Reading Through the Storm: 6 Books That Helped Me Through Tough Times

There have been seasons in my life when everything felt heavy—when I didn’t quite know how to move forward, only that I had to keep going. And there have been other times when, although everything seemed fine on the surface, inside, I felt adrift—disconnected from my purpose, my joy, even my appetite for life. During those moments, I reached for books not just as a distraction, but as lifelines.

Words have a way of holding space for us when the world feels uncertain. They whisper truth, offer hope, and sometimes say exactly what we need to hear. Because while each human experience feels deeply personal, there’s a universal thread running through us all—one we often glimpse through the lives and epiphanies of strangers, captured on the page. And when we do, we realize: we are never as alone as we think we are.

These six books were my companions during tough times. Each one offered a different kind of comfort—spiritual insight, emotional strength, permission to rest, or a call to rise. If you’re in a difficult place, I hope one of these titles might find its way into your hands.

The Book of Secrets
by Deepak Chopra

Theme: Spiritual grounding | Mood: Meditative

Whenever I’m asked to recommend a book that uplifts, heals, and opens new perspectives, I almost always return to Deepak Chopra’s Book of Secrets. His writing comforts me in a way few others do—a seamless blend of science and ancient wisdom that helps me make sense of life’s complexities. This book, in particular, has been a steady guide, leading me toward deeper awareness.

It’s an invitation inward, toward the more mysterious corners of the soul—the parts we often avoid, fearing what they might reveal.

Reading this feels like walking through a timeless, universal temple—still, spacious, and sacred.

A favourite quote : 

If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another. The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience.

Daring Greatly
How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown

Theme: Vulnerability as strength | Mood: Courageous

Brené’s work has changed the way I understand courage, and has given me permission to be real in a moment in life when I was resisting some powerful disruptive energies around me. This book taught me that vulnerability isn’t weakness—it’s the truest form of strength. In moments of self-doubt, this reminded me that showing up fully is brave, even when the outcome is unknown. I read three of her books as a series : The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly and Rising Strong. All three have had a powerful, liberating effect on me. Reading them felt like a conversation with a best friend, who always has your best interest at heart, and counts on solid research to back up all of her conclusions.

A favourite quote : 

As I look back on what I’ve learned about shame, gender, and worthiness, the greatest lesson is this: If we’re going to find our way out of shame and back to each other, vulnerability is the path and courage is the light. To set down those lists of what we’re supposed to be is brave. To love ourselves and support each other in the process of becoming real is perhaps the greatest single act of daring greatly.

Super Attractor
Methods for Manifesting a Life beyond Your Wildest Dreams
by Gabrielle Bernstein

Theme: Manifestation & mindset | Mood: Uplifting

Visualization has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life. I’ve manifested two homes, new jobs, and endless moments of serenity through exercises that often felt as simple and joyful as child’s play. That’s why Gabrielle Bernstein’s Super Attractor has been such a delight to read—and such a powerful tool for deepening my practice.

In her writing, Bernstein speaks of aligning with higher energy and co-creating with the universe, a perspective that gently steered me back to the light in moments when I had lost my way.

What I treasure most in her work is the permission it offers: the reminder that we don’t have to clench our jaws or force our way toward our dreams. Great things can unfold from a place of softness, from choosing joy long before outer circumstances catch up.

A favourite quote : 

Above all else, care about how you feel. Of course we all want to feel good, but we don’t consciously think thoughts and take actions that make us feel good. In fact, we often do the opposite. Caring about how you feel means that you become more deliberate about the words you choose, the thoughts you think, and the actions you take. It means that you go out of your way to realign your energy with love.

You Can Heal Your Life
by Louise Hay

Theme: Self-love & affirmations | Mood: Empowering

It’s almost hard to believe that this classic was first published in 1984, when so many of Louise Hay’s teachings still feel fresh, even revolutionary, more than forty years later. Her words gently helped me uncover and release the limiting beliefs I had been carrying, and replace them with love.

She taught me that the first, most vital step is learning to love myself—because without that, I could never truly love anyone else. And she opened new doors within me with a simple but powerful sentence: I am willing to change.

Her affirmations feel like small, sacred prayers for the soul—a book to keep close by, on your nightstand, for a lifetime.

A favourite quote : 

Love who and what you are and what you do. Laugh at yourself and at life, and nothing can touch you. It’s all temporary anyway. Next lifetime you will do it differently anyway, so why not do it differently right now ?

Wintering
The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
by Katherine May

Theme: Rest & renewal | Mood: Gentle

One of the quiet transformations of our highly tech era is the relentless pace of life. We’ve come to accept fast living without pausing to question its motives, or its effects on our hearts and minds. If you slow down, the world warns, you’ll miss opportunities, lose money, fall behind. And so we power through—until there is no power left.

Katherine May’s Wintering gave me the permission I didn’t know I was longing for: to slow down and honour stillness, a state that always felt natural to me, yet over the years, it became entangled with guilt.

Wintering reminded me that quiet seasons are not signs of failure—they are essential. It made me feel less alone in my retreat from the world, and it taught me that sometimes, true healing looks less like striving, and more like resting.

A favourite quote : 

Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.

Untamed
by Glennon Doyle

Theme: Inner truth & bold living | Mood: Fierce

Sometimes you need to get restless in order to find peace, because the source of your anxiety lies in the status-quo. Glennon Doyle’s book guides you exactly through this process, with powerful images, with the vulnerability of revealing her own experience, and the assurance of a woman who has broken free—and refuses to return to anything that would cage her spirit. Untamed felt clear and fierce, like a bucket of cold water poured over me—shocking at first, but utterly awakening. It helped me peel away the roles I had been playing and step fully into who I am, unapologetically.

Choosing myself, choosing peace—so that I could reflect peace back into the world.

A favourite quote : 

Every life is an unprecedented experiment. This life is mine alone. So I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been. There is no map. We are all pioneers.

Books can’t fix everything, but they can walk beside us through the hardest parts of life. There’s an idea I hear more and more these days: we’re not meant to do it all alone, and learning to ask for help is one of the greatest skills we can cultivate. Often, this leads to conversations about therapy—a practice that has helped millions and has, thankfully, lifted some of the stigma around mental health.
But even the most powerful therapy cannot replace the inner work only we can do. Books remind us of that quiet strength. They teach us to reach inward, to trust the resilience that remains even when it feels hidden, and to begin living the truths we’ve only just dared to read. No author, no therapist can walk the path for us. We must offer grace to our searching souls—and turn, page by page, toward our own serenity.

These six books offered me grace, guidance, and courage when I needed them most. If you find yourself moving through a hard season, I hope one of these titles finds you too—and that it feels like a soft hand on your shoulder, a whisper that you’re not alone.

I’d love to hear your story too: What books have been companions for you in difficult times? Share in the comments—I believe our stories can light the way for others.

Until next time, enjoy your reading, and your serene rituals.

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