Books

To Be Told by Dan Allender.

This provoking book encourages us to identify the memories and events that have impacted us, write the stories of our life, and understand their themes. By so doing, it opens both hope and heartache, and ultimately the path to healing and change. Amazon.

Falling Upward by Richard Rohr

There is a point in adulthood when things change. This can be incredibly disorienting. Richard Rohr invites us to the second half of life - the place of questioning certainty, of discovering more of who we are, and of learning to grow through suffering. The call of the gospel is transformation, through humility - which stands in stark contrast to what we often feel is the path: getting more certainty, more success, more health, more goodness. Instead, we are invited by Christ to fall upward. Amazon.

What Happened to You? By Bruce Perry & Oprah Winfrey

This book takes an incredibly kind approach to the daily suffering you and I experience. It's so easy to be self-critical and ask: what's wrong with me? Why can't I change? Why do I still feel like this? Instead, asking "what happened to me?" immediately invites gentleness and curiosity into our lives. Amazon.

The Rabbit Listened, by Cori Doerrfield

A beautiful book for your children, and for the child within. A powerful illustration of the power of “withness.” Helpful for parents too! Highly recommended. Amazon.

Let your Life Speak by Parker Palmer

At some point we all ask - am I doing the job, the pursuit that I'm supposed to do? We often think of that as an outward journey, an outward call. This beautiful book on vocation shows us how to listen deep within, and Parker Palmer reminds us that our vocational journey is ultimately about being not about getting. Amazon.

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

This is an excellent scientific overview for those looking for a neurological base for this work, and for why exploring the past changes the present. Amazon.

Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor

I grew up thinking that the dark, the unknown, and the uncertain were evil and to be avoided. This gorgeously written book invites us to a different perspective: that the unknown, the dark, is brimming with the life that we desperately need to find. Amazon.

Running on Empty by Jonice Webb

Naming the past is hard. Naming what is lacking in the past can be harder. This book provides a map for understanding emotional neglect and the experience you may have had as a child, longing for care that was never experienced. Webb (and contributor Musello) outline how this affects adulthood and they pave a path toward a healing journey. Amazon.

The Wisdom of Your Body by Hillary L. McBride

One of the ways our body learns to survive is by disconnecting. This is protective in childhood but hinders adulthood. This book helps us ask, what does it mean to live an embodied life? How do I carry brokenness from the past? And it offers a compassionate, healthy, holistic perspective on embodied living. It serves as a beautiful call to come home to our bodies. Amazon.