📚 My Recommended Reading List
Books on Sparrows & Birds in the Bible, Prayer & Solitude, Grief & Healing, and More
Curated by Lucy | silverlakesound.com
These are the books that have shaped my walk with God, my prayer life, and my journey toward emotional and spiritual healing. I don't recommend books lightly — each one here has left a real mark on me. I've linked every book to Amazon so you can grab a copy easily, and some have Kindle or Audible versions too.
📌 As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my links — at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this blog!
🐦 Sparrows & Birds in the Bible — What God Says About You
One of the most-searched topics that brings people to this blog is the meaning of sparrows and swallows in the Bible. If you found me looking for what the sparrow or swallow in scripture means — you're in the right place. This book will take you much deeper into biblical bird imagery and what it reveals about God's care and grace.
🕊️ Consider the Birds: A Provocative Guide to Birds of the Bible — by Debbie Blue
This book is a gem. Debbie Blue — a Yale Divinity School graduate and pastor — takes 10 birds from Scripture, including the sparrow and the dove, and digs into what they reveal about humanity, faith, and God's mysterious grace. It is scholarly but deeply readable, funny at times, and genuinely moving. If the sparrow and swallow passages in the Bible have stirred something in you, this book will take that wonder and run with it. Also available in Kindle.
→ Paperback on Amazon → | Kindle Edition →
🪶 The Birds of the Bible — by Gene Stratton-Porter
Gene Stratton-Porter was one of the most beloved American naturalists and novelists of the early 1900s — and she spent three years preparing this book. It contains every reference to birds in the Bible, describing each species, its location in scripture, and its characteristics. Stratton-Porter's writing is both informative and poetic, drawing on her own deep love of nature and birds to bring the biblical accounts alive. A beautiful, one-of-a-kind book for anyone who loves birds and scripture equally. Also available as a Kindle edition.
🙏 Prayer, Solitude & Praying Like Jesus
My post on why Jesus prayed alone consistently brings people to this blog from all over the world — including searches in Spanish and Portuguese. If you're hungry to understand Jesus' prayer life, to develop your own, or to learn what the Desert Fathers knew about solitude and silence, these are the books I keep returning to.
📿 The Practice of the Presence of God — by Brother Lawrence
This is a staple. Brother Lawrence was a 17th century monk who discovered that washing dishes could be as holy as kneeling at an altar — because God is present in every moment, not just the 'spiritual' ones. This specific edition includes illustrations and extra material about Brother Lawrence's life, which makes it especially beautiful to sit with. If you are building a prayer life or learning to practice God's presence throughout your day, start here.
→ Original Edition | Illustrated Paperback Edition →
🌿 The Way of the Heart — by Henri Nouwen
Nouwen writes about solitude, silence, and prayer through the lens of the Desert Fathers — and it is the most honest, beautiful answer I have found to the question of why Jesus needed to be alone to pray. This is a short book but it goes very deep. I have given this one away more times than I can count.
🛐 The Way of a Pilgrim — by R.M. French
A Russian pilgrim wanders through 19th century Russia learning to pray without ceasing — and this simple, profound little book has been teaching people how to do the same ever since. Also available in Kindle if you prefer digital.
💛 Grief, Sorrow & Emotional Healing
This is the series I am currently walking through on the blog — and the books below are the ones I am reading, underlining, and writing about right now. If you are in a season of loss, grief, or sorrow, you are not alone, and these books have been a real companion to me.
🌾 The Wild Edge of Sorrow — by Francis Weller
This is the book behind my current blog series and it has undone me in the best way. Francis Weller writes about grief as sacred work — not something to rush through or fix, but something to be honored and tended. I have the paperback, I listen on Audible, and I highlight every other page. If you are carrying unprocessed grief, this book will feel like someone finally named it. Highly recommend getting the paperback so you can write in it.
→ Paperback Edition → | Kindle Edition →
🧠 The Body Keeps the Score — by Bessel van der Kolk
I have been working through this book for over a year and I am still processing it. It is about how trauma lives in the body — not just the mind — and why healing has to reach the body too. I listen to it on Audible while working in my art studio. Dense, important, and surprisingly readable for such a clinical subject.
💔 The Grieving Brain — by Mary-Frances O'Connor
A neuroscientist who studies grief explains what actually happens in our brains when we lose someone we love — and why grief is not a problem to solve but a process our brains are literally wired to go through. Pairs beautifully with The Wild Edge of Sorrow for a science-and-soul approach to healing.
💌 A Note From Me
I add to this list as I read. If a book is here, it is because it has genuinely moved me or taught me something worth sharing.
If you'd like to see everything in one place, visit my full Recommendations page. And if you purchase through my links, thank you — it truly helps keep this blog going at no extra cost to you.
With love, Lucy 🕊️
📌 As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my links — at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this blog!