Reading is a passion of ours, and we are fortunate to have an extensive library at our retreat center as well as in our individual homes.
When we’re not busy gardening, wandering through the forest, hosting retreats, or enjoying the waters of Kootenay Lake, you can find us immersed in a good book.
Monika came up with a wonderful idea to share our favorite reads that have made a lasting impact on us, inviting our followers to explore them too! Our collection spans a wide range of topics, ideas, and fantasies, and we hope you take the time to relax and dive into their pages.
We’d love to hear your thoughts!
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin
Denys: North Woods, by Daniel Mason. It’s a very cool read, focusing on a piece of land and the human interaction with it, over centuries. It’s interesting to see how previous generations of settlers continually interact with nature, even after death. A fun novel to read, though you may have to reread chapters to remember what previously happened. I did.
Robyn: No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz is a profound and compassionate exploration of our inner world through the lens of Internal Family Systems (IFS). Schwartz invites us to embrace every part of ourselves—even those we might perceive as flawed or burdensome—with curiosity and kindness. His approach creates a deep sense of space and relief, allowing for a more expansive and accepting relationship with our own inner landscape.
What makes this book truly transformative is how this self-compassion naturally extends outward. As we learn to welcome and integrate our own fragmented parts, we also cultivate a more spacious, nonjudgmental presence with others. It’s a perspective that not only heals but also deepens our capacity for connection and understanding in all areas of life.
Sabrina: Neither Wolf Nor Dog, by Kent Nerburn. This book is medicine. For those of us exploring healing through various cultural lenses, it offers a candid perspective on the experiences of a First Nations elder, reflecting on the challenges faced by his people since colonization and genocide. While it was a profound and heavy read, it inspired me to strive to be a more supportive ally and attentive listener in the ways that First Nations people need. Along with the second book, The Wolf at Twilight, it has significantly influenced my personal growth this year and touched my heart deeply.
Monika: Can you stand the truth? by Angeliki Anagnostou. The book is dedicated to those who can still feel the Living Spirit burning inside. And no matter how hard they try to nourish IT with the virtual idols of matter, IT remains unfed. It’s a tough read and my third time around, but I feel it is helpful in my other quest, which is on how to navigate the afterlife realms!
To lighten things up a little I’m finishing: The most dangerous superstition by Larken Rose. Most people, looking at our troubled world with its long history of injustice and suffering of all beings, will attribute social evils to greed, ignorance, hatred, or lack of compassion of others. Rarely does anyone consider the possibility that his own attitude, perception, and beliefs may be the root cause of most of the world’s suffering. It is the belief in “authority” which includes all belief in “government” is irrational and self-contradictory; it is contrary to civilization and morality, and constitutes the most dangerous, destructive superstition that has ever existed. Rather than being a force for order and justice, the belief in “authority” is the arch-enemy of humanity.
It can be considered an anarchist manifesto, yes, but we have to consider the true meaning of anarchy, which is the absence of dominion and hierarchy.
A third book along these lines of getting to the truth and why this, beautiful yet insane, world is what it is; The committee of 300 by Dr. John Coleman. This book dissects the power structures, intrigues and absolute corruption we are confronted with, and actually names the people commonly referred to as “They” or “the elite”… names most have never heard of!
