Read to Restore: Leisure Books for Mental Wellness: Self Care

What really matters in life? What truly lasts in our hearts and minds? Where can we find community, history, humanity? In this lyrical new book, the answer is clear: through writing. This is a book for what Quindlen calls "civilians," those who want to use the written word to become more human, more themselves.  Write for Your Life argues that there has never been a more important time to stop and record what we are thinking and feeling. Using examples from past, present, and future--from Anne Frank to Toni Morrison, from love letters written after World War II to journal reflections from nurses and doctors today--Write for Your Life vividly illuminates the ways in which writing connects us to ourselves and to those we cherish.

We live in complex and unsettled times. The issues before us are unimaginably difficult, and range from the personal to the global. This beautiful little book accompanies readers toward a greater sense of peace and self-compassion, reminding us that even though our world is so turbulent, we can still have quiet places within, filled with love, that make it easier to live and to breathe with ourselves. Rooted in the neuroscience of affirmations, and covering more than 100 themes (including health, self-care, issues at work, and connection with loved ones and with the planet), this book is a companion for daily life.

Everyone needs things to look forward to: big things and small things, on good days and on bad days, whether we actively create delight for ourselves or simply allow it to enter our lives. In these pages, beloved author and illustrator Sophie Blackall has gathered a collection of joys for all of us - reminders that every day the sun comes up and new babies are born. She includes suggestions that you bake muffins for a friend, or draw a face on an egg and put it in the fridge where it will smile at you each time you open the door.

From the creator and star of Hamilton and In the Heights, with beautiful illustrations by Jonny Sun, comes a book of affirmations to inspire readers at the beginning and end of each day. "When the world is bringing you down, Gmorning, Gnight! will remind you that you are awesome."--Booklist

Prioritize your wellbeing with these 150 self-care exercises designed specifically to help Black women revitalize their outlook on life, improve their mental health, eliminate stress, and self-advocate. Between micro- and macro-aggressions at school, at work, and everywhere in between, it's tough to prioritize physical and mental wellness as a Black woman, especially with a constant news cycle highlighting Black trauma. Now, with The Self-Care for Black Women you'll find more than 150 exercises that will help you radically choose to put yourself first.

A beautifully illustrated book of mindfulness that will help readers discover the path to a peaceful phioslothical life. Follow a serene and smiley sloth through a series of light meditations and daily reflections: An unexpected and snuggable guide, you'll learn that it's OK to slow down. Take a pause and focus on your breath. Let the other animals run around; you do you. Through the guidance of an unlikely-- but very wise--meditation expert, A Sloth's Guide to Mindfulnessreminds you it's okay to go at your own pace.

There's a reason this system for time management, goal setting, and intentional living has been adopted by millions around the globe: it works. Not only will you get more done, but you'll get the right things done. All you need is a pen, paper, and five spare minutes a day. In The Bullet Journal Method, Ryder Carroll, the system's founder, provides an essential guide to avoiding all-too-common beginner mistakes and building a core discipline from which you can personalize your practice. 

From women's mental health specialist and New York Times contributor Pooja Lakshmin, MD, comes a long-overdue reckoning with the contradictions of the wellness industry and a paradigm-shifting program for practicing real self-care that will empower, uplift, and maybe even start a revolution. You may have noticed that it's nearly impossible to go even a couple days without coming across the term self-care. A word that encompasses any number of lifestyle choices and products--from juice cleanses to yoga workshops to luxury bamboo sheets--self-care has exploded in our collective consciousness as a panacea for practically all of women's problems.  Board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Pooja Lakshmin finds this cultural embrace of self-care incomplete at best and manipulative at worst.

Imagine a glass jar filled with sugar on a kitchen counter. You are the jar, and the sugar is your energy. If the jar has no lid, people can come in and take as much sugar as they want. Sometimes, they spill that sugar all over. You may try to refill your jar--replenish your energy--through self-care, but because there is no a lid--no protective boundary--you cannot control how much of your vital life force is being drained. The Sugar Jar metaphor is a powerful teaching tool that wellness advocate and coach Yasmine Cheyenne has successfully used with her clients.