Summer Reading
It’s the Season for a Good Book . . . or Two, or Three
with the Women Together Team

Summer reading is a joy. Whether you are traveling to distant lands or putting your feet up in your own living room for a much-needed staycation, you may be wondering what to read next. We asked members of the Women Together team to make recommendations. Here are books that inspire, catalyze new thinking, or make an impact on how we see the world.

We hope you’ll find something here that will do the same for you. (And, please, share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments section below!)

Summer Reading List

The-Relaxed-MindThe Relaxed Mind: A Seven-Step Method for Deepening Meditation Practice
by Dza Kilung Rinpoche
(Shambhala, 2015)

This book was gifted to me by Women Together presenter Wendy Palmer. I am getting so much out of it. I’ve been meditating for many years, and this book has brought me back to some beautiful, simple approaches that I’m incorporating into my daily meditation practice.

—Eileen Fisher

 

A-Glorious-FreedomA Glorious Freedom: Older Women Leading Extraordinary Lives
by Lisa Congdon
(Chronicle, 2018)

Inspiring personal stories. Mini-biographies. Fun hand-lettered quotes. Intimate interviews. Beautiful uplifting illustrations. It’s hard to go wrong here.

From women like designer Vera Wang, artist Louise Bourgeois, and writer Cheryl Strayed, to lesser known women — executive turned photographer, marketer turned doctor, publisher whose career has morphed and evolved meaningfully over the years — the women in these pages decided at some point to care less about what others think and more about being themselves.

I believe every woman — regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, profession, or even age — will find themselves in these stories. They will also find comfort and inspiration — and, perhaps most importantly, encouragement to explore passions, follow dreams, and learn new skills, no matter how old or unsure they might be. If I could, I’d gift this book to every woman in my life.

—Laura Didyk

 

Daring-GreatlyDaring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
by Brené Brown
(Avery, 2012)

I am reading this book a second time. I can’t say enough about it. She uses simple words that open my heart and remind me to be courageous, in big and little ways,  all day long.

—Greg Zelonka

 

Keeping-the-Love-You-FindKeeping the Love You Find
by Harville Hendrix
(Atria, 1992)

This is one of the most practical and helpful books that I have ever read. It is an essential guide for developing a healthy relationship with oneself and others. One thing that really stands out for me is Harville Hendrix’s emphasis on the importance of self-love in the whole equation of having healthy relationships.

This book has helped me understand the connection between the underdeveloped parts of my childhood and the ways in which I see myself and experience others in relationship. And it has inspired me to want to understand how to reintegrate aspects of my self that I have denied or disconnected from so that I can experience a fuller and more joyful life.

I highly recommend it for everyone.

—Steven Goldhar

 

Play-the-PartPlay the Part: Master Body Signals to Connect and Communicate for Business Success
by Gina Barnett
(McGraw Hill Education, 2015)

This is an enjoyable read filled with easy, beneficial exercises. Gina’s suggestions around physical posture are actually helping reduce my computer-induced back pain. I’m also finally understanding how shifting the body in different ways really can shift the way you feel — and profoundly affect the way others respond to you. Kudos to Gina (who regularly teaches with Women Together for making this topic so simple and fun.

—Trish Orwen

 

WarlightWarlight
by Michael Ondaatje
(Knopf, 2018)

Though he is known for his book The English Patient (and the movie it inspired), Michael Ondaatje has a lot of works to choose from. I have loved everything he’s written, so I jumped to add his newest book to my reading stack. I’m only about 100 pages in and, so far, this is an odd, quirky story told with the craft and creativity that are hallmarks of Ondaatje’s writing.

The story revolves around family in all its various forms—and, at its heart, is about community. It’s about how the instinctual effort to create connections is essential to our beings. While the characters in Warlight find lifesaving connection with strangers, we are perhaps more likely to find it in groups we feel aligned with, or in our workplaces. It reminds me of all the ways we create family and community wherever we go.

—Elena Erber

 

Man's-Search-for-MeaningMan’s Search for Meaning
by Viktor Frankl
(Beacon Press, 1946)

A friend recommended this story of resilience. Whenever I’m feeling a lack in my life, I think of Frankl’s indelible hope. If there is one area in our lives where we have power it is in the ability to choose our state of mind. This is not always easy to do. And it takes awareness and work. But it’s a game-changing way to see the world. Hence, this is one that I come back to.

—Kimberly Jordan Allen

 

Deep-WorkDeep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
by Cal Newport
(Grand Central Publishing, 2018)

A friend recommended this book to me, and as soon as it arrived I sat down and read a third of it, feeling like it was an answer to unsent prayers. The basic premise is that our best work (achieving better results in less time) happens through deep dives — intentional time set aside to focus on a particular project without distraction.

While I show up the best I can in this fast-paced, multitasking, collaborative world of ours, what I really crave in my worklife is focused, slow-moving solitude (not that working with others doesn’t help A LOT, just that it has its time and place). Though I am always busy working, I long to work in a more meaningful way, more deeply. I’m looking forward to reading the remaining two-thirds — and to putting Cal’s rules into practice once I find out what they are!

—Grace Welker

 

Shakti-LeadershipShakti Leadership: Embracing Feminine and Masculine Power in Business
by Nilima Bhat and Raj Sisodia
(Berrett-Koehler, 2016)

I was made aware of this book by Antoinette Klatzky, executive director of the Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute. Right now, both in working with Women Together and in the culture in general, I am experiencing (and observing) definite shifts in the way the feminine and masculine are interacting, dancing, and collaborating. I’m experiencing this both in my work life and in my social and community life. It’s a challenging, exciting, and inspirational time.

This book offers guidance for this transitional moment. It explores ancient wisdom teachings on the interplay between masculine and feminine energy. Simultaneously, the book is grounded with practical examples of some of today’s successful leaders who embrace this emerging feminine power as they generate new models of success, innovation, and impact.

—Stefan Day

What are you reading that you would recommend?

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  • Kathryn says:

    Living with MS sometimes I just need a good “belly” laugh and a light summer read to lift my spirit. I liked “We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier” by Celia Riverbark. It’s written in first person so one needs to excuse some raunchy parts since the book’s subtitle is “Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle”. I am off to turn it in to Talbot’s free Summer Reading Exchange and maybe do some retail therapy. I’ll also stop by the used bookstore to see if they have any of your suggested reads for this fall. Thanks!

  • Barbara Stern says:

    Recommend Bear Town – Fredrick Bachman. He also wrote A Man Named Ove

  • Jan Erickson says:

    Loved these suggestions and already purchased and started reading A Glorious Freedom. So inspiring. Also reading, and highly recommend, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware.

  • Lynn MacDougall says:

    Mortality by Christopher Hitchens. Beautifully written essays by one of this centuries modern social critics. These essays were written while he was dying of terminal throat cancer. The essays are honest, painful and brilliantly articulated.

  • Julie says:

    Conscious Leadership (Jim Dethmer)

    Trauma (Peter Levine)

  • Gloria says:

    I love the Boundless Heart by Christina Feldman. This lovely book of the Buddha’s Path of Kindness, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity fits in well with the messages I’ve learned through the EF LifeWork series. All life changing; thank you, Eileen and all.

  • Susan O'Hara says:

    A very quick and easy read for those who aspire to sharpen their leadership skills. Also an excellent read for all who believe in the power of team work. Our accomplishments can be astounding and so much more rewarding when we effectively work together as a team. The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni drives home the skills and attributes of successful team players via interesting and relatable fables. The importance of a culture that fosters teamwork is often lost among the deadlines, financial and technical challenges of our daily responsibilities. This book reminds us of the fundamental virtues of a good team player. It’s a wonderful insight for yourself and a useful tool for identifying and developing your “ideal team”.

  • Amy Celento says:

    Move into Life by Anat Baniel (LifeWork presenter and my teacher) is immeasurably informative and useful and the perfect book for a summer of enlivening action. Harnessing the power of brain neuroplasticity to change the organization of your body and thinking is a baseline for extraordinary self-care. #anatbanielmethod #neuromovement #brainbodyvitality

  • Kathy Welter says:

    Crucial Conversations – Patterson, Grenny, McMillan & Switzler
    ONENESS – Rasha
    GENE KEY – Richard Rudd
    Chasing Hunger – Kathy Welter Nichols 🙂

    Recommend adding Chi Gong to your summer programs
    we are the Light!
    http://www.waysofthewisewoman.com
    http://www.chasinghunger.com

  • Gloria Parsons says:

    We Are Called to Rise by Laura OBrien a novel

  • Mary Jane Gay says:

    Oh I have been reading Chasing Hope by Richard Cohen. I read it because he has MS and also has had stem cell treatment. I wanted to see if it benefited him. I have had als since 2008 and it was important for me to see how he lived with his disease. One of the things I find difficult for me is accepting myself for the way I am now and to see that I am basically the same person I was before als. So much stress is put on being young that I feel like an old bag. I am old age wise but think I have a broadminded mind.

  • Rena Merithew says:

    This is How it begins by Joan Dempsey A gripping and sensitive portrait of ordinary people wrestling with ideological passions….Current events have made this novel even more relevant…

  • Barbara Waxman says:

    The Middlescence Manifesto
    Just as adolescence was only named as a life stage in the early 1900’s, middlescence is being named as a new life stage in the 2000’s. This is an easy to read manifesto with facts and stories that enables middlescents to better understand that midlife is an awesome place to be.
    https://www.amazon.com/Middlesence-Manifesto-Igniting-passion-midlife/dp/0998227404/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1529170972&sr=8-2&keywords=the+middlescence+manifesto

  • Barb Cowles says:

    Just finished Minority Leader, Stacey Abrams and almost complete with Michael Pollan’s new book, How to Change Your Mind. I want to re-read Kitchen Confidential. My first read, many years ago, opened my mind to the restaurant business in a new way. I was so glad to see that Anthony’s attitude was one of respect for every person and every job in that industry.