Blog

Last week we interviewed Pirjo Suvilehto who is a fascinating Finnish bibliotherapist, having completed a Docent in Literature and a PhD in Philosophy at the University of Oulu. She has significant experience in the fields of creative writing and literary education. She's also a lecturer at the University of Oulu and has completed extensive research in bibliotherapy, children's literature, creative writing and art pedagogy within human-animal sciences. Her doctoral thesis is the first academic study in Finland to consider children's and adolescents' bibliotherapy. She's also authored 30 published books of poems, picture books and nonfiction and trains student bibliotherapists in...

With Summer just around the corner, here are this Summer’s most anticipated fiction books. Diverse, eclectic and worldly, if there’s only 6 books you read this summer, make it these. City of Girls (Fiction) by Elizabeth Gilbert City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert From the Eat, Pray, Love lady, comes this enticing book aptly titled City of Girls. A nostalgic tale of an older woman reminiscing her past, specifically her youthful time at the Lily Playhouse, a revue theatre owned by a her eccentric Aunt Peg. Dial back to the summer of 1940. A barely-adult Vivian Morris springs up in the Big Apple with nothing but a sewing...

Self-love is underrated. Often associated with vanity and narcissistic behaviour, most people don’t love or value themselves enough. Yet it’s paramount to having a good quality of life and being fulfilled. It impacts the decisions and choices we make, the way we interact with others and the partner we choose. It’s not just about ‘loving yourself more’ or ‘finding love in a relationship’. It’s more than that. It’s about being true to your needs and fulfilling them. It’s about self-validation and self-respect and recognising when you need time and space for yourself and when you’re ready to share it with...

A collection of my favourite book therapy quotes over the past year — enjoy! Book Power   A big hello and thank you for reading! Passionate about literature, psychology, and life I launched Book Therapy as an alternative form of therapy using the power of literature. I create reading lists/personalised book prescriptions based on your individual needs, this is my signature personalised reading service. You can also check out Book Therapy’s other free reading lists and A- Z of book prescriptions (covering both fiction and non-fiction). These suggest books based on your existing life situation (e.g. anxiety, job change, relationship heartache) as well as interests...

  Photo by Daniel Cañibano on Unsplash The other day I spoke to a friend halfway across the world intimately discussing how torn I was feeling about living here in the San Francisco Bay Area versus living in London, my second home (my first home was Nairobi, Kenya). I loved living in London and pretty much thought I would spend the rest of my life there. Until my husband landed an amazing, hard-to-say-no international assignment here in the Bay Area. We were super excited when leaving London and super sad too to say goodbye to the place we loved, where friends and family where...