August Book to Live By

by on August 5, 2026

Inheritance

by Dani Shapiro

In the spring of 2016, through a genealogy website, Dani Shapiro received the stunning news that her beloved deceased father was not her biological father. Over the course of a single day, her entire history—the life she had lived—crumbled beneath her.  Inheritance is a book about secrets and about the extraordinary moment we live in where science and technology have outpaced not only medical ethics but also the capacities of the human heart to contend with the consequences of what we discover. Part mystery, part real-time investigation, part rumination on the ineffable combination of memory, history, biology, and experience, Inheritance is a devastating and haunting interrogation of the meaning of kinship and identity.

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July Book to Live By

by on July 2, 2026

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When the Jessamine Grows

Donna Everhart

Joetta and Ennis McBride have built a happy life for themselves, raising two sons, fifteen-year-old Henry, and eleven-year-old Robert, on their small subsistence farm in North Carolina. Amidst talk of civil war, Joetta considers her family neutral, believing this is simply not their fight, but her opinion is not favored by Joetta’s father-in-law, Rudean. A staunch Confederate supporter, he fills his grandsons’ heads with stories about the glory of battle and the Southern cause. One night Henry runs off to join the war, and Ennis leaves to bring him home. Weeks pass with no word, and Joetta is battered by the strain of running a farm with so little help. As the country becomes further entangled in war, Joetta finds herself shunned and struggling to survive. She remains committed to her principles, but the greatest tests are still to come both for Joetta’s family and the fractured nation. In honor of America’s 250th Anniversary, an historical fiction novel to remind us of deep divisions our nation has overcome.

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June Book to Live By

by on June 1, 2026

Strangers

by Belle Burden

In March 2020, Belle Burden was safe and secure with her family navigating the early days of the pandemic together—Then, without warning or explanation, her husband of 20 years announced that he was leaving. Overnight, her partner became a man she hardly recognized. In Strangers, Burden revisits her marriage, searching for clues. As she begins to see through a new lens, she reckons with the lessons about how a woman is expected to behave in the face of betrayal and transforms from a discreet, compliant woman to someone braver, and determined to use her voice.

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May Book to Live By

by on May 7, 2026

UP! The Playbook for Every Woman on the Rise

by Kelly and Katy Mooney

UP! is the book to catapult your career no matter the stage. If you are new to the work world and want a strong foundation, or need help being seen, heard, and valued, look inside for a jump start to the next level. Navigating a male-dominated culture? This book will help. If work is taking over your personal life, you feel anxious and unsure of your next move, or even if you are on a roll and aiming for something bigger, these are the tools you need to create the career and life you deserve. Providing expert insights, proven strategies, real life scripts, and step-by-step actions, UP! leaves out “shoulds” because there isn’t one path or pace that works for everyone.

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April Book to Live By

by on April 2, 2026

The Correspondent

by Virginia Evans

Most mornings, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. She used the letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness. The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.

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March Book to Live By

by on March 3, 2026

The Comfort Book

by Matt Haig

THE COMFORT BOOK is a collection of notes, lists, and stories written over a span of several years that originally served as reminders to the author’s future self that things are not always as dark as they seem. Incorporating a diverse array of sources from across the world, history, science, and his own experiences, Haig offers warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and unpredictability of existence.

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February Book to Live By

by on February 2, 2026

Splinters

by Leslie Jamison

Jamison turns her unrivaled powers of perception to the most intimate relationships of her life: her consuming love for her young daughter, a ruptured marriage once swollen with hope, and the shaping legacy of her parents’ complicated bond. This book grieves the departure of one love even as it celebrates the arrival of another. Examining what it means for a woman, a mother, an artist, a teacher, and a lover, she places the magical and the mundane side by side in surprising ways resulting in a work of nonfiction like no other.

 

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January Book to Live By

by on January 6, 2026

A Year of Self-Care

by Dr. Zoe Shaw

A Year of Self-Care will jump-start your self-care practice in just fifteen minutes every morning helping you to feel stronger, happier, and healthier. The full year of research backed exercises inspire gratitude, positive thinking and self-love. Discover a fresh outlook on life and improve your confidence and well-being with this guided journal and spend 2026 focusing on what matters- YOU!

And for some additional self care strategies: https://bit.ly/4ahiwid

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December Book to Live By

by on December 3, 2025

The Thirteen Gift

Joanne Huist Smith

After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children–especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their “True Friends.” As the Smiths come together to solve the mystery of who the gifts are from, they begin to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family. This true story about the power of random acts of kindness will warm the heart, a beautiful reminder of the miracles of Christmas and the gift of family during the holiday season.

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November Book to Live By

by on November 4, 2025

The Gifts of Imperfection

by Brene Brown

For over a decade, Brené Brown has found a special place in our hearts by showing us the way to choose authenticity and worthiness, and it all started with The Gifts of Imperfection. What transforms this book from words on a page to effective daily practices are the ten guideposts to wholehearted living. The guideposts walk us through the unattainable and sabotaging expectations getting in the way of change, and allow us to accept our mistakes, find compassion for ourselves, and push ahead to become a better person. This is one of those books that gets better with every read.

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