Recent Reads

100 Ways to Love Your Husband / 100 Ways to Love Your Wife*... My husband and I each received our respective copy of this set and we both think it would make a great engagement gift. I liked that the tips were short and precise (perfect for one each morning), but a longer and relatable story was included after every few tips.

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty... I heard about this author on the What Should I Read Next podcast and then found this book in my library's $.25 bin like a week later. I don't know how to review it. I guess the short story is that it's a great book I couldn't put down... But it was also shocking, upsetting, and a little vulgar so I'm feeling a little jaded and don't think I can handle anymore secular fiction for a while.

It Didn't Start With You... This was such a fascinating read on inherited trauma! The egg version was of you was already developed in your mother... while she was still developing in her own mother. Think about that. You were traumatized by your grandmother's car accident and your mother's run-in with an angry customer before you were fully developed. This book goes even beyond that but I'll spare you the details for once. I think this is a very fascinating read but one that will probably not do it for you if you aren't already interested in psychology/trauma.

Redeeming Destiny... Good grief! I'd call this a spiritual healing memoir. I've actually met the author and she's delightful. This book had me so invested. Because I've met her, I knew she'd live through her painful circumstances and wild decisions... But I was still nervous many times. My heart broke again and again as I read about her pain but the inspiring hope she weaved through the whole story had me excited to pick it up again. My jaw definitely dropped and tears definitely fell. If you like a good, meaty testimonial this one will not disappoint!

The Sacred Enneagram... I love the Enneagram and this is my favorite Enneagram book yet! I love it for personal growth reasons, but also for writing purposes. This one dives into some of the deeper concepts and something in it really gave me some precious insight into someone I love and made me cry. 

Scarlett's Spectacles*... My husband and my four-year-old wear glasses so all four of my kids are always fascinated by glasses books. In this case, Scarlett's glasses are actually metaphorical glasses meant to represent her outlook. Will she choose to put on glasses that show her everything that could be better? Or glasses of gratitude? This book brought about some great discussion, and we all lived the illustrations, too. Scarlett also happens to be a big fan of piggies, just like my three-year-old

Talk Like Ted... I needed a good public speaking book before teaching my Enneagram + writing class and this one did the trick. I think I technically already had everything I needed inside me but this had lots of great reminders and examples. 

Trauma is Really Strange... Again, trauma. So fascinating and helpful. This super short read is actually a comic book! At first I was disappointed when I saw it but the illustrations were actually super helpful and I really loved this little book!

*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.