word nerds unite.

It’s no secret that I am a total word nerd – most writers are – and I often recommend books I’ve recently read on my Instagram and Facebook pages.

I’ve also been thinking, as many of my posts here have been super heavy lately, that it would be awesome to make Saturdays Word Nerd Day at the Autoimmune Hippie. So, what exactly will that look like? Well, I’m thinking some weeks we’ll have suggestions of classic books and some weeks we’ll go with bestsellers and each week I’ll pick a theme and run with it. Maybe some gift suggestion themes around Christmas and that sort of thing? I think it will be fun – and it will lighten up the blog when it is really heavy.

I love encouraging my people to read!

This week, since I have indeed been having a beast of a time, I’m going to share some books that really encourage me and help me with difficult times:

Choose Joy by Sara Frankl.

Sara lived with an autoimmune disease, ankylosing spondylitis, that caused her great pain and debility. The last several years of her life were spent unable to leave her apartment. Still, she had great faith and blogged frequently and encouraged others with incredible joy, until her death at age 38. After she passed away, a friend collected her writings and shared them in this book and it has been a great help to me during my times of illness and struggle. Whether you are healthy or sick, I strongly encourage you to read this one.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/choose-joy-finding-hope-and-purpose-when-life-hurts_sara-frankl_mary–carver/9892646/#isbn=1455562815&idiq=18910098

The Ragamuffin Gospel : Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning.

This has been one of my favorite books since I was about 15 and I can’t even explain how special it is to me. I’ll just say that Rich Mullins, who is forever dear to me, loved it so much that he named his band The Ragamuffin Band. It’s one of those books that changes your perspective on everything. I still have my original copy with highlights and underlines and stains and pages falling out. Read it. You’ll be so glad you did.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-ragamuffin-gospel-good-news-for-the-bedraggled-beat-up-and-burnt-out_brennan-manning/245728/#isbn=1590525027&idiq=4252185

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanthi

This book just came to me recently and I read it in one day. Paul wrote it while he was living with, and dying of, Stage Four Lung Cancer in his mid-thirties. It is such a moving book and I will be gifting several copies this year. It’s a heavy topic, but he still manages to be hopeful. It’s really beautiful.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/when-breath-becomes-air_paul-kalanithi/9495334/#isbn=081298840X&idiq=12229481

Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed

I love Cheryl Strayed and this collection of her quotes is just what the doctor ordered. It is wonderful to sit down and read and also a beautiful gift. I suggest this one for everyone.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/brave-enough_cheryl-strayed/9630939/#isbn=1101946903&idiq=11479430

And, for today’s last suggestion:

Be The Gift by Ann Voskamp

All of Ann Voskamp’s books are good and necessary in my mind, but, in choosing just one to suggest, this book is visually beautiful with Ann’s photography and also filled with lovely, short passages of her amazing writing. It is an easy, comforting read on rough days and so soothing.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/be-the-gift_ann-voskamp/13866454/#isbn=0310089387&idiq=25609643

I hope you’ll find some suggestions here that are helpful – and all of the links are on Thriftbooks and super inexpensive!