5 Books to Boost Your Mood
“I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t)” by Brené Brown
Brené Brown is known for her research in same, vulnerability and the resilience of the human spirit. In her second book, “I Thought It Was Just Me,” Brown delves into the many ways that shame plagues women, such as addiction, perfectionism and blame. “I Thought It Was Just Me” transcends the genre of self-help, and seeks to transform women’s lives and their relationships with themselves, their bodies and their families. “I Thought It Was Just Me” will force you to reexamine the way you interact with yourself and the world, and inspire you to treat yourself and others with patience, compassion and empathy.
“Waiting for Tom Hanks” by Kerry Winfrey
This easy, light read is perfect for all my fellow rom-com lovers! The novel follows the life of Annie, a Nora Ephron-obsessed twenty-something whose life is turned upside down when a movie set moves into her sleepy town. Annie has been on the search for her real-life Tom Hanks for as long as she can remember, but she’s thrown off of her quest when she meets the movie’s leading man, Drew Danforth, who is decidedly not like Tom Hanks. “Waiting for Tom Hanks” reads like a classic rom-com, complete with a cliched meet-cute and an all-to-relatably awkward heroine.
“Untamed” by Glennon Doyle
Glennon Doyle’s latest memoir is the ultimate source of badass female empowerment. “Untamed” is filled with personal anecdotes from Doyle’s own life that she relate to important topics like faith, sexuality and relationships. Doyle’s timeless wisdom will transform your life, speak to your soul and have you nodding along with every universal truth she articulates with a clarity and honesty like no other.
“City of Girls” by Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest novel tells the story Vivian Morris, a well-bred 19-year-old who has just been kicked out of Vassar College and shipped off to Manhattan for the summer to work at her aunt’s playhouse. During her summer in the Big Apple, Vivian discovers her love for costume design, befriends a promiscuous showgirl and falls in love for the first time. “City of Girls” is a fun, easy read that is sure to completely enrapture and transport you to the excitement and romance of 1940s Manhattan.
“Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert shares the secret to her creative genius in this instruction manual, of sorts, to a creative life. Author of the New York Times bestselling book, “Eat Pray Love,” Gilbert has devoted her life to creativity and storytelling. Gilbert encourages readers to be realistic yet courageous; passionate yet prudent; and fearless yet honest in their own creative pursuits. Through an inimitable eloquence and wisdom, Gilbert makes sense of the confusion and paradoxes that come with a creative life.