Books to Grow With

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends;

they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors,

and the most patient of teachers." 

~Charles W. Eliot~

PAULO COELHO - Manual of the Warrior of Light


Each page of Manual of the Warrior of Light is a new passage, an inspirational thought, a message of wisdom and guidance and encouragement. Who is the Warrior of Light? Any of us, reaching out to be the fullest person we can be, not afraid to have doubts and fears and to make mistakes and to learn from them.

PAULO COELHO - The Alchemist


The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalucian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream.
"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night."


KAY REDFIELD JAMISON - An Unquiet Mind

Dr Kay Redfield Jamison is one of the foremost authorities on manic-depressive illness. She has also experienced it first-hand. For even while she was pursuing her career in academic medicine, she was affected by the same exhilarating highs and catastrophic depressions that afflicted many of her patients. An Unquiet Mind is a memoir of enormous candour, courage, wit and wisdom, which examines manic depression from the dual perspectives of the healer and the healed.


PETER MOORE - No Shitting in the Toilet

No Shitting In The Toilet is named after a sign Peter Moore saw on the door of the lavatory in China. It's a sign that encapsulated his travel philosophy: that things never quite turn out as you expect. You end up in situations that defy logic, rational thought and, quite often, general well-being - and yet you have a brilliant time, not in spite of these situations, but because of them.  Instead of celebrating transcendental travel experiences, it revels in the most demeaning ones in a world where you're more likely to find a cockroach on your pillow than a complimentary mint, where you take your life in your own hands every time you get on a bus, a world where everything goes wrong, and you still end up loving every minute of it.

ORIAH MOUNTAIN DREAMER - The Invitation

Oriah Mountain Dreamer has created a pathway beyond the comfortable and the mundane into that which challenges and repels you. By addressing the edges of your personality and sensitivities, you can build on and extend your awareness and your reality in honest ways that better fit your inner self. The book is propelled from the author's emotionally intense vision of her life as expressed in this question: "Did I love well?"

ORIAH MOUNTAIN DREAMER - The Call

The Call is based on an inspirational poem, exploring how to live well, and continue to live a life full of integrity, commitment, happiness and passion.

ORIAH MOUNTAIN DREAMER - The Dance

Each chapter of this inspirational book begins with a line from the poem The Dance and explores and expands upon the questions it raises, showing us how we can open ourselves up to the adventure of living and face love, sorrow and anger and learn all they have to teach us.





ANTHONY STRANO - Seeking Silence: Exploring and Practicing The Spirituality of Silence

Silence, deep inner silence, opens the pathways to spiritual self-discovery. But where can we find that silence in our noise-polluted world? This book-and-CD set provides a practical toolkit for escaping the clashing sounds of everyday life. Through gentle insights and guided meditations, it provides a quiet space for making mindful choices and learning to enjoy the profound benefits of tranquillity, even in the midst of a world of physical noise.


ROSIE MOLINARY - Beautiful You

In Beautiful You, readers discover 365 ways to shore up their confidence, encourage self-awareness, and get reacquainted with their beautiful, brilliant selves. Drawing on self-awareness, mind-body, and practical techniques, Beautiful You is an action plan to give women what they need to champion and fully live their own lives, coaching them into the most extraordinary- and necessary- habit of treating their whole selves well. Part personal essay, part action and empowerment guide, Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to Radical Self Acceptance is a practical and inspirational tool for realizing a healthy self-image through championing one’s own emotional and physical well-being.


PEMA CHODRON - When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

There is a fundamental opportunity for happiness right within our reach, yet we usually miss it – ironically, while we are caught up in attempt to escape pain and suffering. In this book, Pema Chodron's shows:
• Ways to use painful emotions to cultivate wisdom, compassion and courage
• Ways to communicate that lead to openness and true intimacy with others
• Practices for reversing our negative habitual patterns
Methods for working with chaotic situations
• Ways to cultivate compassionate, energetic social action


PEMA CHODRON - The Places That Scares You - A Guide to Fearlessness

One of the most inspiring spiritual teachers of our time offers simple, practical advice for living with less fear, less anxiety and a more open heart. Bought in a hotly contested auction, The Places That Scare You is now available in massmarket, taking Pema Chödrön ’s spiritual teachings to a wider audience.  We always have a choice, Pema Chödrön teaches: we can either let the circumstances of our lives harden us and make us increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kind.


PEMA CHODRON - Start Where You Are: How To Accept Yourself and Others

Start Where You Are is an indispensable handbook for cultivating fearlessness and awakening a compassionate heart, from bestselling author Pema Chödrön. With insight and humour, she presents down-to-earth guidance on how to make friends with ourselves and develop genuine compassion towards others.  This book shows how we can 'start where we are' by embracing rather than denying the painful aspects of our lives.

THICH NHAT HANH - Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Every Day Life

In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment. World-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and author Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us. For him a ringing telephone can be a signal to call us back to our true selves. Dirty dishes, red lights, and traffic jams are spiritual friends on the path to "mindfulness" -- the process of keeping our consciousness alive to our present experience and reality. The most profound satisfactions, the deepest feelings of joy and completeness lie as close at hand as our next aware breath and the smile we can form right now.