Resources for Your Reclamation Journey
Resources as remembrance.
Books, podcasts, teachers, courses, guides, and all the resources serve to remind us of the wisdom and knowing we already have within us.
We have a deep innate capacity to lead ourselves as the true experts of our own experience.
Coupled with your inner wisdom and embodied experience, external resources can serve as the impetus for your next level of self-awareness and growth.
Many of my personal "cracking open" moments have been facilitated by receiving the exact guidance - whether in written or spoken word - I needed to awaken my own inner wise woman.
The world is abundant with information.
And everyone resonates with different styles and people differently. So below you’ll find a bevy of resources in the space of self-awareness, female empowerment, and women's health - all filled with wisdom that will inevitably have your own inner wisdom bursting forth - lots of "Yes!" and "I feel validated, seen, and in great company."
“There are no unique messages. Only unique messengers. ”
*These are not affiliate links. I genuinely love these books for the support they've provided me and countless others, and I hope you find your next great cracking open book here, too!
Untamed by Glennon Doyle and her podcast, We Can Do Hard Things, and the companion Journal
Mary Magdalene Revealed by Meggan Watterson
Rise Sister Rise by Rebecca Campbell (and her 3 other books but this is a great place to start)
Financial Feminist by Tori Dunlap - Financial literacy can weave a story of patriarchal disempowerment and this book is an entertaining, humorous, and powerful way to educate yourself on more than just debits and credits.
Hormone Intelligence by Dr. Aviva Romm - How well do you really know your body? If the conventional western healthcare system is your only point of reference and education, probably less than you think. Dr. Aviva Romm is a beautiful mix of Yale Med educated, intuitive midwife and herbalist, and fearless woman herself. Her work is empowering, educational, and so empathetic - you'll love her!
May Cause Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein - This is a wonderfully simple primer for awakening to a spiritual connection beyond your current experience and leaning into the support that is always available to you. I revisit this 40 day practice almost annually!
Do Less by Kate Northrup - Daughter of the famed women's health expert, Christiane Northrup, Kate has turned productivity on its head with her do less perspective that honors and leverages the unique gifts of the feminine cycle. I utilize her Do Less planner to work with my natural energy ebbs and flows and after a full year of using it, with my hand on my heart and as a devout planner junkie, I can say it's the best "planning system" I've ever used - but it's so much more than that!
The Results Journal by Kris Carr - not just an accountability tracker, this journal offers a space to connect with yourself every day in a compassionate, gentle, and caring way. Its holistic approach combined with her compassionate wisdom is golden.
Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood by Jessica Grose - The title says it all.
On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good by Elise Loehnen - If "good girl" is a label you identify with, or you're interested in the history of patriarchy and women's erasure from the HeadTables, this is a must-read. Fascinating, empowering, accessible, and hopeful - it will stay on my nightstand for months to come as I revisit my many highlights.
Ancient Remedies by Dr. Josh Axe - What used to be "Woo" is now mainstream but the validity, efficacy, and effectiveness has never waned of the ancient health wisdom that has wisely remained integrated into eastern medicine. Many practices and remedies are now slowly being interwoven and embraced by western practitioners - woo hoo!
Mental Health, Alternative Healing, and Spirituality
A Mind of Your Own and Own Your Self by Kelly Brogan, MD
Both groundbreaking works by a former psychiatrist turned holistic psychiatrist who believes that our current views of mental health are misguided - depression and anxiety are not disorders but symptoms of a society and a person that are out of alignment with how we are meant to live. I thoroughly enjoyed both of her books and so appreciate the work is she doing to bring awareness to mental health and how we can heal ourselves.
Rise Sister Rise: A Guide to Unleashing the Wise, Wild Woman Within by Rebecca Campbell
Happy Days: The Guided Path from Trauma to Profound Freedom and Inner Peace by Gabrielle Bernstein
Warrior Goddess Training: Become the Woman You Are Meant to Be by Heather Ash Amara
Diet Culture
Body Kindness: Transform Your Health From the Inside Out and Never Say Diet Again by Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN
Oh I love this book on diet culture! Peppered with anecdotal evidence and hard facts, Rebecca Scritchfield peals back the curtain on what the diet industry and diet culture has done to the state of our country - and our minds. She pulls no punches in showing how the diet culture has caused the obesity epidemic that we’re currently facing, as well as its hand in the mental health crises we face (in teens, especially). This is a great workbook-style guide that will help you unlearn all that diet culture has “taught” us - so we can reclaim our health AND happiness, at any size!
The Way of the Happy Woman: Living the Best Year of Your Life by Sara Avant Stover
A wonderful place to start if you are a woman looking to get back in tune with your feminine energy (the world needs it)! Divided by season, Sara walks you through ways to support and nurture your growth with warming foods (a nod to Traditional Chinese Medicine), yoga, meditation, reflective exercises, and tuning into your intuition - something we could all use more of! An easy, inspiring read that is best taken in one season at a time.