6 Wellness Books to Read This Fall

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I remember how exciting it was to get the scholastic book fair order sheet from school. It was top priority when we got home from school. My sister and I would sit on the living room floor circling all the books we wanted and enthusiastically telling our mom to “look at this one”. The paper catalog of children’s books always ended up full of circles. Sometimes we were lucky, and my mom would order a couple for us. I think childhood experiences like that are what shaped my love for reading at an adult.

As I started my career in wellness, I found myself getting giddy over books again. I was going to the public library reading everything I could get my hands on about massage therapy and other traditional healing practices. Non-fiction is my favorite genre because I want to understand the world around me. My child-like enthusiasm for reading is revived when I read non- fiction books about healing.

This a short list of non- fiction, wellness- based books that helped me understand myself and the world around me a little better.

Recommendations:

 Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing by Michele E. Lee

“Working the Roots: Over 400 Years Of Traditional African American Healing is the result of first-hand interviews, conversations, and apprenticeships conducted and experienced by author Michele E. Lee over several years of living and studying in the rural South and in the West Coast regions of the United States. She combines a novelist's keen ear for storytelling and dialogue and a healer's understanding of folk medicine arts into a book that makes for both pleasant, interesting reading, and serves as a permanent household healing guide.”

This book felt like waking up at early when the family house is still quiet, and you walk towards the light on in the kitchen. At the table, your grandma is sitting drinking coffee and starts reminiscing about parts of her childhood you’ve never heard about before. That is the level of intimacy this book reminds me of. Like Michele Lee let you quietly sit at the table with her while the elders shared their wisdom.

The Healing Power of Sound: Recovery from Life-Threatening Illness Using Sound, Voice, and Music by Mitchell L. Gaynor

“Since 1991, Dr. Mitchell Gaynor has been achieving remarkable results by integrating music, vocalization, breathing, and meditation techniques in his work with patients. In The Healing Power of Sound, he presents his sound-based techniques for self-healing—techniques that anyone can use, whether faced with a life-threatening disease or simply seeking relief from the stresses of daily life.”

This was the first book I checked out from the library about sound healing. He writes about singing bowls and his patients in medical practice. I think it’s a great jumping off point to further explore sound healing because of it’s a mix of academic material and personal stories. Spotify also has his cd to accompany this book.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk

“Renowned trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring—specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, mindfulness techniques, play, yoga, and other therapies.”

This is a great book for really understand my personal experiences with C-PTSD but it is a heavy book. I’m glad I had a therapist while I reading this to help me process the information.

Quick Reads:

Only Love Is Real: A Story of Soulmates Reunited by Brian L. Weiss

“Dr. Weiss takes his research one breathtaking step further. He portrays two strangers, Elizabeth and Pedro, who are unaware that they have been lovers throughout the long centuries -- until fate brings them together again. He shows how each and every one of us has a soulmate whom we have loved in past incarnations and who waits to reunite with us now.”

This book is about past life regression therapy. two of his therapy clients start describing the same past lives without ever meeting each other. Very easy and quick read.

Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies by Faith Mitchell

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“Hoodoo Medicine is a unique record of nearly lost African-American folk culture. It documents herbal medicines used for centuries, from the 1600s until recent decades, by the slaves and later their freed descendants, in the South Carolina Sea Islands. The Sea Island people, also called the Gullah, were unusually isolated from other slave groups by the creeks and marshes of the Low Country. They maintained strong African influences on their speech, social customs, and beliefs, long after other American blacks had lost this connection.”

This book is a short history lesson on the South Carolina Sea Islands, their medicine and culture. Definitely makes you want to dig deeper.

Currently Reading:

Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals by Luisah Teish

“A Marvelous Blend of Memoir, Folk Wisdom, and Afro-American Beliefs. Actress, storyteller, and priestess Luisah Teish dramatically re-creates centuries-old African-American traditions with music, memoir, and folk wisdom.”

One of the current books I am reading and falling in love with. This book was published in 1985 but so relevant and relatable right now.

Reading has been a great hobby and tool for healing for me. I hope this list helps get you started!

Which book should I pick up next?

If you have any to add comment below or send me a message.

* All quotes about the books were from goodreads.com