Full Circle Fridays|Week 2: Books
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On this Full Circle Friday, I thought it would be fun to talk about some books that I find immeasurably helpful on this path we call Life. I have no affiliation to any of these authors, nor am I receiving any compensation for recommending them. I have read every one of these (most more than once) and can say they are powerful for Trauma Survivors! I personally have benefited from each of these in my healing and in understanding so much more about myself and my potential. If you aren’t a reader, I believe all these picks have an audio book option on Amazon or wherever you listen to content. Listening to audio books is a rewarding practice for road trips, regular commutes, while exercising, or walking alone. I don’t recommend using these types of books to help you sleep. While that’s a great practice, I more prefer fiction for that task if you like. These are the books that you want to be fully aware and present while reading or listening to so that you can take away all golden nuggets of wisdom and savor the remarkable moments of revelation. For me, these picks are special because they have been digested in powerful ways - along with being notated, highlighted, earmarked, and then later journaled or quoted in my journals. These are in no particular order. I hope you’ll find some of these advantageous in your full circle journey!
What Happened To You? (by Dr. Bruce Perry, PHD and Oprah Winfrey)
This is a very nice read. It’s a conversational style book between Dr. Perry and Oprah. Oprah has been working with Dr. Perry for many years, so they have a wonderful relationship. They basically break down trauma (intergenerational and personal) in such easy-to-understand terms. They discuss everything from attachment, to neuroscience, to emotional engagement, to generational bias, to healing, and post traumatic growth. So much sheer wisdom, science, exploration of emotions, and heart-warming stories of Oprah’s own healing journey!
The Alchemist (by Paulo Coelho)
This book is almost as old as I am! It’s what we would call “enchanted”. This book is a journey in and of itself. We get to follow along as Santiago, the traveler, forges his way through the world in search of worldly treasure, but if you can guess, he finds much more treasure in wisdom and his own heart. It’s a pilgrimage of sorts as he makes his way to the mecca of his inner being. Of course, the discovery along the way is even as precious as the totality of his journey – as in life that the process should be more important than the destination. “Said the alchemist, ‘Rest well tonight, as if you were a warrior preparing for combat. Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You’ve got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense.’” (pg 115)
The Untethered Soul (by Michael A. Singer)
How I love this book! This is one I try to read once a year. This book digs into the heart of who we truly are, who we are meant to be. It knocks down any limitation you can put on yourself and really puts you on an inner journey. This is such a transformative read. It teaches us how to “open” and “stay open”. Things that happen in life (such as trauma), we have a response to. These responses or reactions helps us to open to what the world is trying to teach us and gift us with, or they close us. We definitely do not want to close to the possibilities of life. Closing up your heart creates a negative memory that gets trapped inside you. This book challenges you to go beyond what has happened to you and create your own new narrative about how you interact with this world. I love how it personally helped me to stay away from the victim mentality. “You were not put on Earth to suffer. You’re not helping anybody by being miserable… you have to let go of the part of you that wants to create melodrama.” (ch. 15)
No Bad Parts (by Dr. Richard Schwartz, PHD)
If you are a trauma survivor, this book can and very well may change your life. Internal Family Systems (IFS) was created by Dr. Schwartz the author. In this, his latest book, he really lays out IFS therapy. It teaches the common reader what IFS is, how to use it by identifying your ‘protectors’ and ‘exiles’. IFS trained therapists are all around the globe, but this book brings it into your home with several self-exercises and true understanding of how our parts work. I am currently studying IFS and plan to take an “IFS informed” course this coming year to add to my coaching certification. Parts-work is much like inner child wound healing work. It’s finding your inner parts, examining them, befriending them, healing them, so that you can move forward with internal harmony and work more from your True Self. Five Stars from me. Anything I can get my hands on with IFS is helping me in my own trauma healing and more so as a Trauma Recovery Coach with my clients. I also tend to love anything that has transcripts of actual client sessions – which this book has several of them. It is jaw dropping and eye opening to see Dr. Schwartz in action!
The Gift (by Edith Eger)
First of all, I must say how greatly I love this woman. Dr. Edie is so inspirational, a personal hero of mine. She is a Holocaust survivor and the kindest and funniest woman. She has truly turned her deep, deep trauma into Post Traumatic Growth and used that growth to benefit the world as a whole. Her story transcends anything you can imagine, and yet she has chosen to turn her tragedy into her most powerful gift. Nearly every paragraph in my copy has some life-changing sentence highlighted. She leaves you with zero excuses to work on your own healing but is kind enough to recognize that everyone is on their own path there. She went back to school to get her doctorate at almost 50-years-old and was lamenting this age situation to a supervisor. They said to her “You’ll be fifty anyway.” She clung to that and continued on for all these years later to educate and transform herself to help her clients and everyone she crosses paths with. “Do something you’ve never done before. Change is synonymous with growth. To grow, you’ve got to evolve instead of revolve.” (ch. 9) “We’re all victims of victims. How far back do you want to go, searching for the source? It’s better to start with yourself.” (ch. 10)
Awareness (by Anthony DeMello)
This is another well-worn book in my library, one that I try to read again every year. There’s probably not a very adequate way for me to explain this book. This is a mesh of spirituality book, full of messages that will bend how you psychologically think about the reality around you. It’s full of stories of everyday people who do everyday things – without thinking about them. The author says that everyone walks around “asleep” until they choose to wake up. It’s a different concept, but once you read it, you’ll suddenly realize that it’s totally true. “We’re always dissatisfied, we’re always discontented, we’re always pushing. Go on, put out more effort, more and more effort. But there’s always that conflict inside; there’s very little understanding.” (pg 157) His insights have been challenging to me, but the more that I read it, the more that I have morphed into this ‘awareness’/’awakening’ so it’s less jarring. However, my first read or two, his concept of the types of selfishness (for instance) took me weeks to digest, and I think about that on a regular basis. One of my favorite paragraphs is talking about not clinging anything – even the good things: “Do you want to enjoy a melody? Do you want to enjoy a symphony? Don’t hold on to a few bars of the music. Don’t hold onto a couple of notes. Let them pass, let them flow. The whole enjoyment of a symphony lies in your readiness to allow the notes to pass.” (pg 110)
Those are just some of my favorites. I’d love to hear if any of these books are in your top picks if you’ve read them. If you haven’t, let me know if you choose to read them. I find these kinds of books to be super great resources in healing wounds from our past. They teach us about ourselves and challenge us to be all we can be. What are some of your favorite books? Shoot me a message or a comment below and let me know!
