My 2022 Q1 Reading List

You’ve heard me say it before, reading is my secret weapon. 

Learning from others and their wisdom and experiences
is life-transforming.

 
I’m excited to share what I read over the last three months (in order as read).
 
For those of you who have followed my lists since I started publishing them in 2014, you know that I used to rate the books. I stopped doing that because we’re each at different places in our life journey and what I found to be ok, you may find to be immensely helpful, and vice versa. I have, however, decided to note which ones I either highly recommend or that I will read again. On this list, 4, 11, and 12 fit those criteria. 
 
If this list doesn’t have any books that appeal to you, my reading lists from 2014-2021 are posted here. 
Or maybe one of the 7 books that literally transformed my life is more of what you need right now. 

 
On to the list

2022 Book 1: A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
One of the key aspects of having and maintaining emotional health is acknowledging and allowing grief, in all its forms.
It should go without saying that we have all sustained unexpected losses over the last two years, and that we’re each handling those losses in different ways, one might say somewhere within the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance).
In the weeks following the loss of his wife to cancer, Lewis writes openly about his grief, wrestling through it honestly and transparently.
I’m of the belief that if we would all follow Lewis’s example and talk candidly about our grief, at least with a trusted friend, that we would move toward much greater emotional health.

2022 Book 2: South and West by Joan Didion
There has been a photo of Joan Didion hanging in my husband’s office for most of our marriage. I’d never heard of her until I met him. I suppose most people would think it strange to have a photo of someone you don’t know hanging in your house, but to Corey she was a mentor – his vision for his writing. Hearing of her death brought a grief for me that I wasn’t expecting – I had so hoped that there would be an opportunity for Corey to meet her, but I suppose he’s already met her countless times through her words.

2022 Book 3: Hardwired to Be a Great Leader by Dr. John Wilson & Dr. Thomas Tavantzis
As a result of the 12,000+ hours I’ve spent coaching business executives and entrepreneurs, I can honestly say that the most successful and fulfilled leaders are the ones who genuinely know themselves – have correctly identified their skills and abilities, and who don’t try to tell themselves (or sell to others) a narrative that is beyond or outside of the truth of who they are and what they’re capable of.
I love that Dr. John and Dr. Tom identify self-awareness and self-leadership as the foundation upon which excellent leadership is built – their philosophy is spot on!
Their insights and guidance in this straightforward and practical e-book are worth following.

2022 Book 4: Scary Close by Donald Miller
Donald says, “We will never feel loved until we drop the act, until we’re willing to show our true selves to the people around us.” We are all desperate for love and friendship, but a big part of making that happen in a meaningful and lasting way is to discover who we really are and then live authentically.
Donald’s willingness to share openly about his personal struggles gives the boost of courage we need to stop pretending and speak openly about our insecurities, fears, and doubts.

2022 Book 5: Kill the Spider by Carlos Whitaker
A gentleman business friend recently said to me that if men don’t share their struggles openly, that those struggles will destroy them and hurt others as well.
Carlos nearly lost his marriage and his family because he was believing false narratives and then self-medicating, which was only bringing temporary comfort and ultimately, making things worse. He said, “Nobody can know about the mistakes we made, so we don’t tell anyone and keep up the façade. One lie leads to another, and then we find ourselves trapped…”
Carlos shares how he came clean about his struggles, worked through the lies, stopped self-medicating, and found a way out of the trap.

2022 Book 6: When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons
A vulnerably written story and study of what grace looks like for someone who struggles with believing they are enough. For those who experienced a legalistic upbringing, this is a helpful deep dive into grace.

2022 Book 7: Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio
Somewhere in recent years we’ve succumbed to the thinking that the negative voices in our head must be there, that we don’t have a choice about their presence in our thoughts. Louie tells us, in no uncertain terms, that this is not true, “You don’t need to listen to the voices of fear, rage, lust, insecurity, anxiety, despair, temptation, or defeat.”
Louie gives us wisdom and insights (similar to Jennie Allen’s book, Get Out of Your Head, #14 on my 2021 reading list) to not only combat negative and toxic thinking but to free ourselves of it completely.

2022 Book 8: Almost Everything by Anne Lamott
What I love about Anne, even though I don’t know her personally, is that I’m certain that she is the same person in real life as she is in her writings. Her authenticity is shocking – which is honestly a sad commentary because life would be so much better if we were that willing to let our true selves be seen. In this book she helps us learn how to let go of anger and resentment by practicing the attributes of the Serenity Prayer.

2022 Book 9: The Wisdom of Tenderness by Brennan Manning
I’ve heard so many people comment that they have a more difficult time being kind to themselves than they do being kind to others.
For anyone in that place, Brennan guides us to a place of being able to be more kind and loving to ourselves.

2022 Book 10: Capturing Loyalty by John Larson and Bennett McClellan
Founder & CEO of Building Champions, Daniel Harkavy, says that one of the 7 most critical aspects of leadership is ensuring you know your customer and what’s important to them.
Most of us, according to John Larson, and his decades of customer satisfaction work with companies like Ritz-Carlton, Staples, & Panda Express, are aiming at targets that our customers could care less about.
If your Net Promoter Score (NPS) or your customer retention numbers aren’t where you want them, read this book, and then hire John and his team to help you identify what really matters to your customer.

2022 Book 11: The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O’Connor by Jonathan Rogers
An exceptional biography!
My husband, Corey, has long been influenced in his own fiction writing by O’Connor, but never having read her works myself I didn’t know just how similar their philosophies are. Multiple times throughout, I honestly could have been convinced that I was reading a biography about my own husband – a truly eerie feeling! If you are a fan of O’Connor’s writing, I humbly ask you to read Corey’s novel, Concerning the Dust, in all its despair and depravity.

2022 Book 12: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
At 39 years old Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German citizen from a prominent German family, was murdered by Adolf Hitler because he valued human life and human dignity for all people, including Jews and others whom Hitler was adamant to exterminate. I learned so much from this incredible biography that I was not aware of, including the large numbers of Germans who opposed Hitler’s ideology and actions – many of whom, like Bonhoeffer, were killed because of their opposition.

2022 Book 13: Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel
Toxic thinking and obsessing on negative thoughts are issues that are growing in our culture by the minute. Craig presents a very straight-forward how-to approach to overcoming toxic and obsessive thinking – his approach may not work for everyone, but it’s a worthwhile starting place.

2022 Book 14: Say Yes by Scott Erickson
Last year, a vocational dream of mine died, resulting in an unexpected season of grieving. Parts of the grieving process have been slow and other parts had nearly immediate peace and acceptance. I have rested on kind, encouraging, and wise words from trusted friends and from people who have had similar experiences – people like Scott.
Scott’s words particularly on comparison, contribution, and vulnerability helped to usher in peace, and to help me accept what I knew to be true even in the midst of the death of my dream – “I can be a conduit of Love when I allow myself to be the medium that an idea, a passion, a dream, a desire, a thought, an action, a perspective, an intuition comes through.”

2022 Book 15: The Hard Good by Lisa Whittle
Americans don’t do pain and suffering very well. We hide from it and we’re pretty good at pretending and faking that everything is just fine. We’re also radically uncomfortable when other people talk about their challenges in life.
Somehow, we’ve come to believe that it’s virtuous to hide and pretend, which is a real tragedy and is creating even more guilt and shame in our culture.
Lisa walks through how to look at the hard things in life through a different lens – I especially appreciated and learned from her chapter on forgiveness.

2022 Book 16: The Genius of Jesus by Erwin McManus
Absolutely fascinating!
Concepts and ideas that I have genuinely never thought about in the way Erwin presents them. I especially love the emphasis on the attributes of servant leadership in the power chapter.

2022 Book 17: Leadership is Leadership by Tonya Banks, Ph.D.
I love seeing my friends share their gifts and bring value to others. Dr. Banks uses a wonderful and practical metaphor to bring leadership to life with good Biblical examples and straightforward principles of positive leadership.
I highly recommend her book for high school and college students in leadership, business, biblical studies, and project management classes and programs.

As always, please share your must-reads with me!!

Happy reading and be well!