The Self-Love Book Club is Back (& IN PERSON!)

Reading has played such an important role in my own personal growth and transformation. When there was wisdom I was seeking, when I wasn’t sure where to turn, or what to do next, there was almost always a book to point me in the right direction.

Of course a book alone won’t change your life. We need to turn inwards and tune into what we already know. You can’t learn anything you aren’t ready to hear. But a powerful book can help us look at the world in new ways, offer guidance or encouragement when we’re feeling lost, and reinforce the new beliefs we’re forming.

Self-love is a commitment we make to our relationship with our self. A promise to put ourselves first. A pledge to completely accept who we are, right now, in this present moment. But it doesn’t have to be a solitary journey. By connecting with other people who are on this same adventure and as deeply invested in their own growth as I am, I am led to new insights. My life fills with more joy. And I move along this path of self-love with more ease.

For all of these reasons, I started the Self-Love Book Club. It began as a digital project connecting like-minded women online as we read a book each month, sharing our thoughts, reflecting on how what we’d read pertained to our own lives, and how we wanted to put these new lessons into action.

In August, after one year and 12 books, I put the club on hiatus while I tried to figure out what it’s future would look like. Over the few months while we’ve been dormant, I’ve had continued interest in the group and old and new members of the club have expressed their desire for me to bring it back.

So, that’s exactly what I’m doing. During the first week of January I’ll be announcing our first book of the new year.

But here’s the really exciting part:

I’m going to be co-hosting an in-person Self-Love Book Club in London with the lovely Nicola. We’ll meet once a month to discuss the book in person alongside the online discussion and monthly recap posts. I love the power of our digital community but I think it’s important to get offline and meet our tribes face to face. To laugh and connect and share cups of tea over deep conversations.

There will be limited places for the in-person book club, so if you’d like to join us, please drop me an email.

If you’re not based in London, never fear. You can always join us on Facebook. And I encourage you to consider becoming a book club leader yourself. For anyone interested, I’ll be sending over a PDF of tips for putting together a book club in your own town and each month I’ll send you over some reflection questions and pointers for facilitating the discussion with your group. Just send me an email to let me know where you’re based and tell me a bit about yourself. Then I’ll together a directory of all the participating clubs, so that you can find out whether there’s one near you.

I’m so excited to get back into the book club and meet some of you for the first time (!!!). In the meantime, let me know: will you be joining us online or in-person? What should we add to the reading list this year?

Hugs and kisses,

Images by Justin Ryan Vaughan.