Each month at Beautiful Mind, we gather around one book — not just to read, but to pause, reflect, and let new stories open something inside us.
The Invitation
At Beautiful Mind, we believe books can be more than stories — they can be lifelines, lanterns, and mirrors. Bibliotherapy is the art and science of using literature to support emotional well-being, spark self-discovery, and open new ways of seeing yourself and the world.
Rooted in psychology, bibliotherapy invites you to engage with books that resonate with your inner life. Sometimes a single line can name what you’ve been feeling for years; sometimes a story can offer comfort, courage, or clarity when you need it most.
Our Beautiful Mind Book Club blends the joy of reading with the therapeutic benefits of reflection. Each month, we highlight one book — chosen for its power to inspire, challenge, or soothe — along with thoughtful prompts to help you carry its wisdom into your own life.
The purpose of the Book Club — and the reflections that come with it — is to empower you: to slow down, to notice, and to weave each book’s wisdom into your everyday life. Because sometimes, the right words arrive exactly when you need them.
Read at your own pace — no deadlines, no pressure.
Create your own reflections — use our prompts to deepen your connection with the book.
Let the words work on you — it’s not about finishing quickly, but about letting what resonates take root.
Why We Chose It: November's Book
Katherine May writes about what it means to move through life’s winters — the difficult, quiet seasons when the world asks us to slow down. Her words are a reminder that rest is not weakness, and retreat is not failure — they are essential rhythms of being human.
Choosing Wintering for November felt right: the light is fading, the air is colder, and we begin to crave stillness. This book invites us to honour that call, to see winter not as an ending but as a tender space for renewal.
Permission to Rest
May reframes rest as preparation, not idleness. Where in your life can you give yourself permission to pause this month?
Seasons of the Soul
Wintering is described as a season of the soul — times when we turn inward. What inner season are you in right now, and how might you tend to it with care?
Renewal in Retreat
In every retreat lies the possibility of renewal. How might slowing down be an act of renewal for you this November?
Here’s to minds that are curious, hearts that are open, and stories that help us become.
Jocelyn
Why We Chose It: October’s Book
Autumn often brings a rush of new schedules, responsibilities, and the pressure to keep up. That’s why this month, our Beautiful Mind Book Club is reading Claudia Hammond’s The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in the Modern Age — a gentle reminder that rest is not indulgence, but necessity.
In this book, Hammond explores the many forms rest can take — from time in nature to listening to music — showing us that it’s not only about sleep but about nourishing our minds and bodies in ways that restore balance. Her words remind us that rest is where creativity, calm, and resilience begin.
Launching Beautiful Mind’s Book Club with The Art of Rest felt right: because here, we are not glorifying busyness. We are reclaiming the art of rest as an act of empowerment, self-care, and presence.
Redefining Rest
Hammond shows us that rest takes many forms beyond sleep.
What activities bring you the deepest sense of rest — and how often do you allow yourself to lean into them?
Permission to Pause
October can feel like a race to keep up.
Where can you grant yourself permission to pause, even briefly, without guilt?
Rest as Renewal
Rest is where creativity and resilience begin.
How does rest replenish you — and how might you create more space for it this month?
Here’s to minds that are curious, hearts that are open, and stories that help us become.
Jocelyn




