Ten Books

Ten books which have shaped my life, in no particular order:

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ángel Ruiz

The Four Agreements are:
1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

(I also love ALL of her audios. Her voice is beautiful, and she’s an incredible storyteller. At the moment, I’m listening to the Dangerous Old Woman)

The book is a mix of myths and stories about the wild woman archetype.

It teaches us that: within every woman there lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. She is the Wild Woman, who represents the instinctual nature of women. But she is an endangered species. In Women Who Run With the Wolves, Dr. Estés unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, and stories, many from her own family, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman and hold her against our deep psyches as one who is both magic and medicine. Dr. Estés has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
I have all of his books. This book touches on all areas of life and speaks to us of the profound beauty of being human.

Magical Child by Joseph Chilton Pearce
If you read only two books on parenting, let this be one of them. I do recommend all of his books, such as Evolution’s End, Crack in the Cosmic Egg, Magical Teen, etc.

I rarely hold anyone up on a pedestal, but Joe is one person I truly do. An iconoclast who has brought profound meaning to many people’s experiences of being ‘awake’ as a parent.

The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff
I currently have a series in The Mother magazine called Postcards from the Jungle ~ based on Jean’s teachings. Her work has a had a profound effect on my life, personally and professionally. Read this book before you become a parent.

Unassisted Childbirth by Laura Shanley
This book by my friend Laura is a sharing of her birth stories. Profound and beautiful, it dares to break cultural standards surrounding birth.

You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
I had the pleasure of meeting Louise when she spoke in New Zealand (sometime in my early twenties). A remarkable woman on every level. Her worldwide publishing house (Hay House) was founded on this book which she self-published.

A Course in Miracles
I met my husband when I was studying A Course in Miracles. This isn’t easy reading by any means, but if you can grasp the teachings it will change your whole way of looking at life.

Enid Blyton ~ all of her books opened my imagination and were such a joy in my early childhood. I have no doubt my desire to be a writer was ignited by every book she wrote.

The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller. This book made me sob my eyes out. It’s one of those stories that just won’t leave you. It’s the story of a married but lonely Italian woman living in rural Iowa in the 1960s. Her husband and children are away at a show when a National Geographic photographer arrives in her area to take photos of covered bridges. They embark on an affair. I’ll leave you to read it…

This book taught me to always follow my heart.

I also have to acknowledge every astrology book on my shelves which added to my knowledge and experience…

I’d love to hear which books have changed your life.