10 Books for the Journey Inward

Out of the 80+ books I read this year, these are ones I'd recommend the most

If you want to be a decent writer, you need to be an avid reader.

Reading non-fiction is one of my favorite ways to spend my free time. You spend only a few hours and get to absorb the reflections of someone who’s spent a substantial chunk of their time, sometimes their entire lifetime, reflecting on that topic in depth. What a treat.

So, today I’d like to share my top 10 book recommendations related to the journey inward from the 80+ books I read this year. These are all the books I gave a five-star rating (and for several of them, marked as “life-changing”). Enjoy!

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10 Books for the Journey Inward (2022 edition)

No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭, life-changing

What it’s about: Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapeutic model that is taking over the world of psychology by storm. It’s based on the premise that your personality consists of multiple parts that all have good intentions (no matter how destructive their behaviors). IFS is extremely compatible with psychedelic work and is a terrific tool for integration (it’s also being used in some of the clinical trials such as the MAPS’ MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD).

Who it’s for: Anyone who is a human. Seriously. This will shift your entire perspective about your personality and help you make sense of the parts of you that you can’t seem to make sense of. I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted so much in one book.

“We often find that the harder we try to get rid of emotions and thoughts, the stronger they become. This is because parts, like people, fight back against being shamed or exiled.”

The Child In You by Stefanie Stahl

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭, life-changing

What it’s about: I only read this book recently, but this is the book I wish I’d read before starting my work with psychedelics (specifically Ayahuasca). It’s the most popular book on inner child healing (a long-time best-seller in Germany with millions of copies sold!). Psychologist Stefanie Stahl explains beautifully the intricate nuances of your inner child, a concept that refers to the collection of subconscious beliefs you took away from childhood. Beliefs that govern your adult life and relationships, often without you realizing it.

Who it’s for: Anyone who is ready to embark on the emotionally intense but immensely freeing journey of inner child work (or, anyone who is already on it). If you want to understand yourself and the people around you better, this is your book.

“When I choose to take responsibility for my shadow child, I will become not only a happier person, but also a better person.”

Mother Hunger by Kelly McDaniel

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭, life-changing

What it’s about: This is a deep dive into a specific nuance of inner child healing, the mother-daughter relationship. Kelly McDaniels lays out how lack of maternal nurturance and/or attunement affects daughters all the way into their adulthood, from attachment styles to one’s relationship with food, and more. It’s key to note that this is not only relevant to objectively “bad mothers”, but that mother hunger can develop despite the most well-meaning mothers. If a mother didn’t have the self-awareness or tools in her own life to give her daughter what she needs, the impact can still be dramatic.

Who it’s for: If you’re healing journey has involved your relationship with your mother, or you have a hunch that this relationship is of relevance, give yourself the gift of this book. It’s a hard read but it produces shifts in consciousness that can help set you free. Or, if you’re a mother yourself and want to bring awareness to your parenting.

“As a child, if essential elements of maternal nurturance and protection were missing, you didn’t stop loving your mother—you simply didn’t learn to love yourself.”

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭, life-changing

What it’s about: Robin Kimmerer is a professor of Environmental and Forest Biology. In this masterpiece of a book, she eloquently weaves together her experience growing up in her Native American traditions with her observations of Western society, painfully pointing out the root causes of disconnection that plague most modern people. The book is an ode to the land, her people’s land, and is a through and through bittersweet read that equally hurts and enchants.

Who it’s for: Anyone who wants to deep dive on the role of our relationship with nature and mother earth in the context of healing and is curious to learn about indigenous perspectives and wisdom. Be prepared for some harsh truths and painful self-reflection.

“Maybe we’ve all been banished to lonely corners by our obsession with private property. We’ve accepted banishment, even from ourselves, even when we spend our beautiful, utterly singular lives on making more money, to buy more things, that feed but never satisfy. It is the windigo way that belongings will feed up our hunger when it’s belonging that we crave.“

The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭, life-changing

What it’s about: Capra intelligently draws the parallels between the key wisdom traditions of Eastern mysticism (Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism) and modern Western physics. In doing so, he goes into depth about the differences in how Westerners arrive at insight (observation of the external through highly objective scientific processes) versus how Eastern mystics do (observation of the internal through highly subjective experiences). He explores where the two approaches arrive at similar insights and dives into spiritual concepts such as non-duality, unity consciousness, and the interrelated nature of all being.

Who it’s for: Incredibly fascinating read for anyone who is curious about the science and the spirituality of the truth of unity as denoted in the saying “as above, so below”.

“This fragmented view further extended into society, which is split into different nations, races, religious and political groups. The belief that all these fragments in ourselves, in our environment, and in our society are really separate can be seen as the essential reason for the present series of our social, ecological, and cultural crises. It has alienated us from nature and from our fellow human beings.”

The Order of Time by Carol Rovelli

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

What it’s about: Time. What it is, from the perspective of a physicist who has dedicated his life to the study of quantum gravity, and what we get wrong about it. The journey inward is a journey into the present moment, and time is at the center of that present moment. In this eye-opening read, Rovelli neatly lays out all the ways in which our perceptions about times trick us (as proven by physics). He’s able to explain ultra-complex concepts in a way that can be understood by novices like me (at least, partially — I have to admit that I understood perhaps ~80% of this book but intend to reread it, especially the middle section which does get a bit more technical).

Who it’s for: If you’ve questioned common notions of time (perhaps because of psychedelic or meditation experiences you’ve had), this is the book that will confirm to you that no, you are not crazy. Time does, in fact, not flow, and yes, eternity is contained in one single instance - the present moment.

“The difference between past and future, between cause and effect, between memory and hope, between regret and intention . . . in the elementary laws that describe the mechanisms of the world, there is no such difference.”

Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭, life-changing

What it’s about: Let’s begin with what it’s not about — organized religion. This is a classic I knew about but refrained from reading for years because of my judgments surrounding the word God. Don’t do the same mistake and let the title keep you from reading it. This book is a touching and all-encompassing journey in which the author shares a (channeled) dialogue with the creative force of the universe (however you may want to call it). He asks “it” all the questions you’ve probably asked yourself — and he gets answers to all of them.

Who it’s for: This is spiritual curriculum 101, perfect for anyone on the path of exploring what there is beyond the ego — and how developing a relationship with that “thing” can help you manifest your reality.

“You will not have that for which you ask, nor can you have anything you want. This is because your very request is a statement of lack, and your saying you want a thing only works to produce that precise experience – wanting – in your reality. The correct prayer is therefore never a prayer of supplication, but a prayer of gratitude.”

The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

What it’s about: Brianna Wiest grew to fame through her online writing (she’s one of the OGs of listicles). Her writing is widely read for good reason: she gets to the core of the human experience and communicates its essence in deeply moving, poetic ways. This book is about how we can overcome ourselves. I’m always intrigued how such a young writer can tap into an unexpected vastness of wisdom, and I don’t love all her writing, but this collection of her essays related to self-sabotage was illuminating.

Who it’s for: Anyone who gets in their own way sometimes, aka all of us. An easy read that’s broken up into articles and makes for a great morning lecture.

“Your first reaction to something is very often the wisest reaction, because your body is using all of the subconscious information you have logged away to inform you about something before your brain has an opportunity to second-guess it.”

Becoming the One by Sheleana Aiyana

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

What it’s about: Sheleana Aiyana is behind the Instagram sensation “Rising Woman”, a widely-followed account that shares content about conscious relationships. In her newly published book, Sheleana consolidates everything she’s learned over the years about the work of evolving your consciousness in relationship with someone else. Sheleana has been a long-time Ayahuasca drinker herself, and while she barely mentions this in her book, the wisdom of the mother medicine can be read between the lines throughout her reflections, prompts, and exercises.

Who it’s for: Anyone ready to bring their inner work into the vulnerable space of intimacy. You don’t need to currently be in a relationship to benefit from this read. Either way, it will make you a better and more aware partner and, if you do the work suggested in this book, drastically increase your capacity for real, healing intimacy.

“It is common to find ourselves faced with familiar emotional themes over and over but unable to recognize that we’re in a pattern. Most of us weren’t taught that we’d carry our wounds from childhood into our adult relationships or that our greatest relationship challenges, more often than not, come from an unconscious attempt to heal old wounds.”

A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭, life-changing

What it’s about: The journey of replacing fear with love, aka the journey from the mind (and ego) to the heart (and spirit). This classic is Williamson’s interpretation of the much longer and harder-to-digest spiritual text A Course In Miracles, which was channeled by a Columbia University psychology professor who didn’t even sign her name as it was published. I’ve read A Return to Love many times before (and worked quite a bit with ACIM) and every time I re-read it, I gain new insights, clarity and perspectives about myself and the spiritual path.

Who it’s for: An absolute must for anyone on the journey to embrace love as the underlying reality of the universe and all being. Note, this book also uses the word God quite a bit (so be prepared), but I make it work by replacing it with “spirit”.

“Something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. We melt into another world, a realm of power already within us. The world changes when we change. The world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world.”

Your Journey

These were all my favorites — based on this list, perhaps you have some book recommendations for myself (and our community)?

Any books you read this year (or any other year) that changed your life?

Please share them in a comment below.