summer stack: 7 books on my nightstand right now
“how we deal with smaller changes now is a sign of how we’ll deal with bigger changes later.”
—pema chödrön
Though I’m always in the middle of a book, there’s something I love about summer reading. The longer days and slower rhythms create space for inspiration.
I’m usually out and about, so I listen to audiobooks while I walk Sunday in the sunshine, or when I’m on the road en route to a retreat. Then, before bed, I pick up a book from the stack on my nightstand.
I’m mostly a non-fiction reader. I love learning, and I’m always soaking in teachings from luminaries or diving into the latest research around mind-body healing. But I do sneak in soul-stirring stories.
And, as a Jersey girl, I can’t help but love Bruce Springsteen’s memoir—particularly the audiobook, which he reads!
In case you’re seeking book recommendations for your travels or for the beach, I want to share the top books on tap for me this season.
From Pema Chödrön writing on the transitory nature of life… to Stephanie Foo’s acclaimed memoir on trauma and healing… to my friend Dani Shapiro’s beautiful novel…
Here are the 7 summer reads that are teaching me, moving me, or keeping me grounded right now.
Speaking of books, I have some news!
My next book—The Power of the Pause: 90-Seconds to Calm, Reset, and Reconnect—is officially releasing on January 6, 2026! More details (and sneak peeks) coming soon!
big love,
jillian
How We Live is How We Die
BY PEMA CHODRON
As much as we might try to resist, endings happen in every moment—the end of a breath, the end of a day, the end of a relationship, and ultimately the end of life. And accompanying each ending is a beginning, though it may be unclear what the beginning holds. In How We Live Is How We Die, Pema Chödrön shares her wisdom for working with this flow of life—learning to live with ease, joy, and compassion through uncertainty, embracing new beginnings, and ultimately preparing for death with curiosity and openness rather than fear.
Born to Run
BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
The revealing, wildly entertaining, and bestselling memoir from the legendary Bruce Springsteen, one of the greatest songwriters and performers of any era. Born to Run is the greatest rock ‘n’ roll story ever told.
Deliver Me From Nowhere
BY WARREN ZANES
The fascinating story behind the making of Bruce Springsteen’s most surprising album, Nebraska, revealing its pivotal role in Springsteen’s career—in development as a major motion picture starring Jeremy Allen White (The Bear).
The Four Agreements
BY DON MIGUEL RUIZ
In The Four Agreements, a perennial bestseller published in dozens of languages worldwide, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.
Signal Fires
BY DANI SHAPIRO
Signal Fires opens on a summer night in 1985. Three teenagers have been drinking. One of them gets behind the wheel of a car, and, in an instant, everything on Division Street changes. Each of their lives, and that of Ben Wilf, a young doctor who arrives on the scene, is shattered. For the Wilf family, the circumstances of that fatal accident will become the deepest kind of secret, one so dangerous it can never be spoken.
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing From Complex Trauma
BY STEPHANIE FOO
Of course the Dalai Lama is an inspiration to us all! And this book is an easy to read highly impactful example of his teachings. His Holiness the Dalai Lama writes simply and powerfully about the everyday Buddhist practice of compassion, offering a clear, practical, inspiring introduction to the Buddhist path to enlightenment.
