There is much wisdom to be gained, knowledge to be learned and imagination to be indulged in a good book. But the 11 soul-stirring books that I am about to share have forever changed my approach to life. I hope they resonate with you as strongly as they have for me. If you have any recommendations you’d like to add to this list, I’d love to know!
My top 11 growth books (that will change your life)
1. You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
A heartfelt guide to healing your life through the power of your thoughts. Hay explains how limiting beliefs and ideas are often the cause of illness. Your thoughts create your reality. So if you can change your thinking, you can change your life. There is even a section of the book that covers a long list of illnesses and the related emotional issues that one can attribute to be the cause of these physical manifestation of dis-ease. Hay gives you the tools to be able to do the mental work, nurture your self love and create the life you wish to live.
2. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
A guide to spiritual enlightenment through the power of the present moment. It brings freedom through the realisation that you are not the possessing entity (the thinker), you are a higher level of consciousness. Everything that truly matters (love, beauty, creativity, joy, inner peace) arises from beyond the mind. Tolle is able to explain complicated concepts in concrete language. He also offers markers that symbolise a “break time” from the text to let complex ideas sink in. As such, it is a great spiritual guide.
3. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
This book will inspire you to live a creative life beyond fear, tap into your unique gifts, bring ideas into the world and follow your passions. Gilbert empowers us to embrace our creative inclinations and ideas as gifts from the universe. She reminds us to be curious, open and playful (even when it seems like our creative work is not being valued or recognised). She encourages us to own our creativity with passion and stay light with it.
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Set against the backdrop of an alluring Egyptian dessert, this enchanting, well-loved fable details the journey of a shepherd boy on a journey of self-discovery. The story of Santiago reminds us to honour our dreams, our intuition and our hearts. It is simple, yet soul-stirring.
5. What Am I Supposed to Eat? by Dr. Libby Weaver
A beautiful book based in science and written with love, Dr. Libby Weaver guides the reader to build a better relationship with food. There is so much noise and juxtaposing opinions in the world of nutrition that has left many confused about what to eat. This book provides a comprehensive yet easily digestible guide to the science of how our bodies work and how we can best support them nutritionally.
6. How To Do the Work by Nicole LePera
Well-known as the Holistic Psychologist on social media, Dr. LePera equips people with the interdisciplinary tools – mental, physical and spiritual – they need to be able to heal themselves. Her introspective book offers both a manifesto for self healing and an essential guide to creating a more vibrant, authentic and joyful life. Drawing from the latest research, LePera helps us recognise how adverse experiences and trauma in childhood can live with us. This can keep us stuck engaging in patterns of codependency, emotional immaturity and trauma bonds. Unless addressed, these self-sabotaging behaviours can quickly become cyclical, leaving us unhappy, unfulfilled and unwell. LePera guides readers to be their own self healer.
7. Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers her powerful vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly and to courageously engage in our lives. Based on twelve years of research, Brown argues that vulnerability is not weakness but rather our clearest path to courage, engagement and meaningful connection. We are hard-wired to connect with others. But we can’t have meaningful connections with others without allowing ourselves to be vulnerable.
8. Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein
Bernstein guides you to co-create the life you want with the universe through her spiritual manifesto. She will help you to find purpose, happiness and freedom; release the past and live without fear of the future; tap into the infinite source of abundance, joy and wellbeing that is your birthright; and bring more light to your own life and the world around you. You will realise that attracting can be a fun process if you only let life flow.
9. The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman
Chapman reveals the secret to lasting love in this book. He does so by introducing the five ways that people give and receive love. These five love languages are: Words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch. If you don’t speak the same love language as someone, then you may not feel loved. So this book helps you to be able to communicate what makes you feel loved to others and helps you understand how to show your love for someone else in a way that they’ll best receive it. An assessment is included to allow you to discover your love language and that of a loved one.
10. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by don Miguel Ruiz
I actually stumbled upon this book in a second-hand store, written in French! Reading it was a great way to practice my French as I unpacked the ancient Toltec wisdom. Through his book, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. It offers a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to be one of freedom, happiness and love. The Four Agreements are: Be impeccable with your word, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions and always do your best.
11. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Gilbert makes this list twice, this time with her moving memoir of self-discovery. After achieving society’s ideals of a successful career, husband and house, Gilbert experiences a mid-life crisis. She decides to pursue a quest for meaning by quitting her job, ending her marriage and selling her belongings to embark on a yearlong journey around the world on her own. In Rome, she studies the art of pleasure. India teaches her the art of devotion and spirituality. And in Bali, she unexpectedly falls in love. Gilbert’s articulate account empowers us to take responsibility for our own happiness and stop trying to fit into society’s ideals.
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Do you feel called to read any of the books on this list? Or do you have a book that you would love to recommend? Let me know in the comments!