Books for Grown-Ups
Poetry, nonfiction, spiritual exploration, and journals by Sarah Woodard
Welcome to the grown-up side of my bookshelf!
Here you'll find poetry, books about spiritual practices and personal exploration, nonfiction, and a growing collection of journals and workbooks.
Some of these books invite you to consider familiar experiences from a different perspective. Others offer practices to try, subjects to learn about, or pages for recording your own thoughts.
They don't all have the same purpose, and you don't have to approach them with the same beliefs.
Take a look around and choose whatever interests you.
Introduction: A Little Something for Different Interests
I have never been particularly good at limiting my interests to one subject.
I love poetry. I love Nature photography. I'm fascinated by the relationships among people, the natural world, and the ways we understand our experiences. I've also spent years exploring spiritual traditions and practices, especially the questions they raise about being human.
Writing gives me different ways to share those interests.
A poem might capture an observation that would lose something if I explained it in several paragraphs. A nonfiction book can make room for a more sustained exploration. A practical guide can introduce exercises for readers who want to try something themselves. And a journal creates space for your words instead of mine.
That's why this page contains several kinds of books. You might enjoy one category and have no interest in another. That's exactly how it should be.
Finding the Kind of Book You're Looking For
Have you ever picked up a book because the subject sounded interesting, only to discover it expected you to believe something you didn't?
Or found a book labeled self-help when what you really wanted was a practical guide to a particular activity?
Perhaps you're looking for poetry, but you don't want someone telling you what you're supposed to feel when you read it.
Different readers want different things from books.
You might want a few poems to read over coffee. You might be curious about meditation or spiritual guides. You might be looking for a book that combines Nature photography with personal reflections.
And sometimes you might want a journal that makes you happy to pick up a pen.
I've organized my books into categories so you can find the subjects and formats that interest you without having to sort through everything else.
Explore the Collection
Poetry
Poetry has a way of giving an observation, memory, or feeling its own space.
You can read a poem in a minute and spend much longer thinking about it. You might connect with the words immediately, or return to them months later and notice something different.
My poetry collections reflect subjects I've explored through writing, including human experience, connection, and the natural world.
You don't need to read them in any particular order. Start with whichever title interests you.
Spiritual Practice & Personal Exploration
Learning to Hear Your Guides, Levels 1–3 · Cultivating Presence
These books are for readers interested in exploring specific spiritual and mindfulness practices.
The Learning to Hear Your Guides books address different aspects of that exploration:
Learning to Hear Your Guides Level 1: Preparation and Meditation
Learning to Hear Your Guides Level 3: Connecting and Receiving
If you're interested in this subject, the levels provide a clear sequence to explore.
Cultivating Presence: 365 Mindfulness Activities for Daily Living offers a different kind of experience, with activities centered on mindfulness and everyday awareness.
You can choose the approach that interests you without feeling that you need to explore everything on this page.
Cultivating Presence: 365 Mindfulness Activities for Daily Living
Journals & Workbooks
Coming Soon: The Grateful Outdoors Collection
I'm developing a collection of journals inspired by Nature, gratitude, and the experience of paying attention to the world around us.
Sometimes you want to write, and you sit down with a blank notebook and can't decide where to begin. A thoughtfully designed journal can offer a starting point without deciding what your experience should mean.
The journals in The Grateful Outdoors Collection are intended to be enjoyable in their own right.
You won't need to buy a course, follow a program, or explore any of my other work to use them.
The first journal is still in development. I'll share the finished details, available formats, and purchase information once it's ready.
Non- Fiction
Exploring Nature, belonging, spirituality, and the patterns of being human
My nonfiction books grow from questions I've spent years exploring.
What happens when we pay closer attention to Nature? Why do so many people struggle to feel that they belong? What can we learn from the similarities among spiritual traditions? And how do our assumptions influence the ways we experience ourselves and one another?
These questions connect my nonfiction work, but each book approaches them from a different direction.
Some draw on my Nature photography and personal observations. Others explore the Tree of Life, comparative mysticism, or the relationships that make genuine belonging possible.
You don't have to share my beliefs to read them. I enjoy examining ideas, finding connections, and leaving room for readers to consider what those ideas mean to them.
How to Choose Your Next Read
You don't need a reading plan to explore this collection.
Start with what you're interested in today.
1. Choose a category. If you're in the mood for poetry, head straight there. If you're interested in mindfulness activities, explore the spiritual practice books. If you're curious about Nature, belonging, or the Tree of Life, take a look at the nonfiction collection.
2. Browse the covers and titles. Each category contains the books currently listed in that part of my catalog.
3. Follow the purchase link. Click the cover of a book that interests you to see its available editions and current purchase information.
4. Enjoy the book on its own terms. A poetry collection doesn't require you to study spirituality. A mindfulness book doesn't require you to buy a journal. And a journal doesn't require you to read anything else first.
You get to decide what belongs on your bookshelf.
Different Books, Different Experiences
I enjoy writing in several forms because they give readers different ways to engage with a subject.
Poetry offers language you can sit with and interpret for yourself.
Spiritual practice books introduce subjects and activities you may want to explore through personal experience.
Nonfiction gives me room to examine questions about Nature, perception, belonging, spirituality, and human relationships in greater depth. As the collection grows, different books will explore different aspects of those interests.
Journals and workbooks offer space for you to participate by writing, recording, or reflecting.
These differences matter when you're choosing a book.
Someone looking for a practical activity might be disappointed by a poetry collection, even if they love poetry. Someone interested in comparative mysticism might be drawn to a different nonfiction title than someone who wants to spend time with Nature photography.
I want you to know what kind of experience you're choosing.
And I want each book to stand on its own, without suggesting that there's a particular destination you need to reach by reading it.
What readers are saying
