Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin Books, 2006) – Despite being an Oprah book, I found that this memoir about a woman’s search for “pleasure, devotion, and balance,” while traveling through Italy, India, and Indonesia respectively, held some deep truths—and explained a lot about the goals of meditation. If you can make it through the first 30 pages of chick-lit melodrama, you’ll be well-rewarded.
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Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Random House, 1999) – Lamott isn’t afraid to be vulnerable with her readers—in fact, she has a knack for explaining her seemingly petty anxieties and general quirkiness in a humorous way that makes the reader feel better about being human. By describing real-life situations where people are struggling with addiction, grief, illness, and other gritty situations, she guides the reader down the imperfect path to hope. Truly a joyful read.
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Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller (Thomas Nelson, 2003) – The book jacket describes Miller as the male Anne Lamott; and this may be accurate. They’re both confessional, but where Lamott wears her feelings on her sleeve, Miller spends more time—perhaps too much—in his head. Gender arguments aside, his book spends less time arguing about doctrine and more time pondering how Christianity should be practiced (i.e., “loving people just to love them, not to get them to come to church.”) A refreshing contrast from the politicized version of Christianity we often get in mainstream media.
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The Accidental Buddhist by Dinty W. Moore (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1997) – Moore has written a nice primer for those who are curious about the many American styles of Buddhism. He invites the reader to live vicariously as he attends Buddhist retreats, meets with Zen teachers, and tries to integrate this ancient practice into his modern daily life.
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The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring by Parker Palmer (Jossey-Bass, 1990) –Written by a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) and founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, this book explores the idea of “contemplation-in-action.” The only non-memoir on the list, Palmer’s storytelling draws from several traditions (namely Taoist, Jewish, Christian) and compels the reader to engage the world rather than retreat from it.

-Taryn Chase