Reading Beyond the Old Story

I have been quiet in this space lately. When I started this publication, in my very first essay, I talked about how one of my intentions here was to write when I had something to say, and to rest when I didn’t. (Or more realistically, to rest when many ideas are percolating but not ready to be written and shared with the world yet… and I promise you there is a lot percolating right now.) It isn’t easy for me, and I can quickly fall into a story that I am letting you, my reader, down when I don’t share anything new for awhile. Learning to really let myself rest—learning when and how to stop pushing—continues to be a journey, and I am grateful for the opportunity to practice that no matter how uncomfortable it might be for me.

Anyway… I am an avid reader, and during this period of rest I have found myself really reflecting on some of the books that have been most instrumental and life changing for me in my own process over the years. I find myself recommending books to clients and to friends all the time, and I thought I would share a few of my most pivotal reads with all of you here.

This essay may be volume one of many, we’ll see. I am going to focus on non-fiction books here and I am not going to give much in the way of summaries or synopses. Instead I am going to focus on where I was in my process and why, at that point, the book had such an impact. Maybe one of these will end up landing for you at just the right moment. So without further introduction, here we go.

Lost Connections by Johann Hari

I encountered this book when I was still really unraveling any diagnostic identity that I was wrapped up in, and hungry to understand my experience of what I used to call depression through a different lens than the one that said I had a broken brain. This book was both profoundly eye-opening and profoundly validating. It is one that I have revisited multiple times over the years.

The Emperor’s New Drugs by Irving Kirsch

In the early days of my taper when I was deep in the process of un-learning everything I thought I knew about the antidepressants I had spent years taking, this book provided so much clarity for me about what was actually true about them. It was a book that I think I tried to get my whole family to read (and bless them, they mostly did). Word to the wise, especially if you or someone you love has taken or been harmed by antidepressant drugs, there are things in this book that may make you really angry and with good reason. It is another book that I revisited multiple times.

A Mind of Your Own by Kelly Brogan

I’ll be the first to admit that at this point I am not Brogan’s biggest fan, and while I am not going to get into that here it feels important to name. With that said, it was in reading this book back in 2019 and applying the dietary elements in particular, that I learned first hand what a profound impact food has on both mood and on the psychiatric drug tapering process. It represented a major turning point in my process—one in which I became a more discerning and active participant day-to-day. As a result I saw a marked increase in my own sense of resilience even though I was still tapering and experiencing a lot of difficult withdrawal symptoms. I also saw how much power I had to create a meaningful change in how I felt, and pretty quickly. (Of note: I didn’t do everything in the book and I didn’t join her paid program. I just did the dietary part on my own with my partner and it changed my life. Today I don’t believe that any one specific dietary approach is the right one for everybody. I do believe in getting curious about the impact of food, and experimenting with that in ways whatever feel aligned.)

Radical Remission by Kelly Turner

While healing a cancer diagnosis has not been a part of my journey, at a certain point in my own process two things became of critical importance to my continued forward motion: 1) I needed to widen the lens and get out of the microcosm that is the world of psych drug injury and withdrawal. 2) I needed stories of people healing things that defied the odds and expanded my sense of what is possible. Enter this book. It is another one I have revisited multiple times, and it opened the door for me to continue seeking and finding radical remission stories of all kinds. Feeling stuck? Feeling blah? Feeling hopeless? Feeling frustrated? Feeling good but wanting to feel even better? No matter, I find myself a radical remission story. To this day nothing humbles or inspires me more.

The Power of Awe by Jake Eagle and Michael Amster

I happened upon this one by chance and I only bought it because the price was right… I just love it when the medicine I need crosses my path at exactly the right moment. What it showed me was how quickly and simply I could begin to change my own state, by consistently practicing connecting with a sense of awe, for just 90-or-so seconds a day. You read that right. It showed me the power I had to effect change in a way that was not at all overwhelming, at a time when a consistent meditation practice did feel overwhelming. I had no idea that anything so quick and simple could be so powerful and it kinda blew me away.

Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza

I found Dispenza’s work at a time when I had been doing “all the things” and knew I needed to redirect and better focus my own efforts (and at a time when I was ready for a consistent meditation practice). Honestly all four of his books were really powerful for me and I recommend them all, but if I had to start with one it would be this one because it is the newest of the four with the most up-to-date science, and it is in some ways the most compelling, in my opinion. It was so impactful because once again, it introduced me to a brand new perspective and an expanded sense of possibility in a massive way. And, it showed me exactly what to do if I wanted to put the information presented in the book into practice in my own life. Today I still practice this work regularly and probably always will.

Dying to Be Me by Anita Moorjani

The true story of one woman’s near death experience, and all the lessons about illness, healing, fear, and love that came out of it. I read this at a time when, again, I was feeling stuck and scared and I deeply needed to have my sense of possibility expanded. It taught me much about why we may get sick, the internal shifts that support deep and lasting healing, and just how important it is to really, truly, show up fully as myself in the world.

You’ll probably notice a theme in all of these: they all called into question what I thought I knew to be true in some capacity or another, and therefore expanded my understanding of what is actually possible. The expansion of possibility is pure gold. It is the very best fuel for healing and transformation of any kind. It is the ultimate stuff of life.

I hope you enjoyed reading this one, and I’d love to hear what you think if you end up reading any of these. In the meantime, what have some of your most pivotal and life-changing reads been?

About My Work

You followed the path you were told would lead to a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life—and it didn’t. You’re done with what you’ve been doing and aren’t sure what comes next. In our work together, you begin to find yourself again, feel steadier amid uncertainty and change, and discover how to move forward in ways that actually fit. This work supports anyone navigating profound life shifts, including psychiatric drug injury or withdrawal as a process, and provides a grounded, resourced space to show up fully and see what’s possible.