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Books For All 8 Areas Of Wellness
Our well-being has many dimensions beyond physical and mental health, from financial and social to emotional and environmental, that impact our overall health and happiness. We curated a reading list that caters to all eight pillars of wellness for support and knowledge in every area.
Text Defne Sarıçetin
Wellness Institute defines wellness as awareness of ourselves as whole people, with a sense of balance and comfort. It is the feeling “that things are going well for us today and can continue to go well for us tomorrow,” having a sense of purpose, meaningful relationships, and resilience. At the same time, we might experience setbacks and stress in life.
The eight wellness dimensions model has long been used as a practical framework for pursuing wellness, including physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, environmental, occupational, social, and intellectual wellness.
Dr. Peggy Swarbrick, the creator of this model, says it has evolved “over many years based on the lived experiences of people facing traumatic life experiences and mental health challenges.”
Physical Wellness
Maintaining a healthy body, good physical health habits, good nutrition and exercise, and accessing adequate health care.
When the Body Says No, Dr. Gabor Mate
Famous for his integrative and compassionate approach, Dr. Gabor Mate analyzes the mind-body connection scientifically, citing emotional stress as "a major cause of physical illness, from cancer to autoimmune conditions and many other chronic diseases." From how unhealthy and even deadly isolation can be to a person to the role of emotional stress in Alzheimer's, his clinical work illuminates our well-being holistically while offering people agency over their health and ways for prevention.
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, Emily Nagoski Ph.D., Amelia Nagoski
Burnout, a state of physical and emotional exhaustion usually following long-term stress, is one of our most significant modern ailments. The Nagoski sisters take on a female lens, from how the societal expectations and challenges facing women can cause burnout to strategies for breaking the biological stress cycle, arming the reader with an accessible plan backed by science.
Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker
Sleep is one of the essential parts of life and health, and yet, perhaps also the one we know the least about. Or often, the first thing we compromise when busy. Professor Matthew Walker digs into twenty years of research to unravel why sleep is critical and what happens during its deep stages.
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Emotional Wellness
The ability to express feelings, enjoy life, adjust to emotional challenges, and cope with stress and traumatic experiences.
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find — and Keep — Love, Amir Levine, Rachel S.F. Heller
Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Amir Levine and social psychologist Rachel Heller explain the science behind love and attachment. Exploring why some people or couples might struggle more than others based on their attachment styles -which can be anxious, avoidant, or secure- can shift how we look at how we connect and what constitutes a healthy and satisfying bond for both partners.
Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change and Thrive in Work and Life, Dr. Susan David
The distinction between people who seem to be thriving in their personal and professional lives versus people who are more hindered when faced with life's challenges is an enduring source of interest. As we have more research, how we define and approach fulfillment is also evolving. Following decades of studies on happiness, achievement, and emotions, Psychologist Dr. Susan David believes what determines the difference lies not in personality types, creativity, or even intelligence. It’s rather in individuals' emotional agility: "Thoughts, feelings, and self-talk ultimately determines how successful they will become."
Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender, David R. Hawkins, MD, Ph.D.
Running a clinical psychiatric practice for decades, alleviating people's suffering has constituted the author's life's work. Informed by these experiences, Letting Go deciphers the concept of surrender as an inner mechanism and how it can be a practical aid in our daily lives to overcome the internal obstacles hindering us from joy.
Spiritual Wellness
Having a sense of balance, peace, meaning, and purpose, including morals and ethics. It may or may not involve religious activities.
The Untethered Soul, Michael A. Singer
Singer's crystalline style tackles the deepest parts of our consciousness by expanding on meditation and mindfulness traditions. Being present, intrusive thoughts and painful memories are all touched on with delicacy and compassion. Uplifting and profoundly simple, an initiation into the art of observing our minds.
The Consolations of Philosophy, Alain de Botton
Resorting to philosophy for universal challenges, Alain de Botton deploys his go-to big thinkers for accessible wisdom. Featuring thoughts from Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche, it's a beautiful reminder there is solace in ancient writings for all sorts of troubles, from heartbreak and poverty to fears of failure and inadequacy.
Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through The Storm, Thich Nhat Hanh
The renowned zen master, human rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings remain even more relevant in our turbulent times. An excellent introduction to his work, this book addresses one of the greatest forces of all times: Fear. Hanh positions mindfulness as an antidote to ease our fears, emphasizing compassion, non-violence, and community against the fear and anger plaguing the modern world.
Financial Wellness
Having financial resources to meet practical needs, a sense of control, and knowledge about personal finances.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not, Robert T. Kiyosaki (TR)
A classic in personal finance, Kiyosaki presents his life lessons from the two figures he has observed (his father and his friend's father) who had starkly different mindsets around money. Explaining the basics of financial literacy and undoing ideas such as the necessity for a high income or working by the clock for wealth, Rich Dad, Poor Dad feels like a mentor for taking control of your finances.
Talking to My Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism, Yanis Varoufakis
"Why is there so much inequality?" Economist and scholar Yanis Varoufakis were inspired by this very question posed to him by his young daughter. His belief that economics is political and thus should be discussed in terms everyone can understand led to this compact but compelling book. Employing storytelling and mythology - from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix – Varoufakis combines realism with optimism while uncovering "why economics is the most important drama of our times."
Girls Just Wanna Have Funds: A Feminist Guide to Investing, Camilla Falkenberg, Emma Due Bitz, Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen
Opening with the stark and moving reality that "68% of women worldwide earn less than a man while doing the same job", the founders behind Female Invest (a financial education platform aiming to close the economic gender gap) present a lucid, comprehensive and empowering guide for women on investing.
Environmental Wellness
Being and feeling physically safe, in safe and clean surroundings, and able to access clean air, food, and water. Includes our micro-environment (where we live, learn, and work) and macro-environment (our communities, country, and whole planet).
Home Therapy: Interior Design for Increasing Happiness, Boosting Confidence, and Creating Calm, Anita Yokota
Therapist-turned-interior designer Anita Yokota found a link between our homes and the problems in our lives. Coupling psychology with design, she created Home Therapy as a toolbox for aligning your surroundings with your core needs and desires.
Atıksız Yaşam, Ceren Özcan Tatar
Reducing waste is one of the most crucial aspects of the climate crisis. Offering ways to change our consumption habits, Tatar provides a guide building on her own experience that demonstrates how to create a difference as an individual, from recycling and composting to personal care products and grocery shopping.
A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future, David Attenborough
Biologist and natural historian David Attenborough spent a long life bearing witness to our planet, its wilderness, and beauty, and unfortunately, also the demise of its abundance and biodiversity. A Life on Our Planet reads like his final manifesto, a sober but hopeful account detailing "how we came to make this, our greatest mistake, and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right."
Occupational Wellness
Participation in activities that provide meaning and purpose, including employment.
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, Keith Ferrazzi
In this invaluable blueprint on the power of connections, businessman and marketing expert Keith Ferrazzi takes the mick out of networking, focusing instead on building lasting rapport with people. Never Eat Alone is filled with detailed frameworks, from reaching out to people and creating a personal board of advisors to figuring out what you want to do and summoning your charms – spoiler: by being genuine—a generous and purpose-led outlook on the power of relationships.
No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work, Liz Fosslien, Mollie West Duffy
We are often taught how to do our jobs. We can sometimes feel challenging emotions at work. Nobody gives you a cheat sheet on coping with such emotions in the workplace, where we'd been taught. No Hard Feelings garners the power of expressing emotions productively with practical tips for improved satisfaction and effectiveness.
Working Hard, Hardly Working: How to Achieve More, Stress Less and Feel Fulfilled, Grace Beverley
Successful Gen-Z entrepreneur Grace Beverley extends advice on fulfillment, productivity, and work-life balance from a refreshing mental health perspective. With a supportive but no-nonsense style, Beverley dissects the schism between the (long-glorified but thankfully dissipating) 24/7 hustle culture against self-care, then shows readers exactly how to organize life and create ways to grind and rest that work for you.
Social Wellness
Building and maintaining relationships with others.
Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives — How Your Friends' Friends' Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do, James H. Fowler Ph.D., Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, Ph.D.
We have all heard the saying that a person is the average of the five people they spend the most time with. Scientists Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler present an astonishing narrative on just how far the power of social networks supersede individuality and the extent of their impact on our lives. Reaching beyond our immediate circles, Connected demonstrates; "how emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, and even how we find and choose our partners."
Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself, Nedra Glover Tawwab
A must-have guide for everyone to understand healthy boundaries, how to define and communicate ours to create more freedom, safety, and authenticity in our lives, and learn to respect others. Licensed therapist and relationship expert Nedra Glover Tawwab clarifies the CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) practices designed to assist people in real-life scenarios.
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, Robert M. Sapolsky
The polarity of human nature and the quest to understand and better ourselves as a species is ever fascinating. Notably more so when investigated by neurobiologist and primatologist Robert Sapolsky in this book tackling the age-old question "why do we do the things we do" from various viewpoints. From the neurobiological and evolutionary to our surroundings, culture, and genetic makeup, our behaviors and potential reasonings are thoroughly examined, presenting a complex understanding of even the most difficult topics such as tribalism, morality, free will, and even war and peace.
Intellectual Wellness
Recognizing creative abilities and finding ways to expand our knowledge and skills — can be personal and professional development, cultural involvement, community involvement, and personal hobbies.
Think Again, Adam Grant
Conventionally, intelligence has been defined as "the ability to think and learn." Organizational psychologist Adam Grant argues that "the ability to rethink and unlearn" might be the most critical modern skill. An astute and encouraging antidote to a biased, polarized, and post-truth future, Think Again is packed with wise advice that will make you reconsider how you think. "Once we hear the story and accept it as true, we rarely question it," Grant explains, "changing your mind doesn't make you a flip-flopper or a hypocrite. It means you were open to learning."
Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, Adrienne Maree Brown
Social justice facilitator and pleasure activist Adrienne Maree Brown offers a resilient yet joyful alternative full of pleasure for our collective moment and the many fights against injustices and oppression. She defines pleasure activism as “politics of healing and happiness that explode the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work.” Combining her essays with thoughts from other feminists such as Audre Lorde and Joan Morgan, the collection takes on everything from race and gender to climate change and sex.
The Creative Act: A Way Of Being, Rick Rubin
Few creatives are more versatile and expansive than Rick Rubin, a legendary music producer with many Grammys, who created Def Jam in the 80s and worked with artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Metallica, Jay-Z, and Jonny Cash at their best. Within this hefty volume's 78 areas of thought, Rubin touches on everything from the subconscious and self-awareness to collaboration and experimentation, merging helpful strategies with philosophical reflections. At the heart of his writing is an unwavering, almost ethereal view of creativity as not a rare or difficult ability to access, exclusive to artists or making art, but a birthright. A fundamental aspect of being human. A meaningful way of seeing the world and being in it.
