A Few of My Favorites
So here we are at the end of 2020. One of my favorite parts of the year is looking back over my list of books I read and remembering how I learned from them. I am an avid reader, and I am usually reading 2 or 3 books at a time. I relate to Rory Gilmore and Hermione Granger with their loaded book bags and constant stacks of books.
I decided it would be fun to share with you 5 of the books that most impacted me as I read them this year. They are all nonfiction. I do read fiction too, but mostly I love books that help me grow. So with no more time wasted, here are my top 5 most impactful books I read this year and why I loved them:
Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode—and into a Life of Connection and Joy by Aundi Kolber We are swimming in a “try harder” culture that encourages us to keep hustling so that we can do more, accomplish more, be more. Aundi believes we don’t have to “white knuckle” our way through life. She teaches us how to slow down and process our stories with compassion and connection to our deeper selves. Through Aundi’s teachings I learned practices to use and questions to ask as I learn to be more compassionate to myself and others. She is particularly gifted in trauma response, and in learning to stay present with difficult emotions. I loved this book so much that I gave 2 copies as Christmas gifts.
Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions by Rachel Held Evans Born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in Dayton, Tennessee, Rachel grew up in much the same way I did. I related to her hilarious stories of life in the Bible Belt, and I related to her journey of faith and doubt. She shared how she learned to ask questions and sit in the discomfort of not having all the answers. Her brave example taught me to be comfortable with having more questions than answers. Through her book, I was reminded that our faith must grow and change to survive and transform. We are not meant to stay in the faith of our childhood. Just like we grow and mature physically and intellectually and emotionally, we are meant to grow spiritually also.
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown I’ve been studying about race and injustice, and I’ve been learning to hear and respect the voices of those who are not like me. I learn better through story than theory. I loved Austin’s candid story of her life as a black woman in a culture of whiteness. I gratefully learned from her willingness to share her experiences of injustice and prejudice. She is a gifted author and teacher, and she challenged me to be “be a better human for other humans.”
Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women by Sarah Bessey I have always lived in a patriarchal culture and worshipped in a male dominated faith. There are lots of books that show the struggle and hard emotions that come with learning to honor your voice as a woman. I’ve read many of them. But this book was different. Sarah beautifully shares stories of Jesus’s compassionate and extravagant love and respect for women. I cannot begin to tell you how this book changed the way I experience my own belovedness and relationship with God. As a bonus, I also highly recommend Sarah’s book Miracles and Other Reasonable Things: A Story of Unlearning and Relearning God.
The Enneagram Type 2: The Supportive Advisor by Beth McCord (The Enneagram Collection) I learned late in 2019 about the enneagram, and I discovered I am an Enneagram 2 wing 1. The Enneagram is a map of sorts that is based on 9 personality types. Most people see a little bit of themselves in all 9 types, but we all emerge from childhood with one of the 9 types driving our personality. I’ve done lots of personality study over my life, and learned from each of them. Some make for interesting discussions and some are just cool party tricks. What I love about the enneagram though, is that it is designed for transformation. I am an enneagram 2, often called the Helper or the Supportive Advisor. As I learned from Beth about what it meant to be a 2, I discovered more than just my personality. I’ve learned about my motivations, my core fears, and my core needs. I have learned to identify my behavior patterns and use that knowledge to grow myself deeper and be more mindful. This book offers journaling questions that are thought provoking and quite frankly, challenging to answer. But as I pushed through the discomfort, I learned so much about myself, and I found myself transforming bit by bit. If you are interested in learning about the Enneagram, I would also recommend https://www.yourenneagramcoach.com where Beth has a free test and lots of information about each type. I also really like the website https://www.enneagraminstitute.com which is a little more academic, but has great information that goes into more detail about the theory and how to use it.
So these are my top 5 books I read and loved this year. Maybe you will find your next read among them. What are some books that you read and loved? What did you love about them?