Books like How You Stand, How You Move, How You Live

Edmonton-based author Ernie Zelinski is probably best known for this self-published international bestseller.

Zelinski semi-retired at 30 after being fired from an engineering job. One of his first books was called The Joy of Not Working, and he later published The Joy of Being Retired: 365 Reasons Why Retirement Rocks—and Work Sucks!. But the one that really struck a nerve for FIRE proponents was How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free, subtitled “Retirement wisdom that you won’t get from your financial advisor”.

Zelinski sugar-coats the content with pull-out quotes and a few cartoons. As the back-cover blurb of my 2014 edition proclaims, “Retirement is the beginning of life, not the end.” It follows that Zelinski believes that the earlier you take Early Retirement, the better, and encourages readers to pluck up the courage to do just that.

To that end, his focus on frugality allows him to… show more.

Unforeseen forces, mystery, and time travel in the confines of a coffee shop, what isn’t to like?

I read this book when I was in the middle of moving countries. The book helped me to slow down amongst all the turbulence of movers and then the dreaded Covid vaccination certificates. But with moving, I had to say goodbye to friends, and there was one close friend who did not like the fact I was leaving and, therefore, refused to see me before I left. There are many reasons why people react in certain ways, but I was hurt during that time and hoped that our friendship was more than that. 

This book made me think about what I would say to her in the future—hindsight is a great gift if only we could activate it in the present.

It’s a little book of quotes, the sort of book you could keep in the guest loo (if you don’t mind losing your guests for half an hour), but it is stuffed full of oomph and I’ve carted it with me through three migrations because it has been giving me quotes, when I needed something pithy and to the point, for thirty years. I really hope it is still in print because nobody’s getting their hands on my copy. Relevance to my theme? Picked at random – “the first forty years of life gives us the text, the next thirty years supply the commentary” (Arthur Schopenhauer). “If I had my life to live again, I’d make the same mistakes – only sooner”. (Tallulah Bankhead)   

We’ve outgrown vaulting over five-barred gates, running up mountains, drinking all night, and springing bright-eyed from our beds, and so what? For anyone in denial, or clinging stubbornly to youth, Dave is the Baby Boomer to point out the stark realities. He’s funny but he’s ruthless. Fifty’s not the new thirty. It’s fifty. The reason I recommend it is that it can be hard to let go and you’ll waste precious autumn if you don’t accept the inevitable, and move on with a spring in your step into what I have found to be the best period of all. Laughing helps. Laughing always helps.  

Welcome to the Holy Grail of spirituality provided by the late Louise Hay, our queen of positive affirmations. This book absolutely changed the way I viewed my health. Before Louise came into my life, I thought my health was out of my control and that disease happened by chance. This book taught me about the connection between my thoughts, emotions, and health. I had no idea that my emotions were powerful enough to create good and bad health, but once I learned the connection, I used Louise’s methods to release negative emotions. 

You will learn the true meaning of forgiveness and how to forgive people who have wronged you, including yourself. You will learn about the diseases that are associated with negative emotions. For instance, arthritis might result from feeling unloved or from long-held criticism and resentment. A new thought pattern is provided for each physical ailment, and if the… show more.

This book is so genius in its ability to straddle so many different dimensions of experience – from science to medicine to intuition to energy healing and everything in between. I love Carolyn Myss as a great example of what’s possible in bridging worlds – her story of bringing medical intuition into more mass consciousness is brilliant and endlessly inspiring. This book helped me to affirm what I was already sensing as an energy healer – that all dis-ease and pain is rooted in an underlying spiritual or energetic issue. This book provides great precedents for how we can truly heal and recover from seemingly hopeless ailments by actually getting to the root of our supposed problems and meeting them with love, grace, and acceptance.

Mindsight is an amazing book that explains how one can actively train their brain to recover from mental and other problems. In some cases, this means living medication free and being able to live a normal life.

But why recommend Mindsight alongside spy thrillers? It has to do with the complex and atypical intellect of Michael Dolan, the lead character of my trilogy. Dolan’s past tragedies, the strange method he uses for compartmentalizing his thoughts and the things that bother him, his ability to wall those things up so they cannot bother him—this eventually catalyzes other problems that are far more significant and negative. Siegel’s Mindsight was instrumental for me in creating a psyche for Dolan that was singular, captivating, and problematic—but it also provided my main character an escape route—a way to overcome and heal.

This book offers practical strategies for building inner strength and emotional stability. I love how Hanson combines the science of neuroplasticity with accessible, actionable steps for fostering resilience. His warm and engaging writing style makes complex concepts relatable, and the exercises can be easily integrated into daily life.

I find Hanson’s emphasis on the power of small, consistent practices to create lasting change both encouraging and motivating. This book has been a valuable companion in my personal and professional life, and I strongly recommend it for building resilience and finding calm amidst life’s challenges.

Of the dozens of self-help books I’ve browsed or read, this book gave me tools to replace past pains and shame with pleasure and pride.

Numerous books helpfully tell you what you lack, gleefully list what you need to change. This one offers an important further step: it provides neural tools that helped me to change and make the changes last. I knew vaguely—like a small pain that is easy to ignore but which limits your movement—my ability to create, to grow ideas had always to battle a thicket of past aches, struggles, and fears.

This book not only helped me through that—it’s a guide, consequently, to lead a longer, richer life. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most transformational books in my life.

I love all of Louise Hay’s books and struggled to choose which one to put in my top five. I chose this one because I’ve been using it for nearly 30 years now and have never known it to be wrong. I see it more as a tool than a book—a tool you can use to empower yourself on your healing journey.

Whenever I have a physical problem, I turn to this little booklet to find the underlying emotional link, and then I write out and frequently repeat the corresponding affirmation. As Louise Hay often says, “the point of power is always in the present moment”, and this little book gives one great power!