Some of the best books I’ve read this year

The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings Are Trying to Tell You by Karla McLaren

This book travels through a whole vocabulary of emotions and truly celebrates them – showing you that each one (even the so-called negative emotions like anger and anxiety) have a specific purpose and message for you. So much insight on working with emotions in skillful ways. Deep emotional intelligence here. I loved this book so much that I reached out to Karla for an interview + had her on my podcast!

Spirit Hacking: Shamanic Keys to Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself, and Light Up the World by Shaman Durek
A friend gifted me the hard copy of this book (which I plan to use to do the exercises) but I have been listening on Audible because this man’s voice makes the book all the more enjoyable. He is hilarious. And it gave me a better sense if he was the real deal or not. I was skeptical at first, but he is full of deep insight and playful wisdom + he stole my heart.

The Light Between Us: Stories from Heaven. Lessons for the Living by Laura Lynne Jackson
Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe by Laura Lynne Jackson

I burned through these two books, one after the other, with a voraciousness I haven’t experienced in a while. I’m a total nerd when it comes to stories from the other side, synchronicity, intuition and being guided by Spirit helpers. If you’re in that camp + you want to cultivate more connection this way, these books will nourish you and delight you.

A Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are by Byron Katie
Byron Katie’s work tends to find you at the right time and I resisted her for years. Now I’m all in. i’ve read other books by her, but this is one that pulled it all together for me. I listened to it once and then listened again in a continuous loop! just to be sure it was sinking in. So much freedom available in this book.

Coincidentally, I went to a daylong workshop with Byron Katie at Spirit Rock right after my binge on her books! And was equally thrilled to watch her do The Work live with participants. She is luminous. And masterful.

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
This book is as compelling and beautifully written as everyone says it is! Fascinating story. Just read it!

You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson
Phoebe Robinson is brilliant and funny. And has a way of critiquing our culture and taking on complex issues like racism with so much humor and deep insight all at the same time. She invites you into the conversation in a beautiful, even joyful way.

Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat
This book is as brilliant as you’d hoped it would be! I just treated both my sister and I to this book (finally!) and never thought I would want to read a cookbook cover to cover. But it’s not a recipe book y’all, it’s a game-changing education on food and what makes it taste good that will change how you cook forever.

Samin and I are old friends + more than 10 years ago she told me she was developing a curriculum called Salt Fat Acid Heat and could she teach me to cook for a couple of hours in my kitchen to test it out? Uh, yes! I still use so many of the lessons she taught me + I’m so excited to expand what i know by diving into this book.

And of course, if you haven’t seen the show on Netflix, hop to it!