Book Recommendations

RECOMMENDED READS TO HELP YOU THRIVE AS A CROSS-CULTURAL WORKER: 

There’s no doubt that life as a cross-cultural worker carries unique weight. You’ve taken a leap out into the unknown, and that comes at a cost. There’s grand adventures, and deep loneliness in the constant changes you face. Despite common misconceptions, you are just as likely to face common human problems, maybe even more so as you are left without your community and safety nets of support. So, because you might need additional support through difficult around-the-world transitions, relationships in your family, team, or new host community, and long for spiritual renewal in desert seasons, we’d like to offer a few books that we often recommend to clients. We hope you’ll pick up one or two of them as you find particular areas where you need support this year. 

TRANSITIONS:

• Sojourner’s Workbook: A Guide to Thriving Cross-Culturally, Connie Befus, PhD
• Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, William Bridges, PhD
• Looming Transitions, Amy Young
• The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions, Emily P. Freeman
• Falling Upward – A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life , Richard Rohr

FAITH & SPIRITUALITY: 

• Liturgies and Laments for the Sojourner (Volume 1), Alicia Boyce, Heather Fallis, Tamika Rybinski 
• Right Here Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness, Amy Oden
• Into the Silent Land – A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation, Martin Laird
• Cry of the Soul – How Our Emotions Reveal our Deepest Questions About God, Dr. Dan B Allender & Dr. Tremper Longman III
• Life of the Beloved – Spiritual Living in a Secular World, Heneri J.M. Nouwen
• Shame & Grace – Healing the Shame We Don’t Deserve, Lewis B. Smedes
• Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament, Mark Vroegop
• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Peter Scazzero
• Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation, Ruth Haley Barton

MENTAL HEALTH & SELF-ESTEEM: 

• Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress & Survival Mode and into a Life of Connection and Joy, Aundi Kolber 
• Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress & Anxiety for a Life of Peace & Purpose, Rebecca Lyons
• The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery, David Benner 
• Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, Brene Brown, PhD, MSW
• The Gifts of Imperfection – Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed To Be and Embrace Who You Are, Bené Brown
• Invitations from God: Accepting God’s Offer to Rest, Weep, Forgive, Wait, Remember & More, Adele Calhoun
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk

RELATIONSHIPS & FAMILY:

• The Soul of Desire – Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty and Community, Curt Thompson, MD
• Emotional Resilience and the Expat Child: Practical Storytelling Techniques that will Strengthen the Global Family, Julia Simens
• The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, John M Gottman
• The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, Daniel J. Siegel, Tina Payne Bryson
• Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior & Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids, Mona Delahooke
• Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, Daniel J. Siegel
• The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace, M. Scott Peck M.D.

Have another book suggestion? Send your own recommendations to ambernicole@olivetreecounseling.org.