Craving some mysticism in your mundane life? Here are five books—including both fiction and nonfiction—for when you want to believe in magic again.
1. Healing Ceremonies: Creating Personal Rituals for Spiritual, Emotional, Physical and Mental Health by Carl A. Hammerschlag, M.D., and Howard D. Silverman, M.D.
A few years ago, I found this late-1990s nonfiction/self-help book in a local second-hand bookstore and had a strange, intuitive feeling that it would change my life. Written by a Yale-trained psychiatrist and a physician, Healing Ceremonies provides the perfect intersection of science-backed routines and spiritual traditions, helping readers create their own personalized healing rituals. I’ve referenced and revisited this book countless times, especially when enduring challenging periods (e.g., breakups, health issues, anxious spirals), finding comfort in this magical approach to life and self-healing.
Synopsis: “Yale-trained psychiatrist and internationally recognized author, lecturer and healer Carl A. Hammerschlag—a leading proponent of the mind-body-spirit approach to health—offers a practical, powerful technique for creating personal rituals for health. Written with physician Howard Silverman, this book tells the stories of people who have confronted health problems and life events with powerful ceremonies, and offers step-by-step guidelines for building healing ceremonies of our own.”
2. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
My dad is my biggest fan, especially when it comes to my writing career. So, when he purchased Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert for me as a gift, I couldn’t wait to dive in.
But contrary to popular belief, this book isn’t just for writers and creatives; it’s for anyone looking to add a bit of magic to their life—to find beauty in the mundane and explore their purpose.
Synopsis: “Gilbert offers insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.”
3. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed
If you’ve ever read The Rumpus’s infamous advice column “Dear Sugar,” you know just how many lost souls have found solace in the community. The once-anonymous columnist “Sugar” is also the wildly popular author Cheryl Strayed, whose raw vulnerability, authenticity, and honesty provide solace for readers.
Tiny Beautiful Things is a collection of some of the column’s best posts (and some never-before-published ones). This book found me at my lowest and healed my jaded, broken heart with wholesome, hopeful stories of the human experience.
Synopsis: “Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills – and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar – the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild – is the person thousands turn to for advice.
“Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar in one place and includes never-before-published columns and a new introduction by Steve Almond. Rich with humor, insight, compassion – and absolute honesty – this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.”
4. Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim
Now onto fiction…
When I stumbled upon Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim, I was instantly captivated by both the cover design and the synopsis. A novel about a tea-leaf-reading psychic who flees to Paris with her quirky aunt and embarks on a whimsical self-discovery journey? Sign me up. This lighthearted story will remind you of the simple charm and beauty of life.
Synopsis: “Vanessa Yu never wanted to see people’s fortunes — or misfortunes — in tea leaves.
“Ever since she can remember, Vanessa Yu has been able to see people’s fortunes at the bottom of their teacups. To avoid blurting out their fortunes, she converts to coffee, but somehow fortunes escape and find a way to complicate her life and the ones of those around her. To add to this plight, her romance life is so nonexistent that her parents enlist the services of a matchmaking expert from Shanghai.
“The day before her matchmaking appointment, Vanessa accidentally sees her own fate: death by traffic accident. She decides that she can’t truly live until she can find a way to get rid of her uncanny abilities. When her eccentric aunt, Evelyn, shows up with a tempting offer to whisk her away, Vanessa says au revoir to America and bonjour to Paris. While working at Evelyn’s tea stall at a Parisian antique market, Vanessa performs some matchmaking of her own, attempting to help reconnect her aunt with a lost love. As she learns more about herself and the root of her gifts, she realizes one thing to be true: knowing one’s destiny isn’t a curse, but being unable to change it is.”
5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This list wouldn’t be complete without The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The beloved classic novel holds profound spiritual wisdom, blending folklore and mysticism for a magical reading experience. Simply put, the book reminds readers to pursue their own true calling, no matter what that might look like to them.
Synopsis: “Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom, and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.
“Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago’s journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, most importantly, following our dreams.”
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