Our favorite self-care and spirituality books of 2024 have your best self in mind.
The art of self-discovery, self-care, and self-betterment is a very tricky and very personal path to be on. We’re such complex creatures navigating an even more complicated world. Simply taking care of one’s physical body is enough to make our heads spin! Is one truly expected to figure it all out solo? No need to go it alone. Whether you’re exploring spirituality, optimized health, or a sounder mind, we’ve got something for you in our picks for the best health, wellness, and spirituality books of 2024.
Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health
by Casey Means - Calley Means
The instant #1 New York Times bestseller!
A bold new vision for optimizing our health now and in the future
What if depression, anxiety, infertility, insomnia, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer and many other health conditions that torture and shorten our lives actually have the same root cause?
Our ability to prevent and reverse these conditions - and feel incredible today - is under our control and simpler than we think. The key is our metabolic function - the most important and least understood factor in our overall health. As Dr. Casey Means explains in this groundbreaking book, nearly every health problem we face can be explained by how well the cells in our body create and use energy. To live free from frustrating symptoms and life-threatening disease, we need our cells to be optimally powered so that they can create "good energy," the essential fuel that impacts every aspect of our physical and mental wellbeing.
If you are battling minor signals of "bad energy" inside your body, it is often a warning sign that more life-threatening illness may emerge later in life. But here's the good news: for the first time ever, we can monitor our metabolic health in great detail and learn how to improve it ourselves.
Good Energy offers a new, cutting-edge understanding of the true cause of illness that until now has remained hidden. It will help you optimize your ability to live well and stay well at every age.
On Thriving: Harnessing Joy Through Life's Great Labors
by Brandi Sellerz-Jackson
A renowned doula shares powerful lessons on healing and thriving through the murky seasons of life in this moving, intimate guide to deeper self-awareness and radical joy.
"This book is a beacon of resilience. . . . A must-read for anyone committed to growth." –Erica Chidi Cohen, author of Nurture
We've all been there: We take a pause, look at our lives, and desire more – more from our relationships, more from our wellness journeys, maybe simply more from ourselves. For some, it might be more fun, more peace, more exploration – but what does it take to get to the other side of living in survival mode? In On Thriving, Brandi Sellerz-Jackson helps us wade through what she calls the four great labors of our lives – labors that she's had to overcome and that she has led many clients through.
Drawing from her experiences as a doula and intimate storytelling from her own life, Sellerz-Jackson guides us through the many phases of these great labors – labors that we can get stuck in, stunting our ability to thrive. Across age, gender, economic status, or background, we all move through the great labor of our relationships, our mental health, grief and loss, and the feeling of being othered. Sellerz-Jackson doesn't shy away from the pitfalls of these labors but rather challenges us to actively remain present within them and ask ourselves: What do I need to thrive in the space I'm currently in? In On Thriving, you'll come to recognize the survival tools you've picked up along the way and exchange them for thriving tools and "rich-uals." You'll commit to no longer making a home out of chaos and rediscovering sanctuary within yourself.
Comparing our thriving to that of plant life, Sellerz-Jackson simplifies the complicated – and oftentimes overwhelming – journey as we attempt to grow in an inhospitable environment. With insightful and vulnerable storytelling, she invites a deep, soul-stirring investigation of our past and present to gather all that we need to thrive right where we are, right now.
Upworthy - Good People: Stories from the Best of Humanity
by Gabriel Reilich - Lucia Knell
Instant New York Times bestseller!
Embrace – and share – the transformative power of kindness through stories of more than one hundred Good People, brought to you by Upworthy, the beloved social media platform where millions find inspiration, joy, and daily affirmation.
Good People is a much-needed trove of life-affirming stories told straight from the heart. Handpicked from Upworthy's community of millions, each piece speaks to the breadth, depth, and beauty of the human experience. With proof that decency surrounds each and every one of us, Upworthy's first book is a perspective-changing salve that will leave even the most unlikely reader feeling better about the world.
Rippling with wit, compassion, and courage, each chapter offers a restorative opportunity to believe in people's fundamental goodness. Inside, you'll find beautifully illustrated stories – truly an essential counterbalance to today's daunting news cycle, this deeply moving book is emotional nourishment for navigating modern life, both online and off.
The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change with Purpose, Power, and Facts
by Mary Claire Haver
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Filling a gaping hole in menopause care, everything a woman needs to know to thrive during her hormonal transition and beyond, as well as the tools to help her take charge of her health at this pivotal life stage – by the bestselling author of The Galveston Diet.
Menopause is inevitable, but suffering through it is not! This is the empowering approach to self-advocacy that pioneering women's health advocate Dr. Mary Claire Haver takes for women in the midst of hormonal change in The New Menopause. A comprehensive, authoritative book of science-backed information and lived experience, it covers every woman's needs, including appearance and sleep patterns, how to mediate the risks associated with your body's natural drop in estrogen production, how to advocate and prepare for annual midlife wellness visits, including questions for your doctor and how to insist on whole life care, and the very latest research on the benefits and side effects of hormone replacement therapy.
Arming women with the power to secure vibrant health and well-being for the rest of their lives, The New Menopause is sure to become the bible of midlife wellness for present and future generations.
The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health Is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier
by Kasley Killam
A groundbreaking redefinition of what it means to be healthy that introduces the need for social health – the part of wellbeing that comes from feeling connected – to truly flourish.
Exercise. Eat a balanced diet. Go to therapy. Most wellness advice is focused on achieving and maintaining good physical and mental health. But Harvard-trained social scientist and pioneering social health expert Kasley Killam reveals that this approach is missing a vital component: human connection.
Relationships not only make us happier, but also are critical to our overall health and longevity. Research shows that people with a strong sense of belonging are 2.6 times more likely to report good or excellent health. Perhaps even more astonishingly, people who lack social support are up to 53% more likely to die from any cause. Yet social health has been overlooked and underappreciated – until now.
Just as we exercise our physical muscles, we can strengthen our social muscles. Weaving together cutting-edge science, mindset shifts, and practical wisdom, Killam offers the first methodology for how to be socially healthy. An antidote to the loneliness epidemic and an inspiring manifesto for seeing wellbeing as not only physical and mental, but also social, The Art and Science of Connection is a handbook for thriving.
The Art and Science of Connection will transform the way you think about each interaction with a friend, family member, coworker, or neighbor, and give you the tools you need to live a more connected and healthy life – whether you are an introvert or extrovert, if you feel stretched thin, and no matter your age or background. Along the way, Killam will reveal how a university student, a newlywed, a working professional, and a retired widow overcame challenges to thrive through connection – and how you can, too.
Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything
by James R. Doty
A deep exploration of the neuroscience behind manifestation, with a six-part plan for realizing your dreams
For decades the practice of manifestation has been widely dismissed as self-involved, materialistic pseudoscience. But as neuroscientist and recognized compassion leader Dr. James Doty reveals, manifestation introduces us to different possibilities, and it lays the groundwork for a kinder, better world.
Doty grounds us in the practices that change our brain structures: attention, meditation, visualization, and compassion. This mind magic allows us to move through the world in ways that help us see clearly – reclaiming our agency, realizing our dreams, and reaching out to help others along the path.
Where previous works about manifestation have focused narrowly on outward success and individual benefit, Mind Magic delivers an openhearted call to make manifestation part of a deeper contribution to healing the problems we face today.
The Only Constant: A Guide to Embracing Change and Leading an Authentic Life
by Najwa Zebian
You can become the change driver of your own life. The celebrated poet, educator, and author of Welcome Home shows you how in this practical, wise, and tender guide to all of life's changes.
"Change is hard – but Najwa shows you what's on the other side, and she's the one you want to lead you through it." –Melissa Urban, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Boundaries
In The Only Constant, Najwa Zebian guides you through the changes we must make and those we must endure in life, offering support, stabilizing practices, and step-by-step guidance to make it through the uncertainty. With timeless wisdom, Najwa shares stories of change from her own life, including the bonds to the past she needed to break so that she could live more honestly, the loss of a loved one, and accepting the changes required to manage chronic illness.
She also guides you through changes like the end of a romantic relationship or friendship; setting boundaries with a friend or family member; changing your educational and career path; grieving the death of a loved one; breaking trauma bonds; venturing outside of your survival mode; living an authentic life; and practicing radical acceptance.
A highly practical guide to unfamiliar terrain, The Only Constant teaches that the purpose of change is to be true to yourself. Zebian simplifies change, teaches us to accept ourselves as we are now, and helps us focus on the necessity and unexpected beauty of those messy transitional times. And she guides you through it so that you can not only reach the better life that awaits you on the other side, but also so that you can take the wheel and become the driver of change in your own life.