Hello Beautiful Readers,

Have you been enjoying Spring? We are experiencing a break in the rain and enjoying some sunshine up here in the NW. It is such a beautiful time with all the flowers blooming and everything coming back to life. We were even able to go out on our paddle boards this past weekend, which is one of my favorite things to do. Another thing that I enjoy doing is reading, especially books that inspire, challenge me to grow and support my wellness journey. I always like to hear what other people are reading so I thought I would share with you three books that I have recently finished and loved... and I would love to hear from you. What have you read lately that you enjoyed?

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes- I loved this book for so many reasons, but one is that I was laughing out loud throughout the book. I first fell in love with Shonda’s relatable and incredibly honest sense of humor when I saw a video of her Dartmouth Commencement Speech. If you haven’t seen it you can click here to watch it. But it was when I read her book that I became a huge fan. In this book she tells about her year of deciding to say yes to all the things that she would normally say no to because they scared her or made her feel uncomfortable. She takes you through her realization that she had become way too comfortable in saying no and that she was actually disengaging from life. This leads to her uncomfortable adventure in learning how to say yes to herself and as it turns out she begins to say yes to life. She is a single mother of three girls and is an incredibly successful writer. She tackles all of the real struggles of being a working mother in the most honest way. She clarifies this idea of having it all by saying you can have it all, but not all at the same time.

“Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means that I am failing in another area of my life.”

I relate to this so much. It’s a struggle... and a dance, some days I’m so much better at it than others. She goes on to say that she wouldn’t have it any other way and I have to agree. Since this year of yes, Shonda’s life has improved so much that she hasn’t stopped saying yes. Relatable, funny and empowering- my kind of book.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert- Most people know Elizabeth from Eat Pray Love and Big Magic is her latest book. She dives into all that is creativity, and gives us permission to be creative (by us she means everybody). You don’t have to qualify yourself as an artist to be creative but rather we are all creative.

She even says “Human beings have been creative beings for a really long time--long enough and consistently enough enough that it appears to be a totally natural impulse.”

The other point of her book that I found to be such a great reminder is that your creativity doesn’t have to be something that you must labor through and complain about, but rather something you enjoy. It’s your choice! And the more you choose to enjoy it the easier it is to be creative.

Miracles Now by Gabrielle Bernstein- I have had this book on my nightstand for a couple years now and have read this over and over but not in the typical way. This book consists of 108 Life-Changing Tools for less stress, more flow and finding your true purpose. Most mornings I open this book and trust that the page I land on is the lesson I need for that day. It may come in the form of an intention to set for the day or a supportive tool. Some of the tools she teaches are meditation, tapping, breathing and mindful exercises and much more. This is a great guide to a more spiritual and mindful life.

Have you read any of these? If so, did you enjoy them? What have you read lately that you love?

-love and gratitude

Say Yes