn out differently if she had made different decisions - large and small.
Let me know if you read any of these books! I’d love to know what you think.
