Staff Picks: New Year, New You
by eapearce
Ah, New Year's resolutions. Some of us make them (any maybe break them) every year, some of us do it only occasionally, and some folks skip them altogether. If you’re hoping to make a shift in 2023, some of these recent titles might be just the thing to motivate you to commit and help you with the process along the way.
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, by Julie Smith | Request Now
Dr. Julie Smith covers a wide range of topics in this book, all with a general focus on mental health. From emotional pain and grief to motivation to fear, she offers concrete tools and analysis for how to cope with everything life throws at us, even in the most trying of times. Also helpful is that the various chapters and concepts are presented in concise, bite-sized form, making things easy to digest. You can read this one cover-to-cover, or skip around finding the chapters and ideas that resonate with you most or best suit your goals.
101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think, by Brianna Wiest | Request Now
Brianna Wiest writes moving, philosophical pieces on a variety of topics, especially overcoming fear and making it through difficult or deeply sad times. This compilation of her work features pieces that have been previously published, along with brand new ones first seen in this book. Her writing has a meditative tone, making for peaceful, thoughtful contemplation as you read through this collection. Read her takes on pursuing purpose over passion, embracing negative thinking and finding the wisdom in daily routine. While these essays don’t offer specific “tools” to achieve goals, they do offer a variety of ways to think about how and why we do things the way we do, and offer potentially new perspectives to open our minds a bit more and perhaps encourage us to make a change or changes we’ve been wanting to.
The Wisdom of Your Body, by Hillary McBride | Request Now
If one of your resolutions for this year is to become more connected with your body, you’ll want to read this book that explores the broken and unhealthy ideas many of us have about our bodies. Dr. Hillary McBride offers a holistic perspective on how we move through the world, and emphasizes that our bodies can be a place from which we draw deep wisdom. McBride has recovered from a life-threatening eating disorder and a near-fatal car accident, and still endures chronic pain from the latter. She has worked hard to become deeply in touch with her own body and to find the joy and comfort in it, despite the physical issues she deals with. She also touches on how societal issues like racism, classism, and sexism have ranked certain bodies over others and how embracing our bodies and others’ can begin to help free us from these systems. There are end-of-chapter questions and suggestions for daily practices, too.
How To Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing, by KC Davis | Request Now
Many cleaning manuals offer long to-do lists that can seem unachievable, or don’t take into account the effect that raising children, living with disability, or working multiple jobs can have on our ability to keep a clean and tidy home. This book takes all of those challenges–and others–into account when offering practical, empathetic, and thoughtful tips for how to maintain a home that suits your cleanliness needs. KC Davis encourages readers to consider what is important to them when making a task list and completing household chores and short chapters with various options for how to meet goals are appealing and accessible. This realistic and gentle title is perfect for anyone who has housekeeping goals for the new year, especially if you feel overwhelmed by household tasks now. It’s particularly perfect for readers who are new to balancing household tasks.
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