As its name suggests, the mind-body-spirit category of books embraces a dizzying array of subjects, and the many Americans who have become unmoored from traditional faiths, but still have a spiritual hunger and curiosity, are often drawn to these titles. Whether they want to look into the future, integrate body and soul, or learn about lost civilizations and religions past, they’ll find plenty of resources at the bookstore, as publishers present new titles for fall and the coming year.
Peering into the Future
The desire to see what’s ahead has been fundamental throughout human history, and books about various systems of divination are a key element of the MBS category. A major one is tarot, which is a special deck of cards that some say can be interpreted to foretell the future. (Tarot was a card game in 15th-century Europe but had evolved into a method of fortune-telling by the 18th century.) Michael Kerber, president of Red Wheel/Weiser, which has been publishing such books for nearly 60 years, says the niche topic has gone mainstream. “There has been an explosion of popular interest in tarot,” Kerber says, “and we’re seeing increased demand from both trade bookstores and specialty accounts for tarot books and decks.” His Weiser Books imprint has three upcoming titles.
Weiser’s big book is The English Magic Tarot (Oct.), with illustrations by Rex Van Ryn and colorist Steve Dooley, written by Andy Letcher. It is based on the English magic tradition and spans the period from the reigns of Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth to the Restoration. Kerber says it is their first original tarot book and card deck in 40 years.
Tarot for One: The Art of Reading for Yourself by Courtney Weber (Weiser, Nov.) is a guide to reading ones own tarot cards, which is usually done by a tarot practitioner. Weber, a Wiccan priestess, writer, and tarot adviser, offers exercises to prompt readers’ own interpretations, as well as original tarot spreads and layouts, plus tips on finding the right deck, honing the practice, and avoiding common pitfalls.
Tarot Triumphs: Using the Marseilles Tarot Trumps for Divination and Inspiration by Cherry Gilchrist (Weiser, Sept.). Long-time practitioner Gilchrist zeros in on the major arcana, or trumps, of the Marseilles Tarot, including the Fool’s Mirror, a new method for laying out the cards.
Another publisher with an emphasis on the topic is Llewellyn, which also has three new books on tap:
Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Tarot: A Comprehensive Guide by Anthony Louis (Aug.) traces the history of tarot and explains card meanings and spreads, offering guidance to both beginners and advanced readers. Louis teaches basic reading techniques for a variety of tarot systems, including Marseilles, Rider-Waite, and Thoth, and encourages the use of tarot for insight and self-understanding, as well as fortune-telling.
Your Tarot, Your Way: Learn to Read with Any Deck by Barbara Moore (Llewellyn, Sept.) shows readers how to build tarot skills from the ground up and use their readings to explore the practice as a method of spiritual growth. Moore is the author of a half dozen other books on tarot, including The Steampunk Tarot and Tarot of the Hidden Realm.
Kitchen Table Tarot: Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let’s Talk Tarot (Llewellyn, Apr. 2017) is by Melissa Cynova, who practices and teaches tarot. Her instruction is down to earth and practical, as she urges readers to incorporate tarot into their daily lives.
The Wild Unknown Tarot Card Deck and Guidebook by Kim Krans (HarperElixir, Oct.) combines the Wild Unknown deck, which has sold almost 50,000 units in the three years since its self-published release, with a hand-lettered guidebook in a gift-worthy boxed set. Krans is the author of several children’s books, including Hello Sacred Life and ABC Dream.
Looking to the Stars
Astrology, a classic subject in the mind-body-spirit category, provides another way for wisdom seekers to preview the future, as well as understand themselves in the here and now.
Midlife Is Not a Crisis: Use Astrology to Thrive in the Second Half of Life by Virginia Bell (Weiser, April 2017) is for those grappling with the challenges of aging and trying to gracefully enter a new life phase. Bell writes about the issues all humans face at a certain age and how they are influenced by the stars.
Angels of the Zodiac: Divine Guidance Through Your Sun Sign by Patricia Papps (Llewellyn, Apr. 2017) argues that angels are associated with specific astrological sun signs and that they can influence us spiritually; tuning into those angels makes their power available to create miracles in our lives.
The Power Of Mercury: Understanding Mercury Retrograde and Unlocking the Astrological Secrets of Communication (HarperElixir, Sept.) is by Leslie McGuirk, who writes that Mercury rules our minds and how we communicate, as well as our work, computers, and travel.
Discovering Special Powers
Some say what lies below the surface of our lives can be revealed through those with special powers of perception, such as mediums, clairvoyants, and intuitives (those who rely on intuition for insights and decisions). Several authors teach that everyone has such powers and need only discover them.
The Infinite View: A Guidebook for Life on Earth (TarcherPerigee, Mar. 2017) is by clairvoyant counselor Ellen Tadd (writing with Eric Swanson), who believes that readers can be empowered by the Spirit, a conscious and communicative God force that many are not aware of. Her work has been supported by Deepak Chopra, the Edgar Cayce Foundation, the Marion Institute, and the ChildSpirit Institute, among others.
Medium: A Step-by-Step Guide to Communicating with the Spirit World by Konstanza Morning Star (Llewellyn, Aug.) is a how-to for those who want to develop the gift of spirit communication, which she says all people have.
The Awakened Psychic: What You Need to Know to Develop Your Psychic Abilities by Kala Ambrose (Llewellyn, Nov.) also teaches ways to discover and harness psychic abilities.
Let Your Spirit Guides Speak: A Simple Guide for a Life of Purpose, Abundance, and Joy by Debra Landwehr Engle (Hampton Roads, Sept.) is an introduction to building relationships with spirit guides and angels to tap into their power.
Psychic Dreaming: Dreamworking, Reincarnation, Out of Body Experiences & Clairvoyance by Loyd Auerbach (Llewellyn, Apr. 2017) shows how to interpret dreams and examines how reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, clairvoyance, and astral travel can affect them.
Psychics, Healers, and Mediums: A Journalist, a Road Trip, and Voices from the Other Side (Hampton Roads, April 2017) is by Jenniffer Weigel, an Emmy Award–winning journalist who traveled the country interviewing and investigating mediums, psychics, and healers, including high-profile practitioners such as Caroline Myss, Judith Orloff, and Rebecca Rosen. To test their abilities, she introduced them to someone they had never met who brought a certain problem to be solved.
Intuitive Being: Connect with Spirit, Find Your Center, and Choose an Intentional Life by Jill Willard (HarperElixir, Oct.) tells readers that everyone can be an intuitive. Willard is a spiritual guide to movie stars and executives at Google and Facebook.
A Luminous Brotherhood: Afro-Creole Spiritualism in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans by Emily Suzanne Clark (Univ. of North Carolina, Oct.) gives a scholarly look at how one group of Afro-Creole men practiced spiritualism in Catholic New Orleans from just before the Civil War to the end of Reconstruction, a time of spiritual experimentation. In séances, these mediums were said to receive messages from such figures as John Brown, Confucius, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, François Rabelais, and Emanuel Swedenborg.
Ways to Enlightenment
In the mind-body-spirit category, there are many paths to spiritual truth and freedom.
When Spirit Calls: A Healing Odyssey by Joan Diver (Monkfish, Apr. 2017) traces the journey of a Boston foundation executive as she seeks relief from crippling back pain. The search takes her from orthopedic surgeons to past lives and encounters with Spirit, and from Christ’s tomb in Jerusalem to an ashram in India. An epiphany at the Great Pyramid of Giza inspires her leave to her career and become a spiritual healer. Diver’s family’s story was chronicled in J. Anthony Lukas’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Common Ground.
Enlightenment Now: Liberation Is Your True Nature by Jason Gregory (Inner Traditions, Oct.) presents a path to enlightenment, nirvana, or samadhi—states in which eternity and time are one—that incorporates the Middle Way of the Buddha, Lao-tzu’s Way of the Tao, yoga, the Great Work of Gnosticism, the Hermetic art of alchemy, and quantum physics.
The New Divine Feminine: Spiritual Evolution for a Woman’s Soul by Meghan Don (Llewellyn, Aug.) is a present-day take on Gnostic doctrine, focusing on the divine feminine as a source of spiritual evolution; Don offers reflections, prayers, meditations, and ancient feminine chants.
For the Love of the Gods: The History and Modern Practice of Theurgy by Brandy Williams (Llewellyn, Sept.). Theurgy is a ritual practice created by Pagan philosopher-teachers, intended to invoke one or more gods with a goal of achieving spiritual perfection and oneness with the divine. Williams traces Theurgy’s history from ancient Egypt to the present and offers instructions for Theurgic practices.
Genius of Being by Peter Ralston (North Atlantic Books, Mar. 2017) is the final volume in a trilogy that includes The Book of Not Knowing and Pursuing Consciousness and reveals Ralston’s discoveries about the workings of mind, the nature of language, the origins of the self and other, and the nature and origins of experience.
Trance Dancing with the Jinn: The Ancient Art of Contacting Spirits Through Ecstatic Dance by Yasmin Henkesh (Llewellyn, Dec.) describes using trance dancing to communicate with spirits, heal, and lead a richer life. This is a how-to guide, but Henkesh also explores religious and spiritual dance traditions from around the world.
To Know Thyself
A variety of systems and concepts for self-understanding are explained in several new and forthcoming books.
The Five Elements: Understand Yourself and Enhance Your Relationships with the Wisdom of the World’s Oldest Personality Type System by Dondi Dahlin (TarcherPerigee, Sept.) brings modern readers an ancient system adapted from traditional Chinese medicine, which is based on five elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Dahlin writes that using this personality system can bring physical, emotional, and spiritual balance. She also is the coauthor (with her mother, Donna Eden) of The Little Book of Energy Medicine.
The Book of Destinies: Discover the Life You Were Born to Live by Chetan Parkyn, with a foreword by Jack Canfield (New World Library, Oct.), tackles the question, What if life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived? Parkyn leads readers through what she calls life themes, designed to uncover their own story line and bring physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance.
Discover Your Master Chakra: Reveal the Source of Your Spiritual Gifts by Stephanie Larsen (Llewellyn, Feb. 2017) reveals how the seven soul-ray colors of chakras can be employed to solve any problem and improve careers, relationships, and health.
Llewellyn’s Little Book of Chakras by Cyndi Dale (Llewellyn, Apr. 2017) discusses these energy centers in the body and shows why getting them in balance is the key to living at your highest potential.
The Power Within: Becoming, Being, and the Holotropic Paradigm by Tav Sparks (Muswell Hill, Sept.) explores holotropic breathwork, a system of breathing exercises developed by psychiatrist Stanislav Grof.
Runes for Beginners: Simple Divination and Interpretation by Alexandra Chauran (Llewellyn, Nov.). Fortune-teller Alexandra Chauran guides readers in using runes, which are collections of stones, pieces of wood, and other materials inscribed with symbols predating the Roman and Latin alphabets. Chauran writes that the symbols can be interpreted to describe one’s personality, predict the future, and get answers to major questions.
The Witch Next Door
Witchcraft—long feared and punished—has come out of hiding, and two books focused on it are coming next year.
Woman Most Wild: Three Keys to Opening the Broom Closet and Liberating the Witch Within by Danielle Dulsky (New World Library, Apr. 2017) describes the ceremonies, rituals, and communities of witches that she says can bring women the freedom to be their earthy, true selves.
The Witching Herbs: 13 Essential Plants and Herbs for Your Magical Garden by Harold Roth (Weiser, Mar. 2017) is a compendium of the 13 herbs traditionally used in witchcraft—belladonna, clary sage, datura, henbane, hyssop, mandrake, mugwort, poppy, rue, vervain, wild tobacco, wormwood, and yarrow—with detailed instructions on growing and harvesting them and descriptions of their role in magic, symbolism, and spirituality.
Shamanism, Yesterday and Today
In some cultures, shamans achieve altered states of consciousness to bring healing, both spiritual and physical, to the troubled. New and forthcoming books shed light on shamanism’s history and how its practices can be adapted to the modern world.
The Norse Shaman: Ancient Spiritual Practices of the Northern Tradition by Evelyn Rysdyk (Destiny, Aug.) looks far back in history to the female roots of shamanism as it was practiced in the pre-Christian Viking age, reconstructing the shamanic practices of the hunter-gatherers of Scandinavia. Rysdyk includes detailed instructions on preparing and conducting Norse shamanic rituals and ceremonies.
Shamanic Wisdom for Pregnancy and Parenthood: Practices to Embrace the Transformative Power of Becoming a Parent by Anna Cariad-Barrett (Bear & Co., Jan. 2017) brings shamanism into the modern age and offers techniques and ceremonies to honor the transforming experience of becoming a parent.
Tibetan Shamanism (North Atlantic Books, Sept.) is by Larry Peters, an initiated shaman in the Tamang tradition of Tibet, who has advanced degrees in anthropology and psychology. Peters lived and studied with exiled shamans in Nepal for 16 years and recounts his observations in the book, which includes photographs of the shamans in ecstatic ritual and trance.
Believing in Magic
The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic: A New Translation by Eliphas Levi, translated by John Michael Greer and Mark Mikituk (TarcherPerigee, Apr. 2017), is a comprehensive translation of the 1854 French masterwork of occult philosophy and includes the original illustrations and symbols. The book reignited the esoteric spiritual search in the West and led to the emergence of Madame Blavatsky, Manly P. Hall, and the New Age movement.
Love Magic: Over 250 Magical Spells and Potions for Getting It, Keeping It, and Making It Last by Lilith Dorsey (Weiser, Dec.) includes more than 250 spells, potions, rituals, and recipes related to love and sex. Magical practitioner and voodoo priestess Dorsey provides expert advice and spells to create love and romance.
Bird Magic: Wisdom of the Ancient Goddess for Pagans & Wiccans by Sandra Kynes (Llewellyn, Aug.) argues that birds have functioned as symbols of the Great Goddess (a deity of Paganism and Wicca), reflecting her power and connection to the mysteries of life, death, and spirit. Included are exercises, crafts, and meditations, as well as an encyclopedic list of more than 60 bird species and the history, folklore, location, appearance, and magical wisdom of each.
Magical Destinations of the Northeast: Sacred Sites, Occult Oddities & Magical Monuments by Natalie Zaman (Llewellyn, Oct.) is a spiritual travelogue to sacred sites, which can be places for meditation, transformation, spiritual work, and historical insight. The book covers the magical uses of herbs, crystals, and trees; popular and lesser-known tourist sites and spiritual spaces are included.
Betwixt and Between: Exploring the Faery Tradition of Witchcraft by Storm Faerywolf (Llewellyn, Jan. 2017) provides tools for readers to begin their own magical practice in the faery tradition. Included are prayers and rites, along with exercises, lore, poetry, recipes, and rituals.
The Magic of Trees: A Guide to Their Sacred Wisdom and Metaphysical Properties by Tess Whitehurst (Llewellyn, Jan. 2017) suggests that the magical power of trees can create positive changes in body, mind, and spirit. Detailed descriptions of magical and energetic properties of more than 100 kinds of trees are included.
Plant Magic: A Year of Green Wisdom for Pagans and Wiccans by Sandra Kynes (Llewellyn, Mar. 2017) describes the magical uses of plants, teaching readers which plants align with different sabbats of the Wheel of the Year and which are most useful for the times between those sabbats.
Teachers from the Earth
Crystals and stones have had special significance for centuries, viewed by the ancients as concentrated energy from the earth and sources of power for human beings. That’s why books about crystals and gemstones are a staple in the mind-body-spirit category.
Crystal Skulls: Ancient Tools for Peace, Knowledge, and Enlightenment by Judy Hall (Weiser, Sept.) is a basic primer on crystal skulls—allegedly pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts now found in such museums as the Smithsonian and the British Museum. Crystal skulls are used for both physical and psychic healing.
The Seven Archetypal Stones: Their Spiritual Powers and Teachings by Nicholas Pearson (Destiny, Nov.) discusses the mysterious teachings surrounding crystals and gemstones, and the wisdom embodied in seven essential crystal and gemstone mentors, so that readers can harness their power for healing and spiritual growth.
The Ultimate Guide to Crystals & Stones: A Practical Path to Personal Power, Self-Development, and Healing by Uma Silbey (Skyhorse, Oct.) tells how ancient cultures thought of crystals as the veins of the Earth, a frozen liquid, and frozen light—storehouses for the Earth’s energy. Silbey describes tapping the subtle forces within a crystal to enhance meditations, direct thoughts, energize the body, and unleash the flow of creativity.
Elemental Energy: Crystal and Gemstone Rituals for a Beautiful Life by Kristin Petrovich (HarperElixir, Dec.) brings ancient and modern wisdom to an understanding of the power and significance of crystals and gemstones, as well as the allure of their beauty throughout human history.
Retrieving What Was Lost
Books about lost civilizations, suppressed knowledge, and secret societies appeal to some fans of the mind-body-spirit category.
In The Secret Life of Lady Liberty: Goddess in the New World (Destiny, Aug.), authors Robert Hieronimus and Laura Cortner reveal the forgotten lineage of the Statue of Liberty—that it is based on the form of a Native American queen that represented America on the earliest maps of the continent, and how it became the conscience of the nation.
Rosicrucian Trilogy: Modern Translations for the Three Founding Documents by Joscelyn Godwin, Christopher McIntosh, and Donte Pahnke McIntosh (Weiser, Sept.) presents fully annotated Rosicrucian documents in modern English translations. The documents provide historical context for Rosicrucianism, an early 17th-century movement that claimed access to a secret science propounded by an esoteric order.
Lost Masters: Rediscovering the Mysticism of the Ancient Greek Philosophers by Linda Johnsen (New World Library, Nov.) argues that Greek thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch had contact with the East, which influenced their work, but that this has been suppressed and discounted in the West. This is the third title in NWL’s Eckhart Tolle Editions imprint.
The Mystery of Spring-Heeled Jack: From Victorian Legend to Steampunk Hero by John Matthews (Destiny, Oct.) looks at the origins of the legendary figure Spring-Heeled Jack—a frightening being who emerged in the folklore of Victorian England. Matthews has also studied and written about the legends of King Arthur, Celtic traditions, and the history of pirates.
The Lost Art of Resurrection: Initiation, Secret Chambers, and the Quest for the Otherworld by Freddy Silva (Inner Traditions, Jan. 2017) shows how the author’s experience of the divine through the hidden art of living resurrection led him to higher consciousness and a pinnacle of spiritual development.
Angels & Animals
The last major deluge of books about angels was in the ’90s, but even now each season brings a few. And for some people, animals are angels—or at least sources of happiness and inspiration, unless they are scary, maybe-not-mythical beasts.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and Miracles by Amy Newmark (Chicken Soup for the Soul, Nov.) is the latest addition to the Chicken Soup line, offering its trademark inspirational stories written by people who claim to have experienced the presence and intervention of angels.
How to Talk to Angels: A Practical Guide to Asking for Guidance, Comfort, and Strength by Lucinda Gabriel (Llewellyn, Mar. 2017) describes how the guidance of angels can bring good health, love, abundance, employment, and purpose.
Angel Messages: Inspirational Notes from Loved Ones by Maudy Fowler and Gail Hunt (Llewellyn, Nov.) asserts that the spirits of departed loved ones send messages to the living through the intervention of angels. The authors write that we can learn how to hear the angels as they provide guidance, peace, and comfort.
Animal Frequency: Identify, Attune, and Connect to the Energy of Animals by Melissa Alvarez (Llewellyn, Mar. 2017) helps readers discover what it describes as energetic power of animals and learn how to connect with their frequencies in order to grow spiritually. This reference guide covers more than 100 animals—domestic, wild, and mythical—describing how to build relationships with them through techniques such as exercises and guided meditations.
A Menagerie of Mysterious Beasts: Encounters with Cryptid Creatures by Ken Gerhard (Llewellyn, Sept.) explores the world of mysterious beasts, recounting eyewitness encounters with creatures thought to exist only in myths and legends—including dragons, werewolves, and mermaids, the Minnesota Iceman, the White Bluff Screamer, the Texas T. rex, and ape-men that roam the Americas.
Yoga for Body and Spirit
Yoga has become ubiquitous as a form of exercise and physical conditioning. It’s a staple at health clubs, and new yoga studios seem to spring up every other week. A number of new books encourage the physical practice, but yoga has spiritual roots—it was described in the Yoga Sutras 1,600 years ago, and some authors aim to illuminate its spiritual dimension.
Yoga Beyond the Mat: How to Make Yoga Your Spiritual Practice by Alanna Kaivalya (Llewellyn, Oct.) suggests that asana, or posture practice, is a powerful path to spiritual and psychological transformation. Founder of the Kaivalya Yoga Method, Kaivalya has taught in top studios worldwide; in January, she launched YogaDownload, an online teacher-training program.
Yoga’s Healing Power: Looking Inward for Change, Growth, and Peace by Ally Hamilton (Llewellyn, Aug.) describes how Hamilton’s life was changed when she took up yoga and shows readers how to embrace the practice to create their own transformation. The book includes exercises, meditations, prompts for journaling, and inspiring stories of healing. Hamilton teaches online yoga classes and cocreated the Yogis Anonymous website, which has been featured in the New York Times, Self magazine, Shape Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and Yoga Journal.
The Yoga Way to Radiance: How to Follow Your Inner Guidance and Nurture Children to Do the Same by Shakta Khalsa (Llewellyn, Sept.) offers yogis who are parents (as well as teachers, caregivers, therapists, and other family members) a way to nurture both themselves and their children through yoga. Khalsa is the founder of Radiant Child Yoga, a training program for teaching children yoga and mindfulness; she also is the author of Fly like A Butterfly: Yoga for Children and Kundalini Yoga.
Spiritual Graffiti: My Pilgrimage from the Streets to Starting a Yoga Revolution by MC Yogi (HarperOne, Apr. 2017) tells the author’s story of failing at school, living in a group home, and using drugs before being introduced to yoga at age 18. Yoga helped MC Yogi (aka Nicholas Giacomini) find his path as a successful hip-hop musician and entrepreneur. In 2011, MC Yogi and his wife, Amanda, were named ambassadors by Michelle Obama for her Lets Move initiative and have taught yoga at the White House.
The Science of Meditation, Yoga, and Prayer by Amitava Dasgupta (Blue River, Oct.) lays out the scientifically proven health benefits of yoga and meditation. Dasgupta is board-certified in both toxicology and clinical chemistry by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry, and she is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Texas Medical School, as well as a longtime practitioner of meditation and yoga.
Invincible Living: The Technology of Yoga, the Power of Breath, and Other Tools to Amplify Your Life by Guru Jagat (HarperElixir, Jan. 2017) is her call to the practice of Kundalini yoga to foster health and well-being. Jagat writes that Kundalini yoga replaces complex poses with breathing exercises to boost energy, quick meditations, and simple poses that can be done anywhere. She is a favorite of celebrities Demi Moore and Russell Brand.
Yoga for Amputees: Finding Wholeness After Limb Loss; A Guide for Yoga Students and Teachers by Marsha Danzig (Monkfish, Mar. 2017) offers a course in yoga practice specifically for amputees and yoga teachers who work with them. Danzig, herself a below-the-knee amputee, gives clear explanations of what yoga is, why it can help amputees, and how an amputee can prepare to practice yoga. She is an educator and the founder of Yoga for Amputees Foundation, which trains yoga teachers to work with amputees.
Be Mindful & Meditate
Although the mindfulness label has been slapped on everything, including shopping and dieting, the practice is hardly new, nor will it fade away anytime soon. That is all the more true for meditation, which, after a couple thousand years, is here to stay.
What’s Wrong with Mindfulness (and What Isn’t): Zen Perspectives edited by Barry Magid and Robert Rosenbaum (Wisdom, Oct.) asks whether the ubiquity of mindfulness is a good thing. Zen teachers Norman Fischer, Gil Fronsdal, Sallie Jiko Tisdale, and others write that decoupling mindfulness from Buddhism might set a dangerous precedent. They offer their perspectives on what mindfulness means, its strengths, and the potential pitfalls, urging a deeper understanding of its roots and where it might be headed.
The Mindfulness in Plain English Journal by Bhante Gunaratana (Wisdom, Dec.) is based on the classic bestseller Mindfulness in Plain English. Practitioners can discover the transformative power of mindfulness in their own words as they write journal entries about what they experience in their meditation practice. The book includes a brief introduction to meditation, along with mindfulness tips and inspiring quotes.
Loving-Kindness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana (Wisdom, Mar. 2017) brings the wisdom of the bestselling author of Mindfulness in Plain English to the practice of loving-kindness meditation with personal anecdotes, step-by-step meditations, conversational renderings of the Buddha’s words in the suttas, and transformative insights.
Cool Mind by David Keefe (Shambhala, Sept.) introduces teens, young adults, teachers, coaches, and others who work with young people to ways to handle stress, build self-confidence, and improve concentration through meditation, breathing exercises, and visualization.
Girl Time by Nuanprang Snitbhan (Shambhala, Sept.) provides mindfulness-based activities for mothers and their preteen daughters to enhance communication and bonding. Activities include breathing exercises.
Pema Chödrön’s Compassion Cards (Shambhala, Oct.) presents Buddhist teachings and practices written on 59 cards by Buddhist nun and author Chodron, with her commentary.
Mindful Games by Susan Kaiser Greenland (Shambhala, Nov.) offers a playful approach to teaching mindfulness and meditation to children and youths ages 5–15.
Paths to Health and Wellness
The mind-body-spirit category includes books on alternative ways to health and wellness, with books on treatments including traditional Chinese medicine, bodywork, herbalism, and more. That includes lots of books on aromatherapy, which has become widely familiar only in the past couple of decades and is now a thriving topic. Munro Magruder, associate publisher of New World Library, says, “When we published the first edition of The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy in 1991, only the editor had a clue what this book was about. Twenty-five years later, it is our #2 revenue-generating book and has sold over 600,000 copies.”
The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 800 Natural, Nontoxic, and Fragrant Recipes to Create Health, Beauty, and Safe Home and Work Environments—25th Anniversary Edition by Valerie Ann Worwood (New World Library, Nov.). Aromatherapy has gone mainstream and been accepted as a treatment in integrative medicine and mental health care, as well as by individuals in other aspects of their lives. Worwood gives readers tools for using essential oils to promote health and improve their environments.
Essential Oils (DK, Oct.) by Neal’s Yard Remedies features visual instructions and full-color photographs to guide readers in using 86 essential oils. Neal’s Yard Remedies is a U.K.-based producer of essential oils and other nontraditional products for health.
Smart Mom’s Guide to Essential Oils: Natural Solutions for a Healthy Family, Toxin-Free Home and Happier You by Mariza Snyder (Ulysses, Feb. 2017) offers more than 50 essential-oil recipes for mothers to care for their families, for instance by making nontoxic homemade cleaners and relieving common aches and pains. Snyder also is the author of five books on nutrition, including The DASH Diet Cookbook.
Mushroom Essences (North Atlantic, Aug.) by mycologist and herbalist Robert Rogers is a guide to treating a range of physical, emotional, and psychological conditions with mushroom essences; Rogers also tells stories of using these remedies himself and in clinical practice.
Earthwise Herbal Repertory (North Atlantic, Oct.) by herbalist Matthew Wood guides readers in the use of medicinal plants, cross-referencing constitutional types, energetic categories, and specific symptoms that each treats. The book discusses Native American and ancient Greek traditions, as well as 19th-century botanical medicine, homeopathy, and modern biomedical research.
Modern Herbal Dispensatory by Thomas Easley and Steven Horne (North Atlantic, Nov.) is a full-color illustrated guide to making and using nearly 250 herbal medicines at a fraction of the cost of commercial preparations. The authors offer suggestions for treating more than 100 illnesses with herbal remedies.
Sacred Medicine Cupboard by Anni Daulter, Jessica Booth, and Jessica Smithson (North Atlantic, Jan. 2017) takes readers through a year of holistic wellness using sacred medicine practice, with 52 weeks’ worth of practical tips, recipes, projects, journal prompts and space for journaling, and seasonal insights, accompanied by full-color photographs.
Concise Book of Dry Needling by John Sharkey (North Atlantic, Jan. 2017) is a comprehensive resource on dry needling, a safe and effective treatment of myofascial trigger points and myofascial pain. Clinical anatomist and exercise physiologist Sharkey draws on his 30 years of experience with bodywork and movement therapy in this illustrated guide.
Forest People, Stags and Witches (North Atlantic, Mar. 2017) by anthropologist and ethnobotanist Wolf D. Storl is a history of medicine from the Stone Age to modern times. Storl argues that Western medicine springs from the lore of Paleolithic hunters and gatherers, herding nomads, and early farmers, rather than from the academic tradition of doctors and pharmacists.
The Resonance Effect by Carolyn McMakin (North Atlantic, Mar. 2017) tells the author’s story of developing Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM), a treatment method said to tap the body’s ability to respond to electrical frequencies that can heal a number of chronic conditions; chiropractor McMakin specializes in treating fibromyalgia and myofascial pain.
The Religion of Chiropractic: Populist Healing from the American Heartland by Holly Folk (Univ. of North Carolina, May 2017) is a history of chiropractic, today the most common form of alternative medicine in the United States. Folk focuses on chiropractic’s founders, the father-and-son team of D.D. and B.J. Palmer, who in 1897 established the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. Their now-familiar system incorporated popular contemporary therapies and metaphysical beliefs, including the idea that the spine was home to occult forces.
Chinese Holistic Medicine in Your Daily Life: Combine Acupressure, Herbal Remedies, and Qigong for Integrated Natural Healing by Steven Cardoza (Llewellyn, Feb. 2017) shows how traditional Chinese medicine can be integrated into modern life to improve health and wellness. Cardoza is a licensed Chinese medical physician who has practiced for more than 18 years.
