I love sharing literature within my podcast and with my clients. Literature is the deeper psychology, the narrative of human beings fleshed out in nuanced, creative patterns. Although I love relationship research, story teaches us more. The following are some of the greatest stories about humanity that I have read to date.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien (also Tolkien’s Letters)
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
All of Jane Austen, but particularly Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White – encapsulates all of life so well, season by season, for kids and adults
Much of African American lit
Boundaries, Cloud & Townsend
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom
Hatchet, Gary Paulson
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Betty Smith
All of the character-driven Ramona Quimby series books, Beverly Cleary
Superfudge, Judy Blume
Harriet the Spy – Lois Fitzhough – her developmental accuracy is amazing. The wry humor and life lessons please readers of any age.