Books like Chicken Soup for the Soul — picked by fans

Sensory processing disorder or SPD is a difficult condition to explain as it can involve one or more of any of our senses, so can present differently in each child. It would be considered one of the neurological “soft signs” meaning that a diagnosis of SPD typically means there is more going on than a simple developmental lag. Today the majority of children diagnosed with apraxia also have coexisting soft signs such as SPD, hypotonia (low tone), and/or motor deficits in the body. It’s important if apraxia is diagnosed or suspected to take your child to either a pediatric neurologist or developmental pediatrician to confirm or rule out soft signs in the body.

When Tanner was little and his only “words” were “mmm” or “ma” we were at the Chelsea Piers in NYC. Tanner had a sensory meltdown and if you’ve never seen one it can be very intense. His… show more.

When you have a child with a severe communication impairment, they probably are in therapy almost every day of their life. Too often, I’ve found parents forget children with special needs are still children. While appropriate speech therapy is critical for apraxia, children learn through play, and too often the importance of play is underestimated. What I love about The New Language of Toys is it shows us, the parents (as well as therapists) how to take typical toys found around the house to use as fun therapy tools to help bring your child a voice.  

 I used to work in toy design prior to being a parent so being able to use toys as therapy for speech is amazing. In addition, it helps the child’s self-esteem when you can teach them how to play, something that doesn’t always come naturally to a percentage of children with special needs.… show more.

So, in the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I haven’t read this entire book, but I did read the original article that the book came out of and other articles by and about the Suskinds. 

Ron Suskind did exactly what Lynn Koegel and I believe all parents should do: he observed his son’s interest and used it as a bridge for communication and connection.

Disney was a huge part of our family life when our kids were little (and still plays a role in our lives today since one of my sons is a children’s television writer and another one has his own theme park video channel), so I love that it was Disney movies that brought the Suskinds together.

Unlike parents who have a child that is born deaf or blind where protocols are in place by law, if you have a child with a communication impairment like apraxia, you have to advocate a lot for your child or they may not receive the therapies and placement that are appropriate for them. To make it even more complicated, there is no one set classification for a child with apraxia. If your child is deaf or has a diagnosis such as autism, the school system has a classification for those diagnoses. For just about any other communication impairment your child can be classified from “other health impaired” to “developmentally delayed” Some schools may have communication or speech impairments as a classification, but not all.

This book is a start to helping you learn how to become an advocate for your late talker child. After advocating for both of my special… show more.

We need to learn from our ancestors. Taizan Maezumi Roshi (1931-1995), was one of the first Japanese Zen masters to bring Zen to the West and founding abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles and Zen Mountain Center in Idyllwild, California. This inspiring collection of teachings explore zazen and Zen koans, how to appreciate your life as the life of the Buddha, and the essential matter of life and death. As Maezumi Roshi says, this book is a companion to "be intimate with your life."

This is a book about the Jewish movement called “Musar” – devoted to turning well-meaning but clumsy humans into upright, caring adults with a positive impact on all who know them.

Morinis is particularly good at helping the reader determine where in his/her personality the most attention is needed. And Morinis’s consideration of “the inner adversary” – the impulse that tempts us to mitigate our goodness every time we think of expressing it – is masterful.

The next time you decide to do a good deed – and then suddenly find reasons not to do it – you’ll remember Morinis and Musar. And you might do the good deed after all. 

I discovered the profound connection between Zen practice and the art of cooking in this insightful work by the revered Zen master, Dogen.

Through a series of engaging teachings, Dogen explores how the simple act of preparing and sharing food can become a transformative spiritual practice, fostering mindfulness, gratitude, and connection. I read this book before attending a long period of meditation, and it changed my view on day-to-day work completely.

How to Cook Your Life offers a unique perspective on the integration of Zen wisdom into daily life, inviting readers to cultivate a deeper sense of presence and harmony through the nourishment of body and soul.

After reading this book, I learned to love cooking again and in addition consider it spiritual practice.

After reading The Divine Conspiracy twice, I’m ready to dive in again. So many treasures are packed into these pages, waiting to be absorbed.

Anchored in the Sermon on the Mount, the author discusses our discipleship and how we related to Christ. Sometimes, we miss the life that’s in biblical text, but this book offers perspective that makes us take a second look and inspires our hearts.

This soothing invitation to care for my feminine magic read like a meditative affirmation dusted with quiet prayer.

Cosy in bed, I held this gem to my chest on closing the back cover. I often hug and thank books without questioning how ridiculous that is. Resonant and encouraging, it evoked reverent appreciation for the return to self that I’d (somehow) navigated the year prior. The pages echoed a comforting conversation, a soft yet powerful call to arms, an awakening for women.

Perhaps it was the luxurious-red cover and gracefully spaced and paced verse with practices towards the end that compelled me to enjoy slowly. As a woman who has woken up, She Who Remembers stirred my motivation. May we no longer be last on our own lists, consumed by expectation.

I have read almost 40 books from Thich Nhat Hanh and every time I read his books, I feel a deep sense of peace.

I recommend this book to deal with the inner critic because it is about transforming suffering. Instead of running away from our emotional pain, the book teaches us to be present with it. I love how the author uses lotus as an analogy to help us see the beneficial aspects of all things. 

In his book, he wrote “We need to have mud for lotuses to grow. Without mud, there can be no lotus.” This reminds me to not reject the inner critic, but use it as an excellent teacher for my own growth.