It's easy to lose ourselves in the busyness that surrounds us at the end of the year. The start of the new year is the perfect time to take a step back and create space for intentional reflection and rejuvenation. No matter your goals for the year ahead—whether you want to create healthy habits, discover more joy, or nurture your creative spirit—the books below offer wisdom and inspiration as you set priorities and discover new ways to let your inner brilliance shine.
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Books to Inspire Healthy Habits
When you want to declutter your life without losing your mind
Think minimalism means a perfectly curated, always tidy home? Think again. Drowning in tides of toys, overflowing closets, and a crazy schedule, Rachelle Crawford assumed you had to be naturally organized to keep a tidy living space. Then she found minimalism: the messy, real-life kind that is less about perfection and more about purpose. With empathy, grace, and humor, Crawford shares doable ways to own less and live more fully. Learn to become a more conscious consumer, create a capsule wardrobe, inspire family members to join you, free up more time for the things that matter, and create a tidy(ish) home.
When you want your closet to be more sustainable
It's time to rethink what clothes we buy, wear, and toss out, knowing that we can have a positive environmental impact while still looking good and dressing well. As consumers, we have the power to make a difference with the clothing choices we make. In What to Wear and Why, top fashion writer turned sustainability activist Tiffanie Darke sheds light on the unsustainable practices and immense environmental impact of the fashion industry and presents a compelling argument for why transformative change is urgently needed.
When you want to try Dry January
Alcohol isn't going to fix the systemic lack of support for mothers—and pretending it's the solution to surviving motherhood does more harm than good. Mommy Wine Culture is a symptom of a larger issue: the mental load of motherhood and a systemic lack of support for moms. Mixing research, cultural references, interviews, and the author's sobriety story, It's Not about the Wine reveals what's really plaguing mothers and offers tangible tips for evaluating your relationship to alcohol and lightening your load.
When you want to build better relationships
Explore how your self-image and daily habits shape your relationships with others in The Love Habit (LOVE: Learn, Optimize, Validate, Experience). Bestselling author and relationship expert Rainie Howard says you have the power to break free of unhealthy cycles and to blossom into the best version of yourself. The Love Habit shows you how through chapters offering insights on embracing a love-based approach to your habits.
Books to Nurture Creativity
When you want to build a life that's creative, sensual, and playful
For far too long we have relegated the erotic to the bedroom, when in reality it is a fundamental energy that helps us connect more deeply with ourselves, each other, the earth, and the creative potential within us. In Turned On, artist and musician Brie Stoner redefines the erotic, stating that it is more than just human intimacy; it can be the antidote to feeling anxious, disconnected, and uninspired. By reframing Eros as the energy of life and creativity itself, Stoner invites us to reawaken presence, playfulness, and possibility as the gateways to transformation.
When you want to create a sustainable, joyful creative practice
Whether you're a dabbler, a career creative, or a self-proclaimed tortured artist, The Artist's Joy is for you. Professional oboist and creativity coach Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez guides artists in all levels and disciplines to build a creative life that resonates deeply with their core values. Complete with practical guides and companion playlist.
When you want to celebrate the creative power of women
Few women artists feature prominently in the history of art, and even fewer who are mothers. Are motherhood and creativity at odds, or are other factors at play? The Mother Artist twines intimate meditations on motherhood with portraits of the work, lives, and studios of mother artists, placing us in the company of women from the past and the present who persevere in both art and caregiving.
Books to Help You Discover Joy
When you want to build a more intentional and joy-filled life
Once you begin looking for joy, you can find it pretty much anywhere. In Jennifer McGaha's fifty-fifth year, she began to take note of simple, everyday things that struck her as beautiful or humorous or intriguing and kept a list of all the accomplishments, large and small, that actually mattered to her. These observations became her Joy Document, a radical act of reclaiming joy and an exercise in paying attention. Full of wit, heart, and reflective questions to help readers create their own joy documents, The Joy Document is a welcome companion for midlife transformation.
When you want to find contentment
This Book Won't Make You Happy
Happiness is fleeting. And what if you don't even need it to live a life of peace and purpose? In This Book Won't Make You Happy, therapist Niro Feliciano offers a path to something much more achievable and abundantly more satisfying: contentment. By incorporating eight simple postures rooted in cognitive behavioral science and mindfulness practices into our daily routines, we can move away from anxiety and toward balance and calm. Through these practices we will overcome obstacles that hold us back from living full, meaningful, contented lives.
When you want to defy expectations about growing older
Join Karen Walrond, author of The Lightmaker's Manifesto, in this intriguing investigation into how we can reclaim aging, cultivate joy, and resist ageism. In Radiant Rebellion, Walrond does a deep dive into dimensions of getting older, including health, beauty, spirituality, connection, adventure, and purpose. With wisdom from luminaries who light our way, she helps us radiantly rebel against the fads and assumptions that hold us back, redefine the adventure of getting older, and create a shining future of expanded potential. We might even raise a little hell while we're at it!
To view all of our books and resources, visit broadleafbooks.com.
