Starting 2024 with 5 books, which feels like my average (a little more than 1 / week). Somehow I’m in a non-fiction / personal development groove (is it about to be become a rut?) I’ll dive into some fiction in February. What are books are you reading / listening to right now? You know I love your suggestions!

**“When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress" by Dr. Gabor Mate**

*5 stars*

In December 2019, my world was rocked when I read "The Body Keeps the Score" by Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk. His book changed my perspective on so many things about my past and how it will impact my future. I felt that happen again with Dr. Mate. The link between childhood stress and cancer, ALS and MS is really fascinating. This link, seemingly overlooked by the wider medical community, is something I want to work with for sound healing and health coaching clients. I see it, I feel it and this book provided greater understanding and a framework to use. Our bodies and lifestyles impact each other so much and when our lifestyles make us sick, we need to pay more attention to this. The stress we put on ourselves and the stress from childhood and situations outside our control. I had to take this book slow as I got pretty emotional at some points so please, read / listen when you are ready to fully process. More information about Dr. Mate is here.

A kind and loving memoir and tribute. This is a coming of age story about two young Asian Americans as they create and understand their identity across cultures and generations. Sweet and sad, but ultimately hopeful, I was happy to have this as a break from personal development books.

**"Poverty, by America" by Matthew Desmond**

*4 stars*

Poverty is a public health issue. It's something that I think about frequently as a Health Coach as those living in poverty or with less money are at a higher risk for so many health issues (this intersects with Dr. Mate's work as I describe above) How can I suggest that my health coaching clients buy organic blueberries for $6.99 when McDonald's is cheaper and easier? How can I suggest acupuncture, joining a gym, a $25 drop in yoga classes or going to an out of network mental health provider when folks don't have access to clean water or a safe home. This is a tangled knot and seeing ways to untangle it is the work of our generation. Matthew digs into actual tangible solutions, so the book is more than just criticism / conversation which I liked. More information about Matthew's work can be found here.

**"Dopamine Nation" by Dr. Anna Lembke**

*4 stars*

I loved learning about Dopamine and how it interacts with the body and calls the shots for a lot of us. Like many folks, my dopamine fix often comes in the form of interacting with my phone or a sweet treat. This is most often when I am sad, stressed or feeling challenged in some way. The real life examples were super helpful. The concept of self-binding was really interesting and I realized that I do that, even before having the language to express it. For example, "I don't look at Instagram before I do my breath work, meditation and morning pages” or "I won't eat this chocolate until I finish the dishes" Which is really about out running the craving and creating distance between you and what you're addicted to. This was me when I did a 5+ week social media detox in the fall. I really did notice the difference when I didn’t reach for my phone as much. We live in a world where so many dopamine hits are available with the tap of a button so a compassionate approach to cutting off the dopamine hit is needed. To be clear, dopamine isn’t bad, but rather our addiction to it and how we seek it when we’re feeling uncomfortable feelings is something to explore. More information about Dr. Lembke's work can be found here

**"The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Pattern of Intimate Relationships" by Harriet Lerner, Phd**

4 stars

A quick read but it packs a punch. Dr. Lerner's work is not new to me but I love her perspectives. Understanding that anger is not something to be pushed down but rather, meeting that emotion with curiosity and trying to think about "what is this telling me?" Sometimes I feel more than anger, not just to my partner but to the whole late-stage capitalist and patriarchal country I live in. My need for fairness (hello, Libra Moon!) and seeing injustices in so many forms means that I feel anger and sometimes it gets overwhelming. The compassionate self-inquiry really hit me and I realized that often what is under the anger is sadness and deep grief. It's something that I’ve been processing in therapy (shoutout to Lori, my awesome mental health professional!)

Monthly book total: 5

Annual book total: 5

Book Review: January 2024

The tools we use

What if I spoke to myself like I do to my dog?