When I read it: I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable in life and I was needing — nay, expecting — more from relationships and experiences.

Why I loved it: It was my first realisation that there was something bigger operating in the universe, other than my ego. It helped me see past my immediate situation.

When I read it: I had low self-esteem and a chaotic life, my soul was hiding, and I didn’t know who I was.

Why I loved it: It gave me permission to rejoice in my feminine power and fierceness, value myself, remember my wildness, and listen to my intuition.

When I read it: I was feeling enthused and curious to continue my spiritual journey, and I was looking for answers in signs and symbols.

Why I loved it: I found my spirit animal through the guided meditation exercise and instantly recognised myself. I started to appreciate all the different parts of my personality and what made me me.

When I read it: I was hurting, confused about human behaviour, and looking to explain why we act the way we do. I wanted to understand myself, romantic partners, and my relationships with friends, family, and work colleagues.

Why I loved it: It led me to identify my strengths, my flaws, my fears, and mutual responsibilities within relationships. It helped me face raw, transformative truths.

When I read it: I wanted to learn and grow my meditation and visualisation practices, and to explore the concept of source energy as well as understand its role in cleansing, healing, and personal development.

Why I loved it: It enabled me to imagine a light within me that was part of me but also part of everything else in the universe. This was the first time I felt worthy, connected to something bigger: I was not alone. It was beautiful, and helped me realise I was beautiful, too.

When I read it: I was putting into practice my new awareness of the universe and its divine energy and understanding how I was part of that divinity. I came to recognise the light as personal power and strength.

Why I loved it: It enabled me to practice handing my worries over to the divine. I stopped trying so hard to manifest what I thought I needed and began to trust in the universe.

When I read it: I came to this book during a challenging period when I felt oppressed, trapped, and totally helpless.

Why I loved it: I learnt how to cast off the burdens my own vain imaginings had created. I gained knowledge of universal laws and the power of the spoken word, released myself from energetic contracts causing pain, and learnt to forgive.

When I read it: I had a nasty habit of registering the negative aspects in situations instead of taking a balanced view of the whole picture.

Why I loved it: This book taught me the magic of gratitude. It helped me shift my mental filter from focusing on the negative in situations, to also seeing the positive and neutral aspects, and everything in between, thereby shifting my mental focus and my spiritual energy.

When I read it: I had an unhealthy attachment to other people’s opinions. Because I put individuals on pedestals, their actions affected me greatly and I let myself fade into the background, becoming small and subservient.

Why I loved it: It awakened me to my energy field in relation to others and who I was subconsciously inviting in, who I was giving my power to. I was able to become more selective and more aware of my own voice amongst the noise.

When I read it: I was curious about theories on spirituality and trying to create my own inner schematic.

Why I loved it: This book gave me a deep understanding of the chakras (energy centres) in my body. I saw a connection between what was happening in the material world with what I needed to move through spiritually. At the same time, I came to understand my heart chakra (and love) as the centre of my existence. I practiced responding to others from my heart centre, pausing before reacting, and as my life coach would say, ‘What would love do?’

When I read it: My negative mental filter was creeping in, and I was looking for something to read to help me get back to a positive mindset. Someone had just gifted me several titles from their library, and I was drawn to the name of this book.

Why I loved it: It reminded me to take responsibility for my thoughts, to work hard at challenging unhelpful thinking, and catch myself before engaging in a potentially negative spiral.

When I read it: I was worried about everything, despite my practice of positive thinking. When I thought about someone or something I loved like family or pets, I feared I would lose them, visualising them gone already, and questioning how I would cope.

Why I loved it: This book helped teach me that we are ‘pure potentiality,’ so rather than focusing on fear, I’d rather focus on expansion. It consolidated what I gleaned from Living in the Light and Outrageous Openness: I am the divine, I am the light. It enabled me to let go of fearful thoughts and focus on radiating the love I had for my nearest and dearest.

When I read it: I was struggling with minor, but ongoing physical ailments and I was curious to understand the energetic causes of my symptoms.

Why I loved it: Each time I looked up my physical symptoms, I would see the same assortment of emotional causes: suppression of feelings, frustration, anger, or guilt. Once this book helped me to identify the hidden causes of my physical symptoms, I could work to address them.

When I read it: I was realising I didn’t have a good work-life balance and that achievements, earning, and staying busy were not making me happy. After decades of putting work first, I didn’t know what my interests were outside of it. What nourished my soul? The veil was lifting, and my career wasn’t my sole purpose in life.

Why I loved it: It gave me permission to explore and value my creative talents as well as my professional ones. I engaged in the self-expression activities that energised my soul as a child: poetry, songwriting, and playing music. Through creativity, I was finding my soul’s voice, and I was feeling free.

When I read it: I was learning who I was outside of my professional and social identity, and I was coming to value who I was on the inside. I was communicating what I wanted in life, rather than being a passive observer.

Why I loved it: It helped me set myself free from other people’s opinions and stop believing they were more important than my own. I no longer made myself small. I wasn’t just enjoying my new voice — I was owning it.