Written by contributor Jee W
The year 2020 was rough for many of us, so let’s start 2021 with a positive attitude. What better way to do it than to read some inspiring and motivational books from people who not only had hit rock bottom, survived it, and came out victorious! May their words and wisdom get you all prepared and pumped up for your new year. Ready? Set? Dive!
If I Could Tell You Just One Thing by Richard Reed (author) and Samuel Kerr (illustrator)
If you could tell me just one thing, what would it be? What a great question to ask anyone, especially highly successful individuals. This book is curated from 50 of today’s most remarkable, influential and successful individuals such as Margaret Atwood, Sir Richard Branson, and Stephen Fry, to Andy Murray and Sir David Attenborough, accompanied by beautiful pen-and-ink illustrations of each profile. If there’s going to be a second instalment of this book, I’d suggest President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris too.
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
Winter can be a depressing season, more so when the world is hit by the pandemic and instead of enjoying the festive season with families, many are quarantined. How do you find hope in times like this? For May, everything happened almost all at once – her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school and she had to leave her job due to some medical issues. Wintering showed how she endured and embraced those difficult times and used them as opportunities to learn. May’s memoir may be able to teach us a thing or two.
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton
This book isn’t new but it continues to inspire those who have read it. With 12 white juries, a white judge, a white lawyer who’s not committed to defend him, and a ballistic expert who’s blind on one side, Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted and spent 30 long years on death row in Alabama for something he didn’t do. Waiting outside the cell for his release were his beloved mother who was suffering from cancer, and his most loyal friend, Lester, who tirelessly drove 7 hours, without fail, for those 30 long years, to visit him. Despite all the injustice and pain that Mr. Hinton had faced, he overcame them with humour and heart; despite his unforgiving circumstances for those 30 long years, he found love, compassion and joy by giving and giving and giving. There’s so much to learn from this man. An inspiring, must-read.
What Would Frida Do by Arianna Davis
An inspiring read about Frida Kahlo and her life as an artist, a wife and a friend, most of all, a trailblazer, who knew how to live loud and proud, embracing her strengths, weaknesses and eccentricities. She married Diego, known for his philandering habits, divorced him and married him again, all along loving him with the same ferocity as the day she fell for him. Clearly Frida lived her life to the full. Yes, she was a walking paradox – portrayed herself as one who’s strong and determined, and yet her paintings showed otherwise, declared her love for her husband, yet engaged in affairs, womanly and feminine yet also manly and masculine in her outfits. But did she care how she was seen by others? Never.
Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty
What are you when you don’t live up to your family’s expectations? In Shetty’s family, where success is measured by your ambition, Shetty was a failure, because instead of attending his college graduation ceremony, he headed to India to become a monk – to dedicate his life to serving others. In his book, Shetty showed how, by thinking like a monk, we can reach our full potential and power. He uses his experience and transforms abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Powerful, purposeful and practical, read this book to jump start your new year.
