I read a lot this year.
Largely because I spent a good deal of the year exhausted and reading was one of the few things I had the energy to do.
As some of you know, I have type 1 diabetes — the autoimmune kind. It’s very well controlled (meaning I’ve devised a lifestyle and eating habits that may look like a lot of work to some, but keeps me happy and healthy).
Unfortunately, having type 1 means that you have a higher risk for two other autoimmune diseases: celiac & thyroid disease.
I can’t really say when it started, but my energy had been declining for awhile and by August I couldn’t actually manage to stay awake by about four o’clock in the afternoon. And I was gaining weight for no good reason (other than being too exhausted to exercise, of course). And my hair was falling out — not in huge clumps or anything, but some seriously alarming shedding was happening.
Anyway, not one to live in denial or suffer through, I got a work-up and found out my thyroid function was low and I had the antibodies that indicated Hashimoto’s disease, which is an autoimmune disease that causes low thyroid function.
(I swear I didn’t start this post intending for it to be a downer! Hang on!)
Happily, I got a great naturopathic doctor who specializes in this sort of thing and I’ve been working with her to set myself to rights. My energy is mostly back these days and boy do I appreciate it.
And, like all bad things that have ever happened to me, plenty of gifts emerged as a result.
One of those gifts was taking the time to read and listen to things that filled me up and inspired me — both in my career and at home.
So here’s a few of the books I read and podcasts I listened in 2018 to that helped me rethink some things and make some changes for the better. Maybe they’ll do the same for you in 2019.
Books
Nonfiction for self-improvement:
*Steering by Starlight by Martha Beck
Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
Running Down a Dream by Tim Grahl
*This book is pure magic and you should read it immediately.
Nonfiction for Creativity:
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
Be the Gateway by Dan Blank
The Artist’s Journey by Steven Pressfield
Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday
Fiction
Landline by Rainbow Rowell*
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
*My new contemporary writing hero. I read other fiction this year, but reading Rowell has changed the way I write so she’s the only one I’m including.
Podcasts
Akimbo by Seth Godin
#AmWriting with Jess & KJ
Happier with Gretchen Rubin & Elizabeth Craft
Tara Brach’s podcast
Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness (from Queer Eye!)
I’m so looking forward to 2019. I’ve got a lot of exciting things coming up, like finally getting my first novel out into the world and helping other writers launch their books. In January, I’m launching a group coaching program for writers who need to create an author platform and I can hardly wait.
See you after the turn of the page.