I love doing puzzles. I love doing my nails, doing a face mask, and doing Pilates. But what do all of those things have in common? The word doing.
When it comes to self-care, we are always focused on what we should be doing, when a lot of it comes down to how we are thinking and why we are thinking it.
If you’re like me, you could always use a fresh perspective on how to shift your mindset and stop making even self-care about productivity. As Fall comes back around, the kids go back to school, and summer Fridays turn into, well, regular Fridays, it’s time to refresh our understanding of self-care.
4 Books to Kickstart Your Self-care Journey This Fall
1. How to Not Always Be Working: A Toolkit for Creativity and Radical Self-Care by Marlee Grace
If you find yourself creatively zapped by your relationship to work, to the point where you have trouble doing the things you enjoy doing, then this book is for you. Inspired by the likes of Julia Cameron (of The Artist’s Way) and Angeles Arrien, Marlee Grace provides tools and resources for women who need a major creative reset, women who run their own businesses, and working women who want to be able to have time to work on creative pursuits. Each chapter offers ways to reconsider what work even is, why you do it, where you do it, and how you can do it in a way that suits you. Each chapter concludes with a reflective exercise, a toolkit, that helps you take actionable steps toward healing your relationship to work and creativity. I would recommend this book for anyone, but especially for creatives who wish they had more of a balance in their working lives. If you need an end-of-summer reset button, then look no further.
2. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr. Julie Smith
Adulthood, even when we are well into it, is full of painful lessons. Forgetting to roll your windows up in the rain, wearing new heels to a big event, dealing with issues at work and in relationships, you name it. Along the way, we often find ourselves asking the question that led Dr. Julie Smith to write her incredible book…WHY in the world has nobody told me this before?! In this book, Dr. Smith, a therapist and psychologist, writes about lessons that we can learn before we need to ask this question. Backed with research and written in a casual, accessible tone, Dr. Smith covers topics from grief to seeking meaning in life to dealing with criticism at work. “Tools are no use in the toolbox,” writes Dr. Smith, which is why she includes graphs, strategies, and other tangible tools that come in handy in day to day life. So whether you find yourself battling low mood, feeling zapped of energy, or needing more time to yourself, pick up this book and learn how to live life on the day to day without needing to wish someone told you how.
3. Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included) by Pooja Lakshmin, MD
“Real self-care,” author and Doctor Pooja Lakshmin writes, “is not a one-stop shop like a fancy spa retreat or a journaling app; it’s an internal process that involves making difficult decisions that will pay off tenfold.” As a psychiatrist and researcher, Lakshmin is determined to demonstrate the differences between what she calls “faux self-care” and “real self-care.” Faux self-care, while it can be fun and relaxing, does not create inner healing in the same way that real self-care, which includes boundary-setting, aligning oneself with values, and making choices that reflect these values, can create inner healing. Real self-care is not as glamorous because it takes inner work. What I love about Dr. Lakshmin’s approach to self-care is how she does not offer prescriptive advice– she encourages you to ask yourself questions and take your own course of action. Using her four principles of self-care, Dr. Lakshmin offers actionable tools and exercises that any reader can make use of. If you’re tired of trying to do more self-care, and are feeling burned out by the wellness and self-care industry, then it’s time to focus inward. And there’s no better way to start than with Real Self Care.
(Shelf Indulgence, the CCWomen book club, picked this book for the month of August. Join our book club!)
4. You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
If you are looking for a story of self-care and resilience, look no further than poet Maggie Smith’s new memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful. Self-help books are always a great resource, but if you want to take a break from advice and focus on storytelling, then this is the story for you. Maggie Smith writes a memoir in short vignettes, detailing the end of her marriage, and exploring how she rebuilt her life with compassion and forgiveness. What I love about this memoir is how honest it is. When facing hardship, it can be difficult to find ways to care for yourself. But Maggie Smith offers us a window into how loss and difficulty can turn into something beautiful. I would recommend this memoir for anyone looking for ways to care for themselves in a difficult time, whether that’s a personal issue, a layoff, or a time of high stress and burnout. So take a breath, grab some tea, and crack it open– it’s time to make your situation beautiful.
Want more CCWomen book recommendations? Check out our content.
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