Here are some of my favorite books:

The Faithful Gardener, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés – A lovely tale of the return of her uncle after surviving the horrors of World War II, a man wise in the ways of God, mother earth, and human nature. This is a little book you won’t soon forget and it can be read in only an hour or two. Some quotes:

• This is how I learned that this land, which we depended upon for our food, our livelihoods, our rest, for opportunity to meet beauty, ought to be treated in the same manner that we would hope to treat others and ourselves. Whatever happens to this field in some way also happens to us.
• “Why will you leave the land bare and unseeded, Uncle?”  “Ah, as an invitation, my girl.”  Uncle explained the pines and oaks will not spread into the fields to grow and make a new woods, unless we leave the ground unseeded. My uncle envisioned that this barren land was to become a new forest, one of great beauty and repose. “To be poor and without trees, is to be the most starved human being in the world. To be poor and to have trees, is to be completely rich in ways that money can never buy. “
• Over the years, along with all the actual fields he helped to sow, fallow fields were resown inside him. His life force gathered momentum and broke through the ground again. He grew up through the ashes, through the empty field of himself. I witnessed in him a small parcel of Eden restored. I know it is so. I saw it with my own eyes.

Healing Troubled Relationships, by Victor L. Brown, Jr – A professional counselor, Dr. Brown offers relationship advice grounded in a solid Christian perspective.

The Road Less Traveled  by Scott Peck – A Christian psychologist talks about psychological healing within a spiritual journey.

The Happy Lady and other ebooks by Lindsey Rietzsch – Lindsey is a friend and the most positive person I know.  Her book Successful Failures is an amazing account of the ups and downs of her creative journey – inspiring!  As her friends will also attest, she’s one of the most positive people we know.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon – A historic look at food preparation and preservation with related scientific and anthropological information.  One my short list of best cookbooks. Her information on soaking grains, seeds and nuts is vital reading, and I make homemade cream cheese, whey, and yogurt from my local certified raw milk – yum!