comforting books for the new year

if one is in the mood for contemplation

If you are anything like me, the short days of winter when your body is naturally craving comfort, are the perfect time to make copious amounts of tea and settle in on the sofa with a good book or two. If you are not quite ready to fully embrace the turn of a calendar year yet but want to do some self-reflecting along with some really great authors, I have some book recommendations that may be of interest to you.

Wintering by Katherine May

My most recent read and I was completely enamored with May and her stories and her writing. Winter doesn't have to be this dark and drastic season that we have to bare-knuckle and just get through. Even if we are going through darkness and heaviness of heart, there can be found beautiful and quiet moments in the midst of our wintering. I loved this book so much!

Already Enough by Lisa Olivera

What I really found interesting about this book is Olivera's deep dive into how trauma affects us and shapes how we view ourselves and our relationships with others. As someone who us trying to get a handle on my own issues stemming from childhood trauma, I found this book to be incredibly powerful and one that I will continue to utilize to help me on my own journey of healing.

Disconnected by Emma Gannon

The subtitle to this book is “How to Stay Human in an Online World” and Gannon shows how to do just that. I have really been interested this year, in how we use social media to connect with each other but also how social media leaves us feeling awful at times and we wonder why we even use it. The influencing and advertising culture is at an all-time high and people are starting to feel the effects of it all and are unhappy. I found this book so interesting, and I definitely recommend giving this one a read.

Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton

Although Kempton's book is mostly about how to have a calmer Christmas season, I am recommending this book now on the heels of Christmas itself, because Kempton has a whole section about the week after the big holiday. She refers to the time between Christmas and New Year's as "the hush" and writes about how to savor that time. How to carve out time for yourself and spend some time in nature and in quiet contemplation. Kempton also talks about how to reflect on the past twelve months and what you would like the next twelve months to look like. There are even journaling prompts to assist you along the way.

Happy New Year friends! I look forward to continuing to share this space with you in 2023.

xx,

M