All that you love, All that you hate, All you distrust, All you save.
Lori Dennis' Book Picks
YRR Psychotherapist
| Finding Meaning In The Second Half Of Life, By James Hollis | |
$15.33 |
Why I loved this book It intelligently explores how we can and must evolve to become our true adult selves - in all areas of our lives. It helps us to understand that growth has little to do with chronological age and far more to do with self-reflection and shedding our child-centered, wounded selves.
Your Relationship to… • Getting to know yourself fully • Becoming your true self, your mature, your healthy adult self • Taking Responsibility for your relationships and what you bring to the table • Healing your soul • Living beyond your ego • Caring for your neuroses, addictions, loneliness, wounds |
| The Empty Nest, Edited by Karen Stabiner | |
$18.87 |
Why I loved this book It's a collection of 31 short essays by ‘empty nesters' who share their personal truths about this difficult rite of passage. The writers, including one of my all-time favourites – Anna Quindlen - make you laugh, cry, and nod your head in agreement, exploring the full range of emotions. But mostly, the book allows you to feel like you're not as alone as you live through with the pain and heartache, and newfound freedom, of letting your children go.
Your Relationship to… • Understanding your role as a parent • Allowing yourself to be “The Good Enough Parent” • Knowing that for every loss you experience, there is always a gain. • Your own parents • How to reconnect with yourself, your freedom, your passions. • Reflecting on the next stage of your life. |
| The Precious Present, By Spencer Johnson | |
$18.87 |
Why I loved this book It's a simple tale for (which can be read in less than 10 minutes although I urge you NOT to rush through it) of how precious the present moment is in our lives and how in our ridiculously fast-paced, achievement-driven world, we more often than not miss the moment. This clever story teaches us the importance of living in the present – the greatest gift we have. Share it with your kids.
Your Relationship to… • Living in the present • Being consciously aware • Connecting with others • Rediscovering your humanity • Balancing your spiritual and material needs |
| A Short Guide To A Happy Life, by Anna Quindlen | |
$14.56 |
Why I loved this book With all the happiness literature out there, this book says it best – simply, succinctly and with tremendous heart. Through her brilliant artistry, Quindlen urges us to live deeply, meaningfully, and fully engaged. She teaches us in fewer than 2,000 words, to be grateful for what we have, to live each moment as if it's our last, and most of all, to ‘enjoy the view'.
Your Relationship to… • Living your life fully, deeply - as your true self • Waking up to the real beauty in our world • Adopting a different and more realistic perspective • The deeper and richer meaning of seemingly small moments • Making the most of your life because it's short and goes by quickly |
Awe: The Delights and Dangers of Our Eleventh Emotion, by Paul Pearsall, Ph.D.
$16.98 |
Why I loved this book It's the only book that I know of that addresses our need to reconnect with our feelings of AWE. As we become more and more desensitized to nature, people, the awe-inspiring world around us, we are living in a ‘numbed-out' state, forgetting or unable to see the bigger picture. By tapping into religion, history, metaphysics, neuropsychology, and more, this book explores a number of interesting questions and teaches us how to bring awe back into our lives.
Your Relationship to… • How experiencing awe positively impacts your health • Our brains and why evolution gave us this unique response • Using your head, heart - and gut • The universe • How you can turn any tragedy into a gift • Delving beyond your five senses and basic ten emotions • Opening your heart and allowing yourself to feel more deeply |
$28.98 |
Why I loved this book I find that a common problem amongst many of us is that we didn't get a chance to be heard or to develop our own voice. This book clearly addresses the importance of these basic human needs. It places the responsibility on the reader to learn how to communicate effectively, how to overcome barriers to meaningful communication, to learn how to expand and enrich conversations, and to manage emotions to achieve greater clarity – especially with the more difficult conversations.
Your Relationship to… • The fierceness within you • Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-worthiness • Participating fully in your life, rather than hiding in the shadows • Your instincts and how to tune in • Your ability – and your right - to express yourself, clearly and with positive results |
| The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone and Benjamin Zander | |
$16.98 |
Why I loved this book It allows us to believe that anything is possible – with a change in your attitude and mindset. It offers simple yet extraordinary tools for helping us tap into our limitless energy and creative abilities.
Your Relationship to… • Life's infinite possibilities • Changing our mindset from a world of measurement to a world of opportunity • Thinking in terms of abundance versus scarcity • Transforming negative energy to positive thinking • Using humour and laughter to take yourself less seriously |
| Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh | |
$10.76 |
Why I loved this book Poetic and elegant prose on youth and age, love and marriage, patterns of living, solitude and tranquility – as experienced in the solace of simple tasks and through the gifts of nature. Lindbergh helps us to find a way to balance our own deeply personal needs with our obligations to family, friends and work.
Your Relationship to… • Reconciling your personal needs with life's obligations • Honouring the afternoon (mid-life) and eve (senior years) of life as well as the earlier hours • Filling our void with spiritual answers versus material ones • Being alone and enjoying the solitude of life |
| The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D. | |
$20.76 |
Why I loved this book It offers a clear and highly readable explanation of female development from birth to teen years, sexual maturity, pregnancy, childbirth, childrearing, menopause and beyond. It wisely delineates brain function in women versus men, helping us to understand what causes us to love, trust, bond, and experience emotions differently than our male counterparts.
Your Relationship to… • Your brain and how it forms you • Sex specific differences in brain function and what that means • What makes you a woman – both inside and out • How the function, structure and chemistry of a woman's brain affects her moods, thought processes, energy, sexual drives, behavior and well-being. |
