January Book Club: Wellbeing wellbeing
This January we want to be nourishing our minds and our bodies, and paying more attention to what makes us feel good. We've pulled together eight books we're eyeing up this January, all with a focus on 'wellbeing'.
1. Speak Your Truth by Fearne Cotton.
Fearne Cotton's voice is familiar to millions, whether that's through television, radio or on her hugely successful Happy Place podcast. Her voice is her career, her livelihood and the way she communicates with her audience and her loved ones. So, when Fearne's doctor told her she was at risk of needing a throat operation followed by two weeks of being unable to speak, she found herself facing a period of unexpected contemplation. Brave, vulnerable and deeply personal, Speak Your Truth shares Fearne's compelling story and helps you to shape your own.
2. Pinch of Nom: Quick and Easy by Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone.
Simple and fast slimming recipes from Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone, authors of Pinch of Nom, the fastest-selling cookbook of all time.
Featuring four-ingredient dishes, one-pot family favourites, big batch basics, and speedy sweet treats, Pinch of Nom Quick and Easy is full of everyday recipes with simple methods and massive flavour. As always with Pinch of Nom, the food tastes so good you won't guess the low calorie count.
3. The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult.
With her uncanny ability to provoke a profound emotional reaction in her readers, Picoult delivers another slice of brilliantly affecting storytelling with this story of a plane crash survivor at a crossroads in their life.
4. Couch Fiction: A Graphic Tale of Psychotherapy by Philappa Perry and Flo Perry.
Couch Fiction is a brilliant visual guide to how psychotherapy works from the bestselling author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, beautifully illustrated by her daughter Flo Perry.
Bestselling author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read Philippa Perry turns her keen insights to the power of therapy. This compelling study of psychotherapy in the form of a graphic novel vividly explores a year's therapy sessions as a search for understanding and truth.
5. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig.
This is the true story of how Matt Haig came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth.
6. Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson.
We all have a mind, so we all need to take care of our mental health as much as we need to take care of our physical health. And the first step is being able to talk about our mental health. Juno Dawson leads the way with this frank, factual and funny book, with added information and support from clinical psychologist Dr Olivia Hewitt. Covering topics from anxiety and depression to addiction, self-harm and personality disorders, Juno and Olivia talk clearly and supportively about a range of issues facing young people's mental health - whether fleeting or long-term - and how to manage them. With real-life stories from young people around the world and witty illustrations from Gemma Correll.
7. How to Fail by Elizabeth Day.
This is a book for anyone who has ever failed. Which means it's a book for everyone. Part memoir, part manifesto, and including chapters on dating, work, sport, babies, families, anger and friendship, it is based on the simple premise that understanding why we fail ultimately makes us stronger. It's a book about learning from our mistakes and about not being afraid. Uplifting, inspiring and rich in stories from Elizabeth's own life, How to Fail reveals that failure is not what defines us; rather it is how we respond to it that shapes us as individuals.
8. The Power of Rude by Rebecca Reid.
This empowering call-to-arms will journey through dating, family relationships, sex, the workplace, money, customer service, and more and show women how we can reclaim the word 'rude' and use it to advantage. For decades, women have been called 'bossy', 'hysterical' and 'neurotic' in situations where men might simply be dubbed 'assertive'. We need to change the narrative around women and we need to use our voices to take control. Rebecca Reid isn't afraid to show us how.
9. A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled by Ruby Wax.
Ruby Wax had spent a lifetime building a successful career, home and family through ‘sheer drive’ and determination. Then, having struggled with depression all her life, she suffered a major relapse and decided the time had come to make a change. She proceeded to study mindfulness-based cognitive therapy at Oxford University (achieving a Masters for good measure) and learned how to take personal control over her mind, her mood and her life.