Better Reading BE: Top Picks for March 2021

In early 2019, Rick Morton, author of acclaimed, bestselling memoir One Hundred Years of Dirt, was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder – which, as he says, is just a fancy way of saying that one of the people who should have loved him the most during childhood didn’t. So, over the course of twelve months, he went on a journey to rediscover love. To get better. Not cured, not fixed. Just, better. This is a book about his journey to betterness, his year of living vulnerably. Exquisitely written, deeply profound and painfully honest… wise, witty and utterly wonderful.

You’re Not Broken by Dr. Sarah Woodhouse

In one way or another, we all carry trauma, yet many people are unaware they’re stuck in old reactions and patterns that stem from their past traumas. Dr Sarah Woodhouse is a Research Psychologist who specialises in trauma and is passionate about helping people face this word and their past. In You’re Not Broken she teaches you what a trauma is (it’s probably not what you think), and how to recognise when, why and how your past is holding you back. Then, sharing the latest research-based techniques and her own personal experience, she guides you towards breaking the trauma loop, reawakening your true self and reclaiming your future. A well written guide to breaking free from the past.

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

The wise, warm, defiant new book from literary legend Isabel Allende – a meditation on power, feminism and what it means to be a woman. As a child, Isabel Allende watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children. As a young woman coming of age in the late 1960s, she rode the first wave of feminism. She has seen what has been accomplished by the movement in the course of her lifetime. With this book, Allende hopes to ‘light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished.’ Listen to the podcast we recorded with Isabel here.

Special mentions…

Wild at Heart by Alienor le Gouvello

From the moment French-born Alienor le Gouvello encountered a pair of wild horses in the Australian outback, she was transfixed. Inspired to celebrate their character, Alienor tamed three brumbies and teamed up with them to conquer Australia’s longest trek, the Bicentennial National Trail. Wild at Heart is a quintessentially Australian story of breathtaking beauty and indomitable spirit. We were riveted from cover to cover, cheering for Alienor le Gouvello and her four-legged companions every blistering step of the way.

I’m So Effing Tired by Amy Shah

Are you feeling overwhelmed, overstressed, and overtired? If so, you’re not alone – and you don’t have to settle for feeling this way. Inspired by her personal wellness journey, Dr. Amy Shah has created this program so that you can regain your energy and reclaim your life. The key is tapping into the powerful energy trifecta: the complex, interconnected relationship between your gut, your immune system, and your hormones. Drawing on the latest science and her work helping thousands of clients, Dr. Shah explains how to transform your life by changing: What you eat, when you eat and why you’re stressed. Easy to understand language about and a proven plan to beat burnout, boost your energy and reclaim your life. In just two weeks, you’ll feel your energy surge. I know this, because I tried it myself.