A LITERARY GUIDE TO ESCAPE FEELING OVERWHELMED

Feeling overwhelmed? Join the club. Feeling overwhelmed right now is normal, but sometimes a good book can lighten the load. Books, as any avid reader knows, have the power to change, transform and enlighten us. I feel intensely, therefore I write and read. Books help me to stay on track emotionally and spiritually. They are my escape to what is important and valuable in life and art.

The books I'm going to recommend are wildly diverse, although all are considered inspirational. I've read some but not all of my recommendations. With two exceptions these books were all published recently. 

There are numerous authors not mentioned whose entire oeuvre I find inspirational, consistently yielding lightness and offering rare vantage points and light--Ann Patchett and Amy Tan come to mind immediately. Reading virtually any of the many works produced by either of these authors is likely to put you in a state of wonder and awe and to bring you powerfully into a sense of your own complex and rich humanity. George Saunders is another author worth exploring for the same reasons.

Also recommended: 

The Art of Happiness by the XIV Dalai Lama offers practical guidelines for developing inner peace.

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman is about the importance of self-awareness and empathy.

Cave in the Snow by Vicki Mackenzie is the story of an English-born Tibetan Buddhist nun who spent more than 12 years in retreat in a cave in the Himalayas. It is a deep and important exploration of one woman's spiritual commitment to forge a unique path, however divergent.

A Story of An Immigrant: Life Between Two Worlds by Yanina Angelova is about a woman's journey from post-communist Bulgaria to America that explores cultural identity and personal growth with humor and heartbreak.

Energize: 52 Ways to Fire Up Your Life by Jo Salter, a former pilot, is an accessible motivational handbook on how to unlock energy, capabilities, and performance.

A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides by Gisele Pelicot is forthcoming February 17, 2026 and is the much anticipated memoir about the French author's heroic legal fight against her ex husband and 50 men accused of sexually assaulting her over a 10-year period. Her case contributed to the national debate on sexual violence in France and led ultimately to a change in the legal definition of rape in that country. Her memoir is described as being incredibly courageous, defiant and compassionate.

The Theory of Light and Matter, a collection of 10 short stories by Andrew Porter, published in 2008, features stories of grief and hope about fractured families from Pennsylvania to California, is noted for its poetic prose and emotional depth and garnered the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction.

Last but not least, poet Mary Oliver's collection American Primitive, which won the Pulitzer Prize, and Dream Work, both of which delve into spirituality, nature and the joy of everyday things.                                     



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