Annie’s Book Club No. 03
Reading as a tool to feel. This column explores five books that have opened my heart, activated my instinct and sparked lots of joy. Are you feeling curious yet?
Alchemy, to me, is the act of feeling. And books help me do that. Just like the Drops, they mirror something back. Something I already know, but may not yet be conscious of. A sense, a quality or a desire.
But reading great stories is not just a tool for me to become more self-aware. It is a way for me to disappear into my bubble. To wander. Sometimes a book helps me to understand myself more, and sometimes a book allows me to simply dream.
That is why I love the selection below. These books carry both depth and giggles; reflection and pleasure. For this third Book Club, I am sharing five books that have helped me feel more deeply, while also reminding me of how good it feels to get lost in a story.
01.
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés is a book full of fairy tales. You can read the stories as fiction, or choose to go deeper into the psychological layers of the characters and their archetypes.
Author Estés unpacks the stories through the lens of psychology, with reflections that remind me of the theories of Carl Jung. It is a book about instinct, intuition and the parts of ourselves we were taught to forget. The book showed me how often I tap into my intuition without realising it. I was gifted this book by my mother and it is one of my favourite books to date.
My biggest take-away? The great wisdom we carry inside of our bodies
Want to know the Flower Remedy I thought of when reading this book?
The Chicory Flower Remedy gives me a sense of emotional maturity. Think soft strength.
02.
Alice in the Land of Ideas by Roger-Pol Droit has reminded me to stay curious. Alice is falling into a strange world where nothing is what it seems. I read the book during my trip to Mozambique last year. I devoured the entire story in one single day!
In this book, Alice travels through time and meets many great thinkers from history. Her perspective inspired me to wonder, to question and to reflect on what feels true. The story shows how time can be our biggest teacher and how the journey of self-discovery can be light-hearted too.
My biggest take-away? Truth is never found in one single version of the story, but in the courage to question it from every angle
03.
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy is about the beliefs that dictate our lives. The book reminded me that we can deeply desire something, while unconsciously holding on to a fear or conviction that blocks us from receiving it.
My biggest take-away? It takes courage to be honest with ourselves about what it is that we fear and desire
04.
Hour of the Heart by Irvin D. Yalom moved me. Yalom is a well-known American psychiatrist that wrote this book together with his son, Benjamin.
He writes about his memory becoming blurry and how that forced him to change the way he has famously practiced his work. The story shows how much courage it takes to be honest about our insecurities, but also how much joy and relief reside in feeling truly seen.
My biggest take-away? The power of vulnerability
05.
The Way of Inanna by Seana Zelazo is based on the myth of the ancient goddess. Inanna descends into the underworld and passes through seven gates. At each gate, she is asked to let go of something she wears, until she arrives stripped of everything she believed was valuable.
Again a book that touches on one of the theories of Carl Jung: the idea that transformation happens by meeting the parts of ourselves we tend to avoid. The ego or the shadow, the layers we use to feel safe.
Inanna’s voyage reminded me of how I have to lose the version of myself that I perform, in order to meet something more true.
My biggest take-away? Trust and confidence grow, as we face our fears
Want to know the Flower Remedy I thought of when reading this book?
The Willow Flower Remedy gives me a sense of determination and lightness. Think letting go lovingly.
I see a parallel between books and Flower Remedies. For someone new to the Drops: they can show you where you are holding on, protecting yourself, hiding or resisting. They mirror back an emotional pattern.
In that sense, both Jungian psychology and Flower Remedies work with unconscious behaviour. They help make visible what we might already feel, but not yet fully understand. And that is what alchemy means to me: not escaping the discomfort, but letting it reveal what feels true inside.
At first, these five books seemed very different. One moves through myths and fairy tales, one through philosophy and one through the subconscious mind. But while writing this column, I realised they all point to the same truth. They reminded me that self-inquiry is not about having all the answers, but about becoming honest enough to listen.
My invitation to you:
What is a book that has helped you come closer to yourself? And what are the tools that help you feel? A book, a song, a walk, a conversation, a Drop or a memory?
If one of these titles speaks to you, or if you want to recommend me a book I should definitely know about, I would love for you to reach out. Send us an email, or tag @anniesalchemia.
