21 Comments
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Beth's avatar

Bruce Lipton: Biology of Belief. Mind blowing, changes everything about the way we were raised to think and believe.

Sara Ress's avatar

Holly, this is a wonderful list. I am in a nurse coaching program and conducting free coaching as a part of my practicum for board certification as a nurse coach! (Already got the RN part ;) Would you mind if I shared this list with my coaching clients? I have 9 in total. Of course I would love to point to them what a blessing a subscription is and your $11 40-day mantra course (that I have bought twice at this point!) LOL Thanks for being you and this beautiful list along with all of your other rich and glorious work.

Susan Hudgens's avatar

tiny beautiful things, by Cheryl Strayed. Courageous, raw, life affirming, validating, compassionate answers to hard questions from a recovered heroin addict (Strayed). I don’t have words for what this book did for me at a critical point in recovery.

Holly Whitaker's avatar

That’s how I feel about Wild, it saved me, I read it right before I got sober. Thanks for this reminder!

Jane's avatar

Holly, thank you so much for this list. Have you released the updated version yet? I just became a subscriber, so I'm not sure if I missed it!

Holly Whitaker's avatar

working on it right now ;)

Shauna Meiri's avatar

my library waiting list has just expanded by a lot! thank you so much for this list ❤️

Miranda Hart's avatar

Thank you! I have read about 60pct of these but look like some gems I have yet to explore. Thanks Holly🙏💜

Kate Smith's avatar

What a phenomenal list Holly, and your reviews are wonderful. Apart from all of it, this really resonated with me: "Recovery from addiction is not just a one and done; it is a life practice, a way of being, and because of that it requires us to explore the whole of our lives and existence." At the start, this feels impossible and so not what I wanted to hear but over time, it becomes a joy and a gift. Addiction has forced me to be conscious about what it means to be alive, rather than just sleep walking through my one wild and precious life.

One book that I would add is 'No Bad Parts' which has given me a different way to think about 'Addict Kate' . Rather than feeling that she is a malign spirit who is out to destroy me, and against whom I need to be constantly on guard, the IFS perspective has enabled me to begin to accept her as a sacred part of who I am.

OK, now off to buy books ... I've limited myself to 3 (for now .... ;). Stay safe Holly. x

Holly Whitaker's avatar

So many people recommending that! I've got it on my list. Thanks Kate

Kate Smith's avatar

OK, so I bought 4 ......

Holly Whitaker's avatar

lol. Same. I've started doing this thing where I move it to a car online and then save it for later and then if I keep hearing about it, I buy it. Sometimes it works?

Tara's avatar

Thank you so much – these are excellent! I have read some and the rest are on my wishlist! May I recommend 'Wintering' by Katherine May, Johann Hari's 'Lost Connections' and Gabor Maté's 'When The Body Says No'.

Holly Whitaker's avatar

Half-way through Lost Connections! Have when the body says no but haven't read it, and WANT to get Wintering. Thanks for all these suggestions. So good.

Tess Marshall's avatar

I love all of your links and recommendations. People. Books. Articles. All. I just read Johann Hari’s book, Stolen Focus. Then listened to Quitted with Liz. So true. All. Of. It.

Holly Whitaker's avatar

What did you think of Stolen Focus?

Tess Marshall's avatar

It was powerful, scary and insane. I wish he would have written more on gaming and gambling. I’m not sure how possible it is to live in this world and not be addicted to screens. I agree that it is easier for us privileged to escape the insanity. I loved how Liz said on your podcast, with two extra hours per day I could…Because I could too!

Holly Whitaker's avatar

LEARN A LANGUAGE!!