Reading your way to inner peace: books that heal the mind and spirit

IOL News

18-07-2025

The right book doesn't just entertain - it can hold your hand through life's darker passages.
Image: Pexels/Gabby K
In times of emotional fatigue or spiritual uncertainty, literature can be a balm.
The right book doesn't just entertain - it can hold your hand through life's darker passages, help you make sense of complex inner turmoil and remind you that you are not alone.
Whether you're on a quest for healing, self-acceptance or ancestral understanding, these three titles offer comfort, insight and a way to reconnect with yourself, your story and your spirit.
'Journey Kwantu" explores African spirituality with the kind of intimacy, curiosity and courage rarely found in mainstream discourse.
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'Journey Kwantu' by Vusumzi Ngxande
Based on the widely followed podcast 'Journey Kwantu", this deeply personal and thought-provoking book explores African spirituality with the kind of intimacy, curiosity and courage rarely found in mainstream discourse.
Ngxande invites readers into a conversation that has long remained taboo, especially within religious and culturally conservative circles.
'Kwantu means home,' Ngxande explains, anchoring the text in the yearning for spiritual belonging.
The book is a profound excavation of belief systems rooted in African soil, mapping their evolution through colonisation, Christian missionary influence and post-apartheid identity politics.
Through meticulous historical research, personal reflection and interviews with healers, spiritual teachers and everyday South Africans, 'Journey Kwantu' asks hard questions: Who are we? What do we believe - and why?
It challenges the binary often forced upon Black South Africans: be loyal to your Christian faith or honour your ancestors. But what if spirituality isn't a question of either or?
Ngxande writes candidly about his own struggles - wrestling with the meaning of death, the concept of the afterlife, ancestral authority versus the Christian God and how to navigate ritual life in modern urban spaces.
He explores how spiritual lineage shapes personal identity and the psychological costs of abandoning traditions under pressure to conform.
'How to Be Enough' is a soothing and empowering companion for those who are ready to live fully, not perfectly.
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'How to Be Enough: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists' by Dr Ellen Hendriksen
Do you constantly chase the next achievement but secretly feel like a fraud? Are you your own harshest critic?
You're not alone - and you may be dealing with perfectionism, the silent inner wrecker that convinces high achievers that nothing they do is ever good enough.
In the book, Hendriksen, a clinical psychologist, offers an insightful and compassionate guide to untangling the roots of perfectionism.
With warm humour and clinical expertise, she provides a roadmap to turn relentless self-improvement into radical self-acceptance.
Perfectionism, she argues, isn't really about being perfect - it's about never feeling like you are.
It shows up as constant self-monitoring, paralysing procrastination, shame over the smallest slip-ups and the chronic fear of being exposed as an impostor.
But Hendriksen doesn't advocate throwing your high standards out the window; instead, she teaches readers how to keep their ambition and cultivate kindness toward themselves.
The book is structured around seven practical mindset shifts - moving from self-criticism to self-compassion, from control to authenticity, from comparison to contentment.
Along the way, Hendriksen helps readers rewrite their inner narratives, identify the origins of their impossible standards and build genuine human connections instead of chasing admiration.
Perfect for anyone tired of the exhausting pursuit of flawlessness, 'How to Be Enough' is a soothing and empowering companion for those who are ready to live fully, not perfectly.
'The Lost Language of the Soul' follows the journey of 14-year-old Joseph Mabaso, a boy forced to grow up far too soon when his mother mysteriously disappears.
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'The Lost Language of the Soul' by Mandla Langa
In this evocative coming-of-age novel, celebrated South African writer Mandla Langa delivers a touching tale of loss, courage and the search for identity.
The book follows the journey of 14-year-old Joseph Mabaso, a boy forced to grow up far too soon when his mother mysteriously disappears.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s Southern Africa, Mabaso's father is a freedom fighter who is often absent.
But when his mother vanishes without explanation, he begins a dangerous quest that takes him from Lusaka through the war-scarred landscapes of southern Africa, eventually landing in Johannesburg.
What starts as a desperate search for his mother turns into a profound journey of self-discovery.
Mabaso encounters a host of unforgettable characters along the way - each one illuminating a different facet of survival, resilience and resistance.
Langa masterfully intertwines political history with deeply personal storytelling.
The novel is filled with lyrical passages about the power of language, the importance of memory and the spiritual significance of home, not just as a place, but as something carried within.