Category: Book reviews

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Big Magic book review

A wooden table filled with painting supplies, including watercolour paints, paint tubes, brushes, a jar of pink-tinted water, and several sheets and notebooks displaying abstract, colourful brushstrokes in vibrant hues like teal, orange, pink, and blue. The scene suggests a creative and expressive art-making process.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic is a luminous call to creative living – boldly, imperfectly, and with a generous heart. Blending soulful insight with playful wisdom, this book encourages us to honour inspiration, embrace fear, and make things simply because we love to. A perfect companion for those seeking to reconnect with their creative spirit.

I’ve just posted a full review of this book on the book review pages.

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This review forms part of my Creative & Self-Expressive series – books that celebrate everyday creativity as a path to inner freedom, joy, and wholeness. Whether you’re nurturing a creative habit or simply longing to express yourself more fully, you’ll find gentle encouragement and soulful insight here.

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Dark Nights of the Soul

A woman with long dark hair sits quietly at the edge of a still lake under a full moon. She wears a dark cloak and gazes across the water, her reflection visible on the moonlit surface. The night sky is filled with stars, and the surrounding landscape is silhouetted in soft shadow, evoking a mood of contemplation, solitude, and spiritual depth.

In Dark Nights of the Soul, Thomas Moore reframes life’s painful and uncertain moments as soulful initiations. Rather than rushing to fix or escape our darkness, Moore invites us to listen, reflect, and grow through it. Drawing on myth, depth psychology, and spiritual insight, this profound book offers a wise and gentle path for those undergoing emotional, creative, or existential crisis.

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Psychosynthesis Made Easy

A contemplative mixed-media image of a person walking along a forest path at dawn, symbolising the journey of integration and self-discovery. Earth tones and dappled light evoke a sense of quiet inner transformation.

A Gentle Introduction to a Depth-Oriented Psychology of Wholeness

Stephanie Sorrell’s Psychosynthesis Made Easy is a compassionate introduction to a psychology that honours both personality and soul. Grounded in Assagioli’s transpersonal model, the book offers practical tools for inner integration and spiritual growth. With warmth and clarity, Sorrell invites us to meet our many selves and align with a deeper sense of purpose. A soulful companion for seekers, coaches, and anyone craving wholeness.

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Book review: Fully Alive

A man sits cross-legged on grass with eyes closed in a meditative pose. He is wearing a blue cardigan and beige T-shirt, with a calm expression. An open book lies in front of him on the ground, along with a steaming mug of coffee. A small tree is on his left, and a tall grass plant on his right, creating a serene, natural setting

In Fully Alive, Elizabeth Oldfield invites us to reimagine the good life – not as productivity or performance, but as rootedness, connection, and wholeness. Through personal story, spiritual insight, and cultural reflection, she tends to the soul’s quiet longings amid noisy times. A hopeful, grounded book for those yearning to live with more depth, grace, and integrity.

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The Art of the Interesting

A close-up of hands creating a detailed nature journal filled with botanical sketches and handwritten notes. The open notebook shows labelled drawings of leaves and wildflowers, while real plant specimens are arranged on a wooden table nearby. The person wears a warm, rust-coloured sweater, and the scene is lit by soft natural light, evoking focus, care, and a deep curiosity about the natural world.

What makes life interesting – and why does it matter? In The Art of the Interesting, philosopher Lorraine Besser explores this overlooked but vital question, suggesting that cultivating “interestingness” is not just pleasurable, but meaningful. Drawing on psychology, aesthetics, and moral philosophy, Besser argues that developing our capacity for curiosity, depth, and engagement enriches both personal wellbeing and our relationships with others. In a culture preoccupied with productivity and performance, her invitation is a refreshing one: to live reflectively, creatively, and with greater emotional awareness. While the tone leans philosophical, the ideas are rich and rewarding for anyone drawn to soulful living and inner growth. In the full review, I offer a reflective review of Besser’s thought-provoking book – and explore how it aligns with a deeper search for purpose, imagination, and a life that feels truly alive.

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Living between Worlds

A man stands at a fork in a dirt path during golden hour, facing away from the camera. To the left, the path winds through a sunlit rural landscape with a lone tree under a glowing sun. To the right, the path leads toward a distant modern city skyline under a cooler, clouded sky. The image symbolizes a choice between nature and urban life, or tradition and modernity.

In Living Between Worlds, James Hollis invites us into the soulful terrain of transition – where old maps no longer guide us and new ones have yet to appear. Drawing on Jungian depth psychology, myth, and lived experience, he explores how uncertainty can become a path to inner authority and meaning. This is a book for those navigating life’s in-between spaces, seeking not easy answers but a deeper, more authentic way of being.

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This book is one of the reviews from the Archetypes, Soul and Depth Psychology theme – click here for more reviews on this theme.

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Finding A Nature-Based Path to Soulful Living

A woman sits quietly by a small campfire in a desert landscape at sunset, surrounded by tall cacti and distant mountains. She wears rugged outdoor clothing and a backpack, gazing thoughtfully into the flames. A bird soars overhead in the golden sky, evoking a sense of solitude, reflection, and deep connection to nature.

Our latest book review, Wild Mind by Bill Plotkin offers a radical reimagining of the psyche – one that honours our innate wholeness and our deep connection to nature. Combining depth psychology, myth, and wilderness wisdom, Plotkin invites readers into a soulful journey of integration and growth. For anyone seeking to live more fully and authentically, this book is both a guide and a gateway to the wild within.

Full review
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Keeping a Nature Journal

A richly textured, vintage-style illustration of a hand drawing in a nature journal. The journal is open to pages filled with detailed botanical sketches of leaves and flowers. Surrounding it are real leaves, a pinecone, a daisy, and torn journal pages laid out on earthy ground. In the background, a soft forest path winds through tall trees, evoking a sense of peaceful observation and connection with nature.

Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie is more than a drawing guide — it’s a soulful invitation to observe, reflect, and reconnect with the living world. Filled with inspiring sketches, accessible tips, and gentle wisdom, it turns simple moments outdoors into a contemplative practice. Ideal for those seeking a meaningful, creative habit rooted in nature and self-awareness.

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Awakening the Sacred Feminine: A Journey Worth Reading

A traditional-style painting of a serene woman standing in a sunlit forest with her eyes closed and hands over her heart, where a glowing golden spiral radiates. She wears a light dress, and wildflowers and tall trees surround her in a peaceful, natural setting. The scene evokes inner awakening, spiritual connection, and feminine empowerment.

What happens when a woman begins to question the roles she’s been handed—and dares to seek something deeper? In The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, Sue Monk Kidd offers a deeply personal account of that awakening. It’s a courageous, often uncomfortable, but ultimately empowering journey into a new way of seeing the self, spirituality, and the sacred feminine.

If you’ve ever felt confined by traditional expectations or longed for a spirituality that speaks to the wholeness of your experience as a woman, this book may resonate deeply.

I’ve written a full review exploring the themes of feminine empowerment, spiritual reimagining, and inner authority. You can read it here:

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Book Review: The Genius Myth

Surreal forest scene with a cloaked figure standing on a glowing path, gazing at a spiral galaxy above. Magical symbols and constellations float among tall, bare trees. An open book lies on the forest floor, evoking themes of myth, inner wisdom, and cosmic guidance—concepts central to The Genius Myth by Michael Meade

Michael Meade’s The Genius Myth reclaims the ancient view of genius as a soulful, guiding force within each of us. Drawing on myth, depth psychology, and storytelling, Meade invites readers to reframe struggle as initiation and reconnect with their unique gifts. A rich and poetic read for anyone seeking authenticity, purpose, and a deeper way of being in the world.

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