This list is offered as a resource list for those seeking self-understanding and self-appreciation. The list contains books I experienced positively. There are a great many more that I have loved, read, loaned out and, at this writing, are currently out of sight and, therefore, temporarily out of mind. Consider the list dynamic.
Books not included here are undoubtedly exceptional, I offer these only because they are familiar to me:
Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer, published in 1976. I selected this book at the bookstore because, like many others, I misread the title as Your "Erogenous" Zones and I was looking for a way to invigorate my lagging marriage. Wow, it started my path to incredible understanding.
The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm, published in 1956. This again was a book selected to seek understanding for saving a marriage. It is a powerful book. It brings awareness and reality to love. It brings clarity to our mythical and romantic notions of love.
The Secret of Staying in Love; Why am I Afraid to Tell you Who I am? and Unconditional Love by John Powell, published in 1974. OK, you can guess--still trying to save the marriage. This trilogy combines psychology and faith. It is delivered simplistically and therefore it is very effective.
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis, published originally in Latin. Clearly a religious book but designed to give strength and reinforcement to understanding our own inner beauty.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, published in Austria in 1946. This book, written by a psychiatrist who also suffered unspeakable horror in the Nazi death camps, explores man's search for life's meaning. This is a powerful book. Its power is enhanced by Frankl's ability to write psychology as prose.
People of the Lie by Scott Peck, published in 1983. Although everything Peck writes could be listed here, this book had a profound effect on me. It explores how evil corrupts, but, more importantly, it assigns blame to our everyday compunction to maintain artificial status.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925. Speaking of artificiality, after reading Peck's People of the Lie, you will experience Fitzgerald's classic with new understanding.
Jealousy by Nancy Friday, published in 1985. This book gives clarity to our misunderstanding of the difference between envy and jealousy.
Another Country by Mary Pipher, published in 1999. This book explores our aging society and how it is affected by our modern day lack of community. Scott Peck, in 1987, also addressed our need for community in his book, The Different Drum.
Contact: claredinnocenti@positiveimage.org