Some authors have done all this with gentleness and ease, even while writing about heavy themes. Their honesty has created a safe space to explore and process difficult emotions. So here’s a list of authors who I’ve felt taken care of by. They live in my head rent free, and their words breathe hope and warmth into my days. I’ve added excerpts and quotes from some of their books here, and I hope you find something that comforts you too. Want more? Check out these articles: How Rereading Brings Comfort and How To Find Your Perfect Comfort Read. Here’s a stanza from her poem So Much Happiness: “Since there is no place large enoughto contain so much happiness,you shrug, you raise your hands, and it flows out of youinto everything you touch. You are not responsible.You take no credit, as the night sky takes no creditfor the moon, but continues to hold it, and share it,and in that way, be known.” Here’s a word of advice from The Inexplicable Logic of My Life: “I told you that there were only two things you needed to learn in life. You needed to learn how to forgive. And you needed to learn how to be happy.” To see what I’m talking about, just look at this illustration from Create Your Own Calm. Here’s a excerpt from The Humans. “Advice for a human.90. But know this. Men are not from Mars. Women are not from Venus. Do not fall for categories. Everyone is everything. Every ingredient inside a star is inside you, and every personality that ever existed competes in the theatre of your mind for the main role.” Here’s an excerpt from Anxious People: “Some people accept that they will never be free of their anxiety, they just learn to carry it. She tried to be one of them. She told herself that was why you should always be nice to other people, even idiots, because you never know how heavy their burden is.” I don’t have the vocabulary to describe her work. So here’s a Ted Talk where she tells us why she writes what she writes about. Here’s a line from his latest poetry collection Time Is A Mother: “The most beautiful part of your bodyis where it’s headed. & remember,loneliness is still time spentwith the world.” Here’s an excerpt from their poem The Year of No Grudges: “I love you because we both have showed up to kindness tryouts with notes from the school nurse that said we were too hurt to participate.But we learned how wrong we wereand weren’t those the best days when we learned how wrong we were”
