January Reads: 3 Books On Connection, Hard Lived Experiences, And The Biology Of It All

January was a rough month. Apparently I’m not alone because we’re all seemingly hitting the same COVID wall, at the same exact time. In an effort to try to bring myself some joy and comfort, I’ve been working to list out the better habits that have come from a whole year mostly at home. I wrote about my list making habit earlier this week.

At the top of that list is that I’ve been making more and more time to read. I spent so much of the beginning of my career hustling to be as productive as possible and traveling a ton that if I got through one book a month it would be a miracle. Now I’m getting through so many and they’re bringing me joy in different ways.

I’m also learning a ton. I remember as a kid how much reading was my form of escapism and there’s comfort in going back to a world where that’s my truth. I can’t travel, so I dive into other worlds every time I read a new book.

This month I picked up 3 books that all felt complementary.

The Power Of ritual by casper ter kuile

I’ll be wrapping up The Power Of Ritual this weekend and sharing more key highlights next week, but so far I love it because it’s a quick and easy read on a topic that I feel like we all have a lot of open ended questions about right now — ritual and community. COVID made us quit all of our old rituals old turkey or alternatively made us take them virtual, which may not fill us in the same ways. I like that Ter Kuile provides a roadmap to making even our smallest every day moments into rituals that feed us.

The Anatomy of Grief by Dorothy P. Holinger

I’ve read a lot of books on grief and hands down this is my top favorite grief book. It’s an explainer on what grief actually is, on a biological level, and how it manifests not only amongst humans but in all living creatures. This book taught me things about myself that I didn’t and wouldn’t have ever known. It helped provide a container for the way my brain reacted after my grandma’s death or the idea of grief as a new language that I so deeply subscribe to. Whether you’ve lost someone or know someone who has, I think this helps build a bridge for a deeper understanding of why grief manifests the way it does. I also got the chance to chat with Holinger for a Q+A I’ll share out next week. She shared such great insight.

The Beauty of What Remains by Steve Leder

The Beauty of What Remains was my first book of the new year. I read it ahead of a fireside chat I hosted with Rabbi Steve Leder. I’ve been in the grief space for years now and I still love reading about other people’s stories because it underscores a truth that I hold close to my heart — every person’s grief story is unique to them. Where Holinger can tell us what grief does to our bodies, our brains, and the different kinds there are, people can speak to the nuances of how those realities manifest in real life. Leder does an amazing, thoughtful job of bringing us into the fold of his own lived experience with losing his dad.

I’d love to hear - what have you been reading so far?