"Read Emily Dickinson. Read Graham Greene. Read Italo Calvino. Read Maya Angelou. Read anything yous want. Just read. Books are possibilities. They are Escape Routes. They requite you options when you accept none. Each i can be a home for an uprooted listen."

–Matt Haig,Reasons to Stay Live

When I'm going through a hard time or feeling low, I know deep inside that I just need to keep going – it will go better. Only there are some things we can practice to make it easier on ourselves. Nosotros can pour a skilful cup of tea. Become outside. Spend fourth dimension with loved ones. Make some art. Do some yoga. And, of course, read.

Literature is humankind's archive for every emotion out there – joy, beloved, depression, loss, excitement, heartbreak, regret, pain, suffering. It's the all-time value-for-coin life coach you'll ever get your hands on. Books tin comfort us where we are, show united states how to become to where we desire to be, and give us the confidence and self-conventionalities we need to continue going. They can take u.s. on a direct flying into a whole new world, departing as soon every bit yous plough the kickoff folio.

Here are my bibliotherapy recommendations for the tough days. I hope they help you to relax, feel better when you're feeling low, and bring some condolement if piece of work, love, or just life is getting you down. Brand a place for books alongside your self-care, customs, and what matters most to you.

1. Meditations in an Emergency by Frank O'Hara

I honey this poetry anthology, I really exercise. I was reminded of information technology recently while re-watching series ii ofMad Men, in which Don Draper picks upward a copy and reads us part of "Mayakovsky".Meditations in an Emergency is an excellent collection – there'due south a lot of good stuff in there – but I particularly love "Mayakovsky".

I memorised Part four of the poem a few years ago, and bring it to mind when I'm having a tough twenty-four hour period:

At present I am quietly waiting for

the catastrophe of my personality

to seem beautiful again,

and interesting, and modern.

The land is gray and

brownish and white in copse,

snows and skies of laughter

always diminishing, less funny

not just darker, non only grey.

It may be the coldest day of

the yr, what does he think of

that? I mean, what do I? And if I do,

perhaps I am myself once more.

2. The Things You lot Can Encounter Only When You lot Slow Downby Haemin Sunim

I owe a lot to this book. It'due south helped me through and then much over the concluding year. When I was learning how tojust exist without others during a breakup, I came across the Kindle sample and immediately ordered the little hardback edition.

It'south not just virtually "how to be calm in a busy globe", information technology's near how to live your life intentionally and be the well-nigh balanced version of yourself.

iii. Reasons to Stay Live by Matt Haig

This was Matt Haig's start book on mental health to hit the mainstream. I wrote mostNotes on a Nervous Planet recently, his 2022 book on maintaining our wellbeing in an anxious earth, butReasons to Stay Aliveis another proficient one – peculiarly during times when we're experiencing low mood or depression.

"I read and read and read with an intensity I'd never really known before. I mean, I'd ever considered myself to be a person who liked books. Merely at that place is a difference betwixt liking books and needing them. I needed books."

Side note: I'm sure Matt would agree that getting help is the crucial first step if you call back you're experiencing depression, then please don't put information technology off. Without therapy, I really tin't see how I could accept achieved most of the things I have in the final 5 years.

4. The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike Book i) past Robert Galbraith

There'southward just something about escaping into London with Robin and Strike that warms me when I'thou feeling low. Perhaps it's because I'm a Brit away and the reminder of home comforts me.

"Vii and a one-half million hearts were beating in shut proximity in this heaving old city, and many, later all, would be aching far worse than his."

five. Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (audiobook narrated by Stephen Fry)

I think one reason why I relish theCormoran Strike series is because information technology reminds me of what I almost beloved near Sherlock Holmes.

On hard days, I sometimes plow to the audiobook narrated past Stephen Fry for a story or two. There's also a high chance I'll watch one of my favourite episodes from the BBC Sherlock adaptation.

6. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

When speaking of books to lift usa upwards on difficult days, I tin't ignore the ultimate guide to life (and perhaps the earliest always): Marcus Aurelius'sMeditations.

I created an index at the start of my copy so I can observe my favourite sections, including some on work, finding purpose in our lives, and feeling low. It's ane of the nearly treasured books I own, alongside my first re-create ofState of war and Peace.


7. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

If you ask someone to name an Instagram poet, they'll probably say Rupi Kaur.

"despite knowing
they won't be here for long
they still choose to live
their brightest lives

– sunflowers"

viii. A Guide to the Proficient Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joyby William B. Irvine

I've already mentioned Marcus Aurelius on this listing, simply William B. Irvine'sGuide to the Expert Life is a actually accessible way into stoic philosophy, too as proof that information technology absolutely can be joyful.

ix. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

How could I missPride and Prejudice from a list of books to read on difficult days?

"But people themselves alter then much, that in that location is something new to be observed in them for ever."

10. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim

This beautiful novel tells the story of four English women – strangers to each other – who determine to share an Italian castle for the month of April. The setting moves from drizzly London to the charismatic castle of San Salvatore, abundant with lilies and wisteria in total bloom, and the characters undergo both individual and group changes that could never have been expected.

"This was the unproblematic happiness of consummate harmony with her surroundings, the happiness that asks for nothing, that just accepts, merely breathes, merely is…"

Retreat Into The Sanctuary & Discover Your Fashion With Comforting, Gentle Wisdom

Love books, feeling a little lost right at present, and looking for some comfort and guidance forwards? I made The Sanctuary exactly for this.

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