Title: When You’re Ready, This is How you Heal

Author: Brianna Wiest is a bestselling author who draws from her own experience of trauma, suffering, and ultimately, healing, to bring insight and encouragement to others on their own healing journeys.

What is it? It’s technically a book, but it is really a collection of distinct (but related) and insightful essays.

Who should read it? Anyone who is feeling stuck or unsure of next steps. If you are a human, chances are that you have encountered things that hurt you, changed you, or threw you off the path you had envisioned in your mind. This book inspires both the reflection to help you recognize what you really want and the courage you need to go after it.

Two minute skinny: The essays in this book are broken into very digestible pieces. Some essays provide emotional insights and support, while others offer practical steps to try to find your way back to your whole self. All of them are raw, honest, and speak to you the way a good friend would. Our favorites were:

13 Things You Need to Stop Doing if you Truly Want to Move Your Life Forward, which offers simple insights and behavior changes that could have big ramifications for your life if they are fully realized. From reminding you that your potential is so much more than what you produce in a day, to encouraging you to think long-term, this essay, in 11 pages, helps readers re-center and refocus on reaching their goals.

If it’s your soul that needs a pick me up or encouragement, try 16 Little Reminders for When You Feel Like You Aren’t Quite Where You Want to be In Life, and you will remember that the unfolding of your life is just right for you, since life is not a race and we weren’t meant to keep pace or “keep up” with everyone around us.

Rating? Worth the Investment? We give this book a 9/10. It is definitely worth the time it takes to read (not much), and each essay has enough of its own wisdom and insight that you could treat it like a daily devotional or reflection.

Listen, I don’t have time for a whole book… What’s second best? Our guess is that you do have time for an essay or two, and since they stand alone, you could read a few pages here and there to garner some insights. But if you don’t want to read, you should check out Wiest’s podcast. The episodes are short – 10-20 minutes each – and touch on many of the topics in her essays. For even shorter insights, check out her TikTok. Or view the PDFs of her book summaries, for quick knowledge.

And in case you wanted to go deeper: There are several more books you can explore! For even more essays similar to those found in this book, check out 101 Essays that Will Change the Way You Think. If you would rather explore the author’s voice in a different medium, you could check out her book of poetry, Salt Water. Finally you could invest in one of her journals, created to prompt you to explore your healing journey in your own way.

Blogpost by Hallie Moberg Brauer.