Are you feeling increasingly weary, especially as we are faced with a relentless cycle of negative headlines? For those of us feeling drained, anxious, exhausted, or in need of a break (or all of the above!), these books are filled with hope and encouragement to help us restore our soul, re-center our energy on what matters, and find glimmers of joy. Pause, breathe, and remember the goodness that can be found in ourselves, our communities, and the earth.
Disconnect during this season
The average smartphone user spends the equivalent of 61 to 80 days per year on their device—and we aren't just physically attached to our phones; we're emotionally attached as well. New research reveals how all of us are turning to our phones more and more to soothe and distract us, which numbs our empathy, diminishes the quality of our relationships, and drains the part of our brain required for creative focus. The Power in Your Hands invites readers to reckon with their attachment to technology through understanding the connections between compulsive smartphone behavior and their unique attachment style in relationships. Who will you become when you put down your phone and pick up your life?
Turn inward and explore life's deeper questions
The Ache in Your Heart Is Holy
We ache when we are confronted with longings, desires, disappointments, sorrows, and the unspoken hurts that come with being human. Yet so few of us know how to be with and attend to these aches, or the complexities that surround them. The Ache in Your Heart Is Holy is an accessible and practical guide for being with your ache. Rather than ignoring, denying, or rushing to fix, this book is an invitation to stay, to listen, and to trust. Each ache is a sacred opportunity to help you remember the truth of who you are.
Grow in spirit through prepositions
What if God is not just above us but also beneath and between, alongside and among? What if God comes into us, and is thus within and throughout and around—all while yet beyond? Through lush and literary prose, Beneath and Between invites us to encounter the omnipresence of God through the lens of the lowliest of all parts of speech: the preposition. For the contemplative and the confused, for the confident Christian and the heartbroken one, for the skeptic and the seeker: Find in these incandescent pages an expansive view of God and a companion for your spiritual journey.
Connect with God, the earth, and your body
How we live, practice our faith, and think of God profoundly influences our health and well-being. Inspired by the reflections of a young girl snapping beans on the porch and playing in the dirt, Rev. Lahronda Welch Little's Lessons from the Garden offers us a pathway to the biblical landscape of spirituality and health. With clarity and passion, Little redefines health and spirituality, equipping spiritual seekers with the essential tools to explore the holistic foundations of African American and Kemetic spirituality.
Center your soul with an ancient practice
For centuries the practice of breath prayer has helped center people from a variety of faith traditions on the sacred in everyday life. Through brief words of prayer or petition said silently to the rhythm of one's breath, this simple, meditative act combines praise for the divine with focused intention, creating a profound spiritual connection in the quiet, and even mundane, moments of the day. In Breath Prayer, Christine Valters Paintner introduces us to this spiritual practice and offers beautiful poem-prayers for walking, working, dressing, cleaning, sitting in silence, doing the dishes, living in community—breathing the divine into our daily lives.
Nourish your spiritual life through birding
Birdwatching is a delight, a deepening. It puts us in touch with the ineffable, and it draws us toward self-denial for the sake of love. Birding brings us close to hope, abundance, and joy. In fact, it looks a lot like prayer. In Watch and Wonder, naturalist, birder, and Episcopal priest Ragan Sutterfield delves into how birdwatching shapes our souls. Whether you are a serious birder with an extensive life list or a casual observer of hawks along the highway, this book is an invitation to wonder and awe.
Seek connection and repair in a broken world
Sojourners Magazine (Volume Editor)
For five decades, Sojourners magazine has been deeply engaged with the world while calling its readers to a new kind of life and faith rooted in justice and peace. Light for the Way is a powerful, yet meditative collection of pieces from the last fifty years of Sojourners magazine, exploring how contemplative practices, rest, simplicity, environmental engagement, and communal care are essential for sustaining our resistance and repairing our world.
Learn to read the Bible with love, not hate
The Bible is not a rulebook or a weapon, but a story of divine love that calls us to mercy, justice, and grace. In The Book of Love, acclaimed author and psychologist Richard Beck offers a bold and compassionate reimagining of how we read the Bible. Drawing from personal experience, theological insight, and psychological depth, Beck challenges the fear-based, legalistic interpretations that have long dominated many Christian traditions. Instead, he invites us to approach Scripture through the lens of love—God's love for humanity and our call to love one another.
For the reader who wants to listen more deeply
Transformative change is often met with intense opposition, but we will not back down from the fight for social justice. Grounded in psychological research and cultural history, Weathering the Storm offers a blueprint for navigating personal and professional spaces. This guide is for anyone who has ever felt worn down by injustice, disillusioned by regression, or isolated in their advocacy. It offers validation, empowerment, and above all, the reminder that the fight for justice is a long arc that we will ultimately bend together.
Make beauty in a broken world
Why should we make art while injustice and suffering wreak havoc? How can we justify making beautiful things? From award-winning author Mitali Perkins comes an essential companion for writers, artists, and other creatives who long for a more just world. We must keep making art infused with truth, beauty, and goodness, not to ignore a world in distress but for the sake of loving it. With vivid stories, practical ideas, and reflection and discussion questions, Just Making will inspire you to keep making beauty in a broken world.
Change the world in quiet ways
Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul
Social justice work, we often assume, is raised voices and raised fists. But what does social justice work look like for those of us who don't feel comfortable battling in the trenches? Alongside inspiring, real-life examples of highly sensitive world-changers, Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul expands the possibilities of how to have a positive social impact, affirming the particular gifts and talents that sensitive souls offer to a hurting world.
Read an interview with the author here.
Advocate for justice without losing your joy
Many of us want to advocate for causes we care about—but which ones? We want to work for change—but will the emotional toll lead to burnout? In The Lightmaker's Manifesto, activist Karen Walrond shares strategies to help you define the actions that bring you joy, identify the values and causes about which you are passionate, and put them together to create change.
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