My Top 5 Holistic Wellness Books of 2024
A VERY delayed review of 5 Wellness Books I read in 2024.
This blog was Co-Written by one of my placement students from Trent University.
As a holistic health practitioner, I’ve made a commitment to continuous growth and learning so that I can continue to learn, guide and support my clients with a wide range of perspective. Part of that involves reading books (or listening to the audio book version cause sometimes I just can’t). If you’re local to Ontario, I get all my books from the Indie book shop, Take Cover Books and I get all my audio books from Libro.FM where every book supports the indie shop of my choice instead of the billionaires out there.
When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection by Dr. Gabor Maté
This book goes into the connections between stress, emotions, and physical health. Dr. Maté argues that repressed emotions and chronic stress can lead to a wide range of illnesses, including autoimmune diseases, cancer, and other chronic conditions. Drawing on patient stories, clinical studies, and his own experiences, he illustrates how emotional suppression, unprocessed trauma, and societal pressures can compromise the immune system and lead to disease.
Dr. Maté emphasizes the importance of recognizing the mind-body connection, highlighting how unhealthy coping mechanisms, childhood experiences, and societal norms around productivity and self-sacrifice can harm overall health. He calls for compassion-based approaches in medicine, self-awareness, and prioritizing emotional healing to foster better health outcomes. The book aims to raise awareness of how ignoring the body's signals can have severe consequences and urges individuals to nurture their emotional well-being as a key component of overall health.
TLDR: I really like anything written by Gabor Maté. His writing is always a beautiful mix of easy to understand explanations of complex processes. This is an excellent read if you are someone who is trying to “think” your way out of a hard time
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
A cute little novella that tells the story of a seagull named Jonathan Livingston, who is not content to live a mundane life like the rest of his flock. Unlike other seagulls, who only focus on eating and surviving, Jonathan is passionate about flying. He pushes himself to perfect his flying techniques and dreams of soaring higher and faster than any seagull has before.
Jonathan's refusal to conform and his determination to pursue his unique passion lead to him being ostracized by his flock. Despite his isolation, he continues his quest for mastery of flight and self-improvement. Eventually, Jonathan meets other seagulls who share his ideals, learning from and teaching them in his pursuit of greater understanding and freedom.
TLDR: This story is a really cool look at individuality vs. societal expectations, self-discovery, and overcoming limiting beliefs. It’s a really light and quick read. The audiobook is also pretty well narrated.
Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy’s Bullshit to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love by Tori Dunlap
This is a practical guide that aims to empower women to take control of their finances and challenge the gendered power dynamics that often leave women at a disadvantage in the financial world.
The book covers a range of key topics, including budgeting, saving, investing, negotiating salaries, and understanding the impact of the wage gap and systemic discrimination on women's financial health. Through a combination of personal stories, real-world case studies, and engaging exercises, Dunlap encourages readers to become confident in their financial decisions, advocate for themselves, and build wealth as a tool for personal freedom and societal change.
TLDR: Tori is a bit of a badass in the finance world, sharing about money mindset and the fact that we HAVE to get over that in order to learn money is really huge. She talks about the socio-cultural reasons why people struggle with finance while giving a gentle kick in the pants.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
This book explores how trauma impacts the brain and body. Drawing on decades of clinical experience and research, Van der Kolk explains how trauma is stored in the body, affecting physical health, memory, and emotions. He emphasizes the importance of mind-body approaches for healing, including methods like EMDR, yoga, and somatic therapies, rather than relying solely on traditional talk therapy.
TLDR: This book is similar to Gabor Maté’s, the Body Says No, however it does go a bit deeper. After chatting about van der Kolk’s book with some folks, I learned that he’s a bit of a problematic person in his methodology and practice. That being said, this really can help deepen the mind-body connection if you go in with a critical eye.
The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
This is a memoir about the author's journey of letting go of control and surrendering to life's natural flow. By embracing what life brought without resistance, Singer experienced profound spiritual growth, unexpected professional success, and significant challenges, including a major legal battle.
TLDR: This book shows how a practice of surrender can lead to inner peace, and resilience offering a unique take on applying spirituality to real-world situations. While I’m not likely to follow his path, I did find the practice shared in this book to give me some perspective on life and it’s happenings.
If you’re looking for wellness support from a practitioner who’s made a commitment to learning and listening with a client centred approach, please learn more about what I do at Moon and Bloom here.
