Well Read: A book list

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone over the age of 25 that making reading a daily discipline enriches your life. Read one book a month on a topic you’re interested in, and after a year you’ll have some solid expertise in that area.

So what’s on your reading list? Is it enriching you, enhancing your knowledge and expertise in something useful, rewarding or important?

In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you”

Mortimer J Adler

So on the topic of living our most well lives, here are some of the books on my shelf, that have educated, inspired and otherwise fulfilled me.

Move Well

The topic of exercise rarely makes for good reading, unless perhaps it’s an autobiography of an athlete, or of course if you’re particularly interested in sports. These books incorporate movement as an essential element of living well.

• Want to start feeling better now? Check out Undo It – Dean Ornish. This might be a bit radical as its written for and about people who are suffering chronic illness such as heart disease and diabetes. But the principles are not only sound, they’re incredibly well researched and if you had any doubts about the impact of daily exercise in undoing negative, damaging health afflictions, you’ll be an instant convert, strapping on your gym shoes before the end of the first chapter.
• You may not be a natural early riser, but if you’re looking to live your best life, you can’t go past The 5am Club by Robin Sharma. This best selling book has sold over 15 million copies globally and the central theme is how daily disciplines can transform your life, with exercise – 20 minutes a day of heart pumping moves – at its core. Surely we can all find 20 minutes a day, right? Well, this book also helps you own your time so there’s no excuse for not fitting in a heart starter, ideally in the mornings. If you love Sharma’s storytelling, motivational writing style, you’ll also be able to delve into the Leader Who Had No Title, the Monk Who Sold his Ferrari and more, including a new book to be launched in 2021.

Eat Well

A diet is supposed to be a way of eating, not a regime that restricts your food choices to the point where you’re not enjoying your daily meals. Getting off the crash diet rollercoaster, out of the punish/reward mentality around food and becoming comfortable with what foods nurture and nourish you is one of my great goals in life. I’d love to say I adhere to the principles of these books, and that I’ve managed to get my kids into good eating habits too, but that’s just not the truth. What I can tell you, is these are great reads based on real life experience, research and data. If you’re looking to challenge your attitude to eating, seeking to expand your repertoire of meals or curious about trends such as clean eating or veganism and how it might work for you, here are my go-to’s:

• Inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow and an article in Harpers Bazaar (remember when we read magazines??), I stumbled across Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger MD. It introduced me to plant based eating and the only cleanse programs I can stick to. Clean eats is essentially whole foods (including meat and fish), without sugars, gluten or dairy. The 7 and 21 day cleanses are great for an introduction to clean eating, or a reset. There’s also a cookbook associated with the clean eating concept, which is my #1 go-to for family meals that everyone actually eats.
• One Meal A Day – Suzy Amis Cameron. The premise of this book is that if everyone on the planet reduced their animal product intake so that one meal a day was purely plant based, the impacts on our planet would be transformational. Pretty powerful stuff. At times, the data and research packed in these pages is overwhelming, but it weighed heavily on my sense of social responsibility and includes many recipes that substitute meat-heavy dishes with plant based options. Ideal for vegans trying to reduce their family’s animal product intake, or anyone curious enough about veganism and the associated environmental, social, health and ethical benefits.
• A self-confessed francophile, French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret to Eating with Pleasure by Mireille Giuliano combined my hopeless quest for a bangin’ body and my love of all things French. Based on the French author’s real life experience of gaining weight after time spent on a student exchange in America, it’s the epitome of diet as a lifestyle, with a few simple habits that support eating enough of the right stuff in moderation, whilst thoroughly enjoying what you’re putting in your mouth. At the time, Giuliano was the CEO of Veuve Clicquot in the US, eating out 360 days per year (nice work if you can get it!). After reading the book, I bought the cookbook and started working my way through, attempting a “Julia and Julia” style challenge to make every single dish, which (for the most part) my family ate (and enjoyed) without sacrificing flavour or introducing “weird” ingredients.

Love Well

• Happy (and other ridiculous aspirations) – Turia Pitt. I literally just finished reading this over the Summer and the most captivating section was that on self-love. One of my goals is to stop body shaming myself this year and the simple, practical advice and tips from the author went straight to my journal for regular practice.
• The Invitation. Based on a poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, it had me from the outset: ” It doesn′t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart′s longing.” A truly spiritual expression of love in all its forms, it’s a short but profound read for lovers of love and beautiful words.
• One of the most read and admired books of 2020 has to be Becoming by Michelle Obama. This book for me was equally a great biography of an interesting and courageous woman and textbook on how to use love as a great power (rather than fear). Whether you seek to deepen your relationships with your family, yourself, a community or something much bigger (like a nation), there are so many wisdoms, stories of resilience and connecting with self-love and compassion, you’ll miss the pages once they’re all read. But you can go buy her Becoming journal and continue the journey!

Heal Well

• Top of this list is A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson. A dear friend recommended I read this book about five years ago and it changed my life. So much so, I re-read in every year. I’ve underlined so many sections (which I rarely do these days, preferring to journal the bits that I want to ponder), and because they’re all in different pens I can easily tell where I’ve had “a-ha” moments. Based on the principles of A Course In Miracles, you’ll find profound teachings on unconditional love, forgiveness, friendship and belief in God (whichever form yours takes). If there’s a particular wound you’re trying to heal, or if you’ve been through a tough time, this is a beautiful, nurturing and instructive read.
• Next, First We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson. A gift from a thoughtful (and observant!) family member, I connected with this book so deeply as a person experiencing chronic anxiety. If you experience anxiety or depression, this book will ensure you don’t feel alone, help you understand the physiology of this condition and arm you with some practical, helpful tips and advice for healing, or at least managing anxiety, panic attacks and other similar afflictions. The author is a beautiful, talented writer, her words are so relatable yet without victimising herself. I found this book as empowering as it was healing, and recommend it equally highly if you’re loving someone who experiences anxiety.

Ready to get reading? Got your own recommendations for moving, eating, loving and healing well? We’d love if you’d share them with our Well Club community in the comments, or on our social pages.

Thank you!