"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read." - James Baldwin.

Any Black Friday/Cyber Monday emails this week entice you to snag a deal? Having been well-informed that it only goes on sale once this time of year, I did buy one item—a new Kindle. I am so excited. The Kindle is a timely gift to myself, as in January, apart from a bit of decluttering, the only other thing I plan to do is luxuriate in long reads.

Not altogether unrelated to this, I've hatched a cunning plan and persuaded my Health Coaching team that this year's Secret Santa will be a book swap instead of random gifts. In truth, this Secret Santa exchange is a selfish ploy. I'm so curious about what gems others are reading that I shouldn't be too surprised when people ask me for my recommendations also, which you have!

I've a few picks here to share. Perhaps one of these might touch you as much as they have me.

In no particular order, here are ten books I've loved:

The Great Work of Your Life, Stephen Cope

I mentioned this book in last week's newsletter because it represents a bit of a milestone for me. I will always be grateful that it fell into my lap when I needed it the most. It's a book about Dharma, drawing on the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita, and offers commentary on purpose and living authentically.

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, Susan Jeffers

A classic that I only discovered a few years ago. It's an eye-opener, especially when and if, like me, you realise at some point that fear is the primary driver of most of your decisions. Reframing your relationship to fear can change the direction of your life—a total game-changer, so I am including this here.

The Yoga of Discipline, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda

There are many ways to practise yoga. This book is a collection of talks by a Siddha Yoga master that reveals the exquisite gift of your senses but not in the way you imagine. Though the title sounds severe, what is spoken therein is all about - in her words - "divine sweetness". Packed with the wisdom of the yoga texts.

Quiet, Susan Cain

I consider myself (or wish I were!) an introvert. When I insisted on this at a team personality testing afternoon, my colleague, Melanie, actually scoffed out loud! No, honestly, I could be 😉 If I can't be a quiet person myself, they are as sure as hell my favourite people in the world. I love this appreciation for the most interesting folk in the room that you don't know about.

Come As You Are, Emily Nagoski

I'm rather careful about recommending books to patients. One needs to consider whether the contents of a book could harm or empower depending on how it is received. However, this is a book which I wish I could give to every young lady who walks into my consulting room. With female sexuality moulded by cultural and societal expectations and sexual inequality still alive and kicking, I wish I had read this when I was twenty.

Conversations on Love, Natasha Lunn

This was an impulse buy while passing a bookstore one day. Why do I need to be reminded how to love every single day? I don't know, but I do. Since it's easy to think that we might be lucky enough to receive love in this world and lament it when it doesn't come our way, I often think of the interviews in this modern book—our job is to create it.

Meditation for the Love of It, Sally Kempton

This might sound weird, but if a book could have an energy, this one pours into me when I read it. Maybe what it transmits is the light of the author. This is another well-thumbed and furiously post-it-noted one in the collection. For the curious meditator with an intention to explore, this is a beautiful book full of ideas and heart. I have a few books on meditation, but this is probably my fave.

The Untethered Soul, Michael Singer

Another right-time, right-place number for me. A book about the spiritual path written without any pretension. What comes up when I think of this book is the phrase "getting out of my own way." A must-read for any seeker on the spiritual path.

Lost Connections, Johann Hari

I remember reading this and thinking, 'This guy is really onto something.' In his stories, he voices what we feel and know to be true: connection is everything; without it, we are lost.

Light on Life, B.K.S. Iyengar

This is the first download to grace my first Kindle ten years ago. I'm happy to see it still lives, still digitally bookmarked to death in the library of my upgraded device! I view this book as the sister companion to the seminal Light on Yoga (the book which serves as the yoga asana manual in every yoga teacher's library). I'll admit that I've turned to Light on Life more often than its famous counterpart. It's easier reading and probably more important.

Ahhh, there are so many books you can almost smell the paper (or the brand-new electronic device!) My book choices have a strong yoga lean, I know. So enough from me; here are a few additional recommendations from colleagues and others that have been added to my own wish list:

Loves Executioner, Irvan D Yalom

The Examined Life, Stephen Grosz

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks

Patient: the true story of a rare illness, Benn Watt

When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalinith

Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese (fiction)

Still Life, Sarah Winman (fiction)

An Emotional Education (The School of Life), Alain De Botton

Human Kind, Rutger Bregman

Dopamine Nation, Dr Anna Lembke

Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach

The Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté

This Here Flesh, Cole Arthur Riley

The Doors of Perception, Aldous Huxley

As a curious consumer and purveyor of all things yoga, health, and well-being, I find I gravitate heavily to nonfiction. I'm thinking about parking nonfiction for a beat to dive head-first into fiction for a change in 2025. If you have any recommendations for me, please send them my way 🙏

And happy sharing, gifting and reading this festive season.

🎁🎁🎁

Let's practise.