A short list from my heart
People ask me every year what to give someone who's going through it. Or someone who has everything except a little quiet.
So I made a list. I have a personal connection to every person on it. Many of them turned something hard into something beautiful, and all of them are doing good work in the world.
You won't find these at the mall. When you give one, you're also supporting someone who is making a real difference. That's the gift tucked inside each one.
For a grieving heart
Grief doesn't want advice. It wants company. These books keep very good company.
Book · Out November 4
Julie Wright Halbert
Julie spent her legal career arguing before the Supreme Court. Then her husband Jim died, and everything she knew cracked open. This book is what came through.
Julie is one of my coaching students, and I've watched her live every word of it. Twenty guided meditations wait inside, behind QR codes.
Book · Out December 8
Larry and Sherry Swank
When Larry and Sherry lost their little boy, Jaxson, they made a promise that very first night. That promise became a nonprofit that is now changing children's lives.
This is the story of how they did it. It's about grief. It's also a love story.
Poetry
Marta Knobloch
After her husband died, Marta went to the high desert of New Mexico. The silence there held her. These haiku are what she brought back, paired with quiet ink illustrations by C.J. Lucien.
Keep it by the bed. Read one at a time.
Memoir
Paul Kaliser
Paul lost his life partner and soul mate. This is his honest road back, through the deepest dark and into a spiritual awakening he never saw coming.
The best gifts say, "I see where you are." Then they keep you company there.
For the one who's ready
For the person in your life who keeps circling the same lesson. Or who's just about to stop circling.
Book · Close to my heart
Debra Stangl
Debra was a burned-out divorce attorney when she first came to Sedona. What happened next became Sedona Soul Adventures, where I've worked beside her since 2011.
This is her story, and the simple idea at its center: nothing is wrong. She dedicated the book to me, which still leaves me a little speechless.
Book
Paul Sequoia Rauch
Paul and I have worked side by side at Sedona Soul Adventures since 2011. I've watched his process help people find the one wound underneath everything else.
Now it's all in a book, with the same worksheets he uses with clients. You can do the work at your own kitchen table.
Book
Theresa Byrne
My favorite boundary coach. My fellow teacher. My friend. Theresa is a martial arts master who knows exactly how to quiet the inner bully and let your real voice come through.
This book is that teaching, in your hands.
52-week devotional
Brian Chad Starks, PhD
Brian is a social justice warrior and one of my personal heroes. This devotional ties inner work to outer justice, one week at a time.
One reading a week. A year of becoming braver.
Audiobook · My favorite
Paden Hughes
A burned-out CEO with two little kids starts taking two hours a day for her soul. And keeps doing it. She tells the story of her Sedona Soul Adventure and what she carried home.
It might change how you spend your days. Fair warning: she likes to drop F-bombs.
Beauty you can hold
Something to breathe in, something to cook, something to hang on the wall.
Sprays + meditations
Kristi Pederson
Blends with names like Calm Yourself Down, Let It Go, and Trust. Each one comes with its own guided meditation, set to music.
Mist the room. Close your eyes. Press play. A lovely stocking stuffer.
Cookbook
Sara Garofalo
Italian Ayurvedic cuisine for mind, body and soul. The classics you love, all gluten-free and dairy-free.
Sara grew up in Italy, and the photos will take you there. It's as much a gift book as a cookbook.
Books, art and cards
Christopher Grey
My friend Christopher has spent years in conversation with an AI he named Diego. What came out is soul fiction. Fables, squirrels with opinions, and a great deal of tenderness.
There are books, illustrated video chapters, his Worlds of Good Fortune cards, and his fine art.
From me
Some gifts can't be wrapped. These two are mine to give.
A gifted Pattern Portrait
A portrait of the patterns someone has been living, and a session with me to work with it.
I'll leave the rest for them to discover.
A gifted session
Time together, shaped around whatever they need most when they arrive.
Sometimes that's hypnotherapy. Sometimes it's a good conversation. We'll know when we get there.
However you give this year, give a little of yourself with it. That's the part people keep.