7 Inspiring Must-Read Books for Summer
School is out, temperatures have risen, and summer is in full swing. Whether you’re sitting by the pool catching rays or frolicking on a beach in a tropical location, every summer day is in need of a little R&R. We have compiled a list of our top picks that will brighten up your summer reading list.
Fear Is My Homeboy: How to Slay Doubt, Boss Up, and Succeed on Your Own Terms
Judi Holler
In Fear Is My Homeboy, author Judi Holler has a message: It's time to stop letting fear boss you around so you can start leveling up personally and professionally. This is a book for people who believe that they deserve more. Holler focuses on helping the reader shut down self-doubt so they can start taking action. After reading this book Judi promises that you will get braver, bolder, and more confident in your natural-born badassery.
Izzy In El Mareo
Danielle Ledezma
So when the twenty-three-year-old American takes a job at an international resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, she hopes her old life is behind her at last—and with it, all the self-doubts and insecurities that have plagued her since childhood. She’s wondering if she’ll be able to survive in a new job in a strange country, but for now, the city’s breathtaking ocean views by day and sexy club scenes by night look like paradise. Happy and energized by the unfamiliar sights and sounds of her surroundings, Izzy sets out to prove herself in the Spanish-speaking office. Soon she’s making strides at work, partying with new acquaintances, and all the while gaining confidence as she successfully navigates the local culture (and the men in it).
Eat Feel Fresh: A Contemporary, Plant-Based Ayurvedic Cookbook
Sahara Rose Ketabi
The ancient science of Ayurveda teaches that food is divine medicine with the power to heal--but the best foods for one person may not be beneficial to another. Unlike many diets with rigid, one-size-fits-all guidelines, Ayurveda is a lifestyle that recognizes the ever-changing needs of each individual. Join author Sahara Rose on a journey to wellness and discover how to eat according to your body's specific needs. Identify your Dosha, or mind-body type, and find out what foods are best for your body. Learn how changes in season and climate affect your digestion and how to adjust what you eat accordingly. Rather than focusing on calories, you'll focus on food qualities. Rather than focusing on macronutrients, you'll focus on tastes--and you'll feel better than ever.
Becoming the Light: Realize Your True Enlightened Nature
Vivianne Nantel
From untruth to truth, darkness to light, ignorance to enlightenment, this is Vivianne Nantel's journey. Intimately chronicling Vivianne's quest to overcome a battered childhood, survive depression, advanced breast cancer, and near-death experiences, along with her journey seeking in India. Becoming the Light is more than a compelling spiritual memoir; it is a moving odyssey. Becoming the Light: Realize Your True Enlightened Nature can be a gateway to unleashing your true and blissful nature. Filled with wisdom and spiritual knowledge, it is a narrative of duality and transcendence expressed in all its nuances. Whether you are already on a journey for well-being and enlightenment or just at its threshold, may this book provide the insights, inspiration, and courage you need in order to find your way.
Don't Hate, Meditate!: 5 Easy Practices to Get You Through the Hard Sh*t (and into the Good)
Megan Monahan
This modern guide to meditation from instructor Megan Monahan takes readers beyond empty Instagram truisms to the simple yet effective ways to "meditate their way through the bad shit and into the good shit." With a fresh voice and perspective, Monahan presents a set of tools grounded in a meditation technique that is impossible to screw up. With her help, you'll unpack the five spiritual mindsets (Presence, Acceptance, Intention, Nonjudgment, and Trust, aka PAINT) that are key to moving out of constriction and fear and into a more expansive space within yourself and your life. Ultimately, you will quickly notice, at any triggering moment, where you're getting stuck and how to more consciously move through it.
Becoming Who You Want to Be
Gregg Lorberbaum
Adversity can be a blessing. That's a lesson that Gregg Lorberbaum learned early in life when he was diagnosed with a learning disability. He overcame it by developing skills of self-reflection, communication, and relationship building. These tools helped him become one of New York City's most accomplished commercial real estate brokers, working for the firm formed by football legend Roger Staubach. Along the way, Lorberbaum realized those skills also work for finding love, raising children, sustaining a great marriage, and stiff-arming the tacklers of life.
Exceptional Every Day: An Empowering Process to Unlock Your Why and Transform Your Life
Jason M. Valadao, MD.
In Exceptional Every Day, Jason M. Valadão, M.D. will help you transform your life. Using a method called The Process, this book enables you to create and achieve personal goals by helping you understand how to prioritize what is meaningful to you, allocate your time appropriately, and maximize productivity. By gaining control of your life and mastering your time, you'll be empowered to explore your passions and interests, and create an exceptional and fulfilling life for yourself and your loved ones. It all starts with you.
Summer is a great time for some relaxation, resting, and recharging. Add these books to your summer reading list to not only recharge physically, but mentally as well. Happy reading!
Kesley Smith is the Corporate Communications and Business Development Manager of Greenleaf Book Group, Urban Wellness Mag’s partner in a new health and wellness publishing imprint, Well Spirit Press.
Kesley holds a Master’s degree in business and is an avid all seasons outdoor enthusiast enjoying wakeboarding, wake surfing, snowboarding and skiing. Connect with her online @GreenleafBookGr and @wellspiritpress, or on her personal Instagram, @kesleysmith.