Last year when I was really struggling, I read three books that made a huge difference for me. The first was a book of poetry, Keep Moving, by Maggie Smith. It’s a lovely book, born of deep heartache and sorrow, that helped me begin to put myself back together. It gave me a language to describe my pain and hope that I could heal. The second was Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff, which helped me learn to accept the situation that I was in and to become more conscious and aware of my emotional responses. The third was Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age by Bruce Feiler. This one in particular put me on the path that I have been following ever since. It showed me that our lives are mostly lived in phases of turbulence and that, when faced with adversity, we have a choice: we can suffer or we can create a new life for ourselves.