My Winter Reads
My dream day?
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...stay in my Snoopy pajamas worn thin by love and read all day long - intermittent naps would be nice too! But, that's not reality, so we work with what life gives!
I always have three to five books going at any one time and pick them up depending on my mood and the amount of time to read.
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These are my favorite winter reads thus far...
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I'd love to know about yours!
The Unwinding of the Miracle
By Julie Yip-Williams
No matter your familiarity or lack of such, in regard to the struggles of living with or loving someone with terminal illness, The Unwinding of the Miracle will touch deep threads of our human nature. It will gift you with quiet pondering, deep empathy, and better understanding for that which we cannot fully know until we face it ourselves. I would highly recommend this in audiobook format. The emotions woven into the carefully read words will pull you deep into the story.
Book Summary - As a young mother facing a terminal diagnosis, Julie Yip-Williams began to write her story, a story like no other. What began as the chronicle of an imminent and early death became something much more--a powerful exhortation to the living.
The Second Mountain
By David Brooks
In The Second Mountain, David Brooks covers topics on our individualistic culture, addiction, relationships, connection, joy, despair in a way that causes your head to tilt ever so slightly and allow the possibility of a new perspective. In a growing world of surface-level connection, The Second Mountain was refreshingly relational on deeper level.
The fact that David Brooks shared in the forward of the book with authenticity and humility about his past mistakes, I found I was able to once again open my ears to his words. A perfect lead into the book.
Book Summary - In The Second Mountain, David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments.
The Anti-Anxiety Diet: A Whole Body Program to Stop Racing Thoughts, Banish Worry, and Live Panic Free
By Ali Miller, RD, LD, CDE
While I am fortunate not to suffer from anxiety, I know many people who do and read the book before deciding if it was an appropriate gift. I found the basis of the diet intriguing, logical, and derived from sound study. I tried quite a few of the recipes and delighted in the clean eating format. I can definitely see The Anti-Anxiety Diet becoming an actual life-style choice. Yes, gift worthy!
Book Summary -Every day, millions of American struggle with debilitating anxiety, which causes not only mental symptoms such as thought rumination, depression, and irritability, but also physical symptoms like digestive distress, shakiness, headaches, weight gain, adrenal or thyroid dysfunction, chronic fatigue, and even autoimmune diseases. Luckily, there is now a scientifically based nutritional way to manage your symptoms and live a healthier, happier, more peaceful life: The Anti-Anxiety Diet.
The Next Right Thing
By Emily P. Freeman
I love anything by Emily! If you struggle with making a decision or knowing if you're on the right path, or simply second guessing yourself, The Next Right Thing gives tangible help to understand the reasoning and gives steps to moving forward.
Book Summary - Nothing gets our attention like an unmade decision: Should I accept the new position? Which schooling choice is best for my kids? How can I support my aging parents? When we have a decision to make and the answer isn't clear, what we want more than anything is peace, clarity, and a nudge in the right direction.
Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore or check out Emily's website here!
The Storyteller
By Jodi Picoult
I like to read books about the history of our humanity, especially the mistakes we have made. They help me to remember and guard my thoughts from allowing prejudice to form.
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The Storyteller touches the lives of two Holocaust survivors with very different, but entangled pasts. A gentle weaving of present and past, touching moral quandaries, forgiveness and redemption.
Book Summary - Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship.
