Kalia’s Favorites from 2019

We are all looking to connect. We connect with hope and love, through pain, and on levels both seen and unseen.

Well into my eighth year with S&H, I’m continually inspired by the people I get to connect with: readers who are seekers and share their wisdom thoughtfully, experts who share generously from their well of practices and knowledge, and book publishers who send me the most incredible selection of titles to peruse so I can share the best books with you.

Here are some of the stories from the past year that moved me, inspired me, and gave me delightful goosebumps:

Understanding inflammation in the body, and ways to calm it, was a hot topic this past year. We shared many stories on the subject, and I especially loved learning how to fight inflammation with food and added a delicious new anti-inflammation meal to my dinner roster.

Fascinated by how we hold stress and emotion in our body, I was fascinated by this exploration of the pelvic floor and this practice for untangling emotional pain from physical pain.

I was honored this year to bring even more poetry to our readers—if you want to be inspired by the written word, start a correspondence with a poet. Naomi Shihab Nye was exceptionally generous with her insight and stories, and Deborah Anne Quibell touched my heart and soul. “A Thousand Ways” explores the many ways to express devotion, (“Hold me in the sacred spaces of your heart / as the wind that calls you on.”), and “The Yellow Boat” was one of those poems that arrived at the perfect moment. (Be sure to listen to the poet reading the poem.)

I sift through mountainous piles of incredible books, so it was especially fun to curate our special print section that shared more than 100 Books We Love, (Subscriber login required.)

What were your favorite stories? What would you like to see more of—or less of—in 2020? Let us know at [email protected].