Inspiration

This page is where I get to share my favorite sources of information and inspiration with you. Mostly books, these resources include the topics of parenting, gardening, cooking and nourishment, wild plants and herbal medicines, and spirituality. Enjoy! Feel free to share the books you love, too.

Parenting

• Heaven on Earth by Sharifa Oppenheimer is a Waldorf-inspired book that balances child development with hands-on ideas and resources. She focuses on establishing family rhythms that lay the foundation for all learning, and on building your own family culture through art, storytelling, and the celebration of festivals. This is a really excellent and inspiring book.
• Celebrating the Great Mother by Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw is probably the most referenced parenting book I have. It presents earth-based festivals for the whole year, describing projects, meals, and other ways to create your own family traditions to celebrate the sacredness of the seasons. It also explores ways to nurture a child's own wise, inner self. I highly recommend this book.
• Positive Discipline series by Jane Nelsen, etc. There are probably a dozen books in this series. I found Positive Discipline for the First Three Years to be the most helpful. It gives parents a great foundation for discipling their children in a constructive and loving manner. I probably read this book three times before Jai was two years old.
• Parent as Mystic, Mystic as Parent by David Spangler is a beautiful portrayal of what it means to be a parent. Even if you ignore the whole mystic part, this book is worth reading for an inspiring reminder of why we have children.
• My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus by Nancy Tringali Piho is the best eating-with-your-children book I have found. Her basic message is to bring children into your own eating culture, not to change your habits to be "kid-friendly." I found this book to be very helpful in a time when I was feeling a little lost on how to feed my child.
• Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish is a great resource for maintaining peace and open communication in a multi-child household. They have many suggestions and techniques for helping children learn to resolve their conflicts themselves.

Gardening

• Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon is my number one book for gardening. Of course, if you don't live west of the Cascades, you might not find this book as helpful. However, for those of us who do, it is an indispensable resource. He covers everything from soil to composting to planning, planting, and watering a garden. The last part of the book describes how to grow every type of vegetable. My gardening skills definitely improved after reading this book. I refer to it every gardening season.
• The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka introduces the concept of natural farming, or as Fukuoka calls it, the "do-nothing" technique. This method of farming comes from deep faith in the natural balance of the earth and the idea that we should work with natural processes, not against them. It is a practical book and a spiritual book, and definitely revolutionary. It has made me rethink my gardening techniques, and has inspired me to switch over to a no-dig style of gardening. Definitely a book all gardeners/farmers/people should read.
• Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison is another book based on the idea that we should work with the natural forces of the earth instead of against them. Permaculture is about designing sustainable human settlements, and this book is a beautifully illustrated and easy-to-understand introduction. Even if you're not going to follow a permaculture way of life, this book has wonderful ideas and information about living in a more sustainable manner.
• Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman is about growing your own food [or at least some of it] all year round. He shows how North American gardeners can grow traditional winter vegetables in cold frames and greenhouses without supplementary heat. He lives in Maine, so if he can do it, I'm sure we all can.
• Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. This is not a book, but they put out a beautiful catalogue filled with rare and traditional vegetables and flowers. By supporting them, we are helping to save our diverse gardening heritage for future generations.

Cookbooks and Nourishment

• Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig revolutionized the way I feed myself. It is based off of the work of Weston Price, a dentist in the 1920s who studied the eating traditions of indigenous people all over the world. It is a nutrition book and a cookbook, and it is simply amazing. In general, our society is so confused and misinformed about health-giving food, and this book is a great resource for setting us straight. Please read it.
• If the Buddha Came to Dinner by Hale Sofia Schatz is not just a book about feeding our bodies; it a perfect blend of inspiration and practical suggestions on how to nourish our spirits. She shows us how to listen to our inner wisdom to feed ourselves with love and self-respect. It is a wonderful book, and it includes delicious recipes and a gentle cleanse program.
• Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair is a whole-foods approach to feeding, well, the whole family, from the baby on up. The dishes are quick, simple and delicious. Several of our family favorites have come from this book. 

Wild Plants and Herbal Medicine 

• Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health by Rosemary Gladstar has many wonderful recipes for children, women, men, and elders, as well as recipes for radiant beauty, everyday ailments, and reducing stress and anxiety. It's a great book for the beginning herbalist, as well as the more experienced.
• Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West by Michael Moore is a must-have for us Pacific Western herbalists (he also has several other books for other regions of the country). Moore covers plant identification, therapeutic uses, preparations and so much more in a very intelligent and humorous manner. This book is indispensable for those collecting their own herbs.
• Wise Woman Herbal for the ChildbearingYear by Susun S. Weed is a great resource for expectant mothers who want to keep things as herbal as possible. Weed authors several other great herb books as well. 
• The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook by James Green is the most complete and detailed medicine-making book I have ever seen. A great resource for someone who is serious about making their own herbal medicine.
• Plant Spirit Medicine by Eliot Cowan was a portal into a new world of healing for me. It is about shamanistic forms of healing that use the spirits of plants. Cowan shows you how to tap into your own inner knowledge and into worlds beyond this one.

Spirituality 

• Conversations with God, Books 1-3 by Neale Donald Walsch. I must say, these books changed my life. To me, it doesn't matter if you believe that Walsch is having a conversation with God or not; the words are so filled with truth that it doesn't matter who says them. I love these books. I have read them several times, and they are always inspiring.
• Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life by Tom Cowan is an excellent book for those interested in shamanistic journeying. You don't need to be a shaman to journey; journeying is an innate gift we all have for connecting with our inner selves and the spirit worlds. This book is a great guide to get you started. 

The Book I Pray All Women Will Read:

• Wild Feminine by Tami Lynn Kent. I have so much to say about this book, I don't even know where to start. It is a wonderful, beautiful, amazing, inspiring, revolutionary book, and I urge you to go get it now. And read it from beginning to end. And tell all your girlfriends to read it too. I read this book and thought, it is the feminine spirit that will heal our world! (It is because of this book that you are reading this blog right now.) This book is about connecting with your feminine spirit through the center of your feminine self: the pelvic bowl. I didn't even realize that I was disconnected from my femininity until I read this book, and then I realized how disconnected I had truly been. I think the vast majority of us women are inherently disconnected from our pelvic bowls and our true feminine spirits, because we live in a world that does not honor and respect women and our intrinsic creative powers. This book is about reaching your true creative potential, living your joy, and connecting with your spirit. I cannot recommend this book enough.