Why Good Books Matter to Your Growth (Especially This Year)
Not every church will give you space to heal—but a good book just might.
I don’t know where—or who—I’d be if not for good books.
By “good books,” I don’t mean stories penned by Dickens and Tolkein and Alcott and Austen—although those are definitely among my favorite authors.
But I mean the writers who show up as flawed, vulnerable, very”human” humans and bravely show us the way forward as fellow strugglers.
The mentors who don’t pretend to have it all together.
The broken who use their pain to help us heal.
The sinners whose words weave sonnets of grace that land on our souls like a salve.
When I open a page and feel seen, loved, and called to a better way—I know I’ve found a “good book.”
What I Thought Was Truth—Wasn’t
I entered adulthood (more than two decades ago) carrying a lot of “shoulds” and “dos.”
I wasn’t unraveling (yet!), but there were voices in my head.
Voices that I misunderstood to be Truth.
Voices completely devoid of grace.
Over the years, I’ve slowly laid down the heaviness of church legalism and embraced the “easy” and “light” yoke that Jesus offers (Matthew 11:28-30).
But I didn’t outgrow sinful, spiritually elite mindsets by myself.
And for a long time, I didn’t outgrow them inside a faith community—because nearly everyone I was close to had the same mindsets that I did.
I grew and healed and learned better by reading good books.
Books written by Jesus-loving strugglers who had learned to trade religious guilt for extravagant grace.
Why Good Books Help When Faith Feels Heavy
If you are walking into this season with inner heaviness that you can’t name, and definitely can’t shed—become friends with good books.
Stop ruminating.
Stop ignoring.
Stop running from guilt and start running toward grace.
Yes, you will likely have to turn around and face the music in order to silence it.
Yes, you will have to acknowledge the pain before it begins to heal.
Yes, you will have to figure out where the voices of guilt came from so you can replace them with Truth.
Good books—written by Jesus-lovers who understand this grace-shaped Gospel—can help guide you forward.
Start Here: Let a Good Book Guide You
If you need a few recommendations, check out my “10 Books to Read This Year (for Grace, Growth, and Boundaries)” post.
These are the books on my reading (or re-reading) list for 2026.
I could also call this list “10 Books to Read This Year (to Heal from Guilt, Control, and Co-dependency). Because that’s pretty much the opposite of grace, growth, and healthy boundaries.
And that—guilt, control, and co-dependency— was where I was at in my 20s when I first started reaching for “good books.”
Mercifully, I found them. And I haven’t stopped reading.
Tell Me Yours: What Book Shifted Your Faith?
What about you?
Have you ever encountered a book that shifted your paradigm in a meaningful way?
What “good books” help you live more fully as a confident, healthy Christian woman (or gentlemen, if you’re a guy)?
Hit reply or drop me a comment… I’d love to hear.