Category: Book Reviews

  • The Spirit of Manaaki

    The Spirit of Manaaki. Maata, a Living Library of Māori Wisdom & Medicine Practices                                                                                  by Stephanie Mines This newly published book is both a tribute to Maata Wharehoka, respected kuia and leader based at Parihaka, and a compendium of Māori cultural knowledge and tikanga. At first, I found the format unsettling; it’s circular rather than […]

  • Ara. A Māori Guidebook of the Mind

    Ara. A Māori Guidebook of the Mind       By Dr Hinemoa Elder This evocative book describes a metaphorical underground journey through a series of 23 caves, each of which represents an aspect of the mind. The author’s poetic portrayal takes us on a circular downward spiral, visiting various mental chambers, each offering supportive resources as we […]

  • The Optimistic Child

    The Optimistic Child. A Revolutionary Approach to Raising Resilient Children                                                                      by Martin Seligman This classic book, first published in 1995, is by Martin Seligman, who is considered the founder of positive psychology. It outlines the school-based programme he developed to teach optimism and resilience in children, and the research behind it. The book goes on […]

  • The Bond

    The Bond. How to Fix your Falling-Down World  By Lynne McTaggart From quantum science discoveries of entangled particles and the observer effect to the ways that we are affected by solar activity and findings that evolution appears more intentional than random – this book starts with a fascinating overview of how everything is interconnected. The […]

  • Why Good Things Happen to Good People

    Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to live a longer, healthier, happier life by the simple act of giving by Stephen Post and Jill Neimark Stephen Post is head of the Institute for Research into Unlimited Love, an organisation that funds and collates love-related studies. In this book, he and his fellow author […]

  • The Great Upshift

    The Great Upshift. Humanity’s Coming Advance Toward Peace and Harmony on the Planet by Ervin Laszlo and David Lorimer  This collection of essays by 32 prominent scientists and thinkers holds the promise that the multiple crises we face in today’s world will not end in ruin. Rather, the very problems we face will lead to […]

  • The Living Language of Water

    The Living Language of Water by Veda Austin Veda Austin captures the way water responds to the influences around it. Using a simple freezing technique, she photographs its symmetrical patterns, and the pictures it forms that echo photos the water has been exposed to. She shows how water responds to the emotions of people who […]

  • The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

    The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People        By Gary Chapman & Paul White You’ve probably heard of the five ‘love languages’, which are the different ways that people show love, or like to have it shown to them. Chapman and White have applied this concept to the ways that […]

  • The Myth of Normal

    The Myth of Normal. Illness, health & healing in a toxic culture by Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté It can be daunting to start a hefty book like this one, but the authors’ style is friendly and easy to read. Father and son Gabor and Daniel Maté talk about unwellness in the form of physical […]

  • The Happiness Hypothesis

    The Happiness Hypothesis. Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt This thoroughly researched book gives a comprehensive overview of happiness, drawing on philosophy, psychology, ancient traditions and modern scientific knowledge, noting where they agree and where they differ. The cover features a person riding an elephant – a recurring metaphor throughout the book. […]