100 books like Dark Night of the Soul

By St. John of the Cross,

Here are 100 books that Dark Night of the Soul fans have personally recommended if you like Dark Night of the Soul. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Discernment of Spirits: A Reader's Guide: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living

Luminita D. Saviuc Author Of 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy

From my list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised in a fearful and toxic environment where love was completely absent and terror was always at home, I had to learn to let go of my many programs, fears, and traumas so that I could avoid making the mistake of thinking and believing that the story of my past was going to become the story of my life. Through a long journey of letting go, getting lost in order to be found, I realized that who I Am, and who we all are, is far greater and far nobler than what we are programmed to believe. And now my mission is to teach people from all over the world how to let go so they can thrive.

Luminita's book list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing

Luminita D. Saviuc Why did Luminita love this book?

In a world of duality, we desperately need to be taught how to discern between truth and falsehood; between lies and illusions; between darkness and light, and between that which is love and that which is fear. And this book teaches you exactly that and so much more; giving you strength, courage, and comfort by helping you realize that you are always guided, safe, loved, and protected no matter what happens to you and all around you.

By Timothy M. Gallagher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Discernment of Spirits as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This handy, easy-to-use workbook is chock full of probing questions, real-life stories, and practical tips on how to apply the profound spiritual insights from the Ignatian tradition of patient, prayerful self-examination. Acclaimed interpreter of Saint Ignatius, author Father Gallagher provides clear explanations of the centuries-old Jesuit method of discerning God's will in one's life--and avoiding evil. A practical guide and journaling tool, it includes ample space on every page for notes, reflections, and journaling, all to help readers track their progress toward a closer, more loving union with God.


Book cover of There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem

Luminita D. Saviuc Author Of 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy

From my list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised in a fearful and toxic environment where love was completely absent and terror was always at home, I had to learn to let go of my many programs, fears, and traumas so that I could avoid making the mistake of thinking and believing that the story of my past was going to become the story of my life. Through a long journey of letting go, getting lost in order to be found, I realized that who I Am, and who we all are, is far greater and far nobler than what we are programmed to believe. And now my mission is to teach people from all over the world how to let go so they can thrive.

Luminita's book list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing

Luminita D. Saviuc Why did Luminita love this book?

Imagine being able to feel a peace so deep that you never knew existed; a love so profound that it transforms you and your whole life… Well, by reading the wonderful words of Dr. Wayne Dyer and by following his wise guidance, you will get to experience all of that and even more. In fact, at the end of the book you will have this profound feeling that you no longer are the same person you were when you first started reading this book and that you have become better, wiser, more peaceful, and far more loving and trusting than you used to be.

By Wayne W. Dyer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this inspiring new program, bestselling author Wayne W. Dyer shows us that there is an omnipresent spiritual force right at our fingertips that contains the solution to our problems -- from ill health, to financial worries, to relationship difficulties. Drawing from various spiritual traditions, especially from the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, Dyer helps us unplug from the material world and awaken to the divine within.


Book cover of Your Faith is Your Fortune

Luminita D. Saviuc Author Of 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy

From my list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised in a fearful and toxic environment where love was completely absent and terror was always at home, I had to learn to let go of my many programs, fears, and traumas so that I could avoid making the mistake of thinking and believing that the story of my past was going to become the story of my life. Through a long journey of letting go, getting lost in order to be found, I realized that who I Am, and who we all are, is far greater and far nobler than what we are programmed to believe. And now my mission is to teach people from all over the world how to let go so they can thrive.

Luminita's book list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing

Luminita D. Saviuc Why did Luminita love this book?

Our confidence in ourselves, says Neville Goddard, is determined by our faith in the God-power present within each and every one of us. If we happen to fail in life, it’s only because of a lack of faith - in ourselves. But faith can be taught. And all throughout this book, you are taught how to strengthen your faith so that, through the power of your faith, you can create the life of your dreams with ease, love, and grace.

By Neville Goddard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Your Faith is Your Fortune as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Your Faith is Your Fortune" is the powerful and inspiring work by Neville Goddard, a mystic, philosopher, and believer in the Law of Attraction. Goddard was a prolific author and wrote many works on his theory of manifestation through feeling. Goddard's theories have had a profound influence on generations of mystics and students of metaphysics and have guided the work of such authors as Wayne Dyer. In "Your Faith is Your Fortune", Goddard presents a new and modern interpretation of the Bible through the philosophies of metaphysics and mysticism. Goddard argued that the Bible is a great human drama, full…


Book cover of Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon

Luminita D. Saviuc Author Of 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy

From my list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised in a fearful and toxic environment where love was completely absent and terror was always at home, I had to learn to let go of my many programs, fears, and traumas so that I could avoid making the mistake of thinking and believing that the story of my past was going to become the story of my life. Through a long journey of letting go, getting lost in order to be found, I realized that who I Am, and who we all are, is far greater and far nobler than what we are programmed to believe. And now my mission is to teach people from all over the world how to let go so they can thrive.

Luminita's book list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing

Luminita D. Saviuc Why did Luminita love this book?

Imagine being able to tap into an unlimited reservoir of wisdom, genius, creativity, health, love, beauty, and power to create whatever you want for yourself. Well, in this brilliant book, Dr. Joe Dispenza shares a wide range of tools and disciplines ranging from cutting-edge physics to practical exercises to help you step outside your physical reality and into the quantum field of infinite possibilities so that you can finally create all of that and even more.

By Joe Dispenza,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Becoming Supernatural as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

The author of the New York Times bestseller You Are the Placebo, as well as Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Evolve Your Brain, draws on research conducted at his advanced workshops since 2012 to explore how common people are doing the uncommon to transform themselves and their lives.

Becoming Supernatural marries some of the most profound scientific information with ancient wisdom to show how people like you and me can experience a more mystical life. Readers will learn that we are, quite literally supernatural by nature if given the proper knowledge and instruction, and…


Book cover of The Flowering of Mysticism: Men and Women in the New Mysticism: 1200-1350

Rik Van Nieuwenhove Author Of An Introduction to Medieval Theology

From my list on medieval theology and spirituality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of Medieval Theology at Durham University, UK, and have published on both medieval theology (especially Thomas Aquinas) and spirituality (especially Jan van Ruusbroec, an author from 14th century Brabant). When I was in my early twenties, I had no interest in Christianity, but I gradually realized that the societal and moral problems of modernity could only be properly addressed by examining a genuinely alternative tradition, namely pre-modern thinkers (if only because postmodern critics of modernity remain all too often beholden to the assumptions of modernity, even in their opposition to them). This explains why I was drawn to medieval theology (and spirituality). 


Rik's book list on medieval theology and spirituality

Rik Van Nieuwenhove Why did Rik love this book?

This is Volume 3 of a major series covering Western spirituality from the era of the Church Fathers to the seventeenth century. Every volume contains a wealth of insights into medieval spirituality (and theology). This series is a monument of scholarship: nothing like this has ever been tempted by any scholar in the English-speaking world—and achieved with so much flair and expertise.

One would buy these books just for the bibliographies alone, even in an age of search engines. This volume covers Franciscan spirituality, women mystics, and beguines, including Hadewijch, Mechthild, and Marguerite Porete. Like the other volumes, it is lucid, informative, and comprehensive. Warmly recommended.  

By Bernard McGinn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Flowering of Mysticism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The year 1200 marked a dynamic turning point in the history of Christian mysticism. New forms of religious life provided the impetus for a new mysticism whose influence continues today. This book documents the spirited dialogue between men and women that made possible the richness of mysticism in the 13th and 14th centuries.


Book cover of The Song of the Bird

Joan Budilovsky Author Of Sages of Young Ages

From my list on new moms to listen and laugh with their children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve taught yoga and meditation for decades to children from ages 3 to 93. My Doctorate is in Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. I love to experience personal development and child development has a very special place in my heart. I learn so much from them! It is particularly fun to watch children discover and explore life. Everything old is new again! Sages of Young Ages can open our eyes if we simply open our ears to each child’s unique spoken truths.

Joan's book list on new moms to listen and laugh with their children

Joan Budilovsky Why did Joan love this book?

Short interesting titles to profound short stories. Each story offers a lesson to clearer soulful understandings. Humor, insights, simplicity – all the things I treasure and hope to be as a writer. Anthony deMello has influenced my world with new ways of looking at old things. I find this in children too – their new eyes looking at old things reminds me of how important fresh perspectives are to enjoying and appreciating life.

By Anthony De Mello,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Song of the Bird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Every one of these stories is about YOU." --Anthony de Mello

Everyone loves stories; and in this book the bestselling author of Sadhana: A Way to God shares 124 stories and parables from a variety of traditions both ancient and modern. Each story resonates with life lessons that can teach us inescapable truths about ourselves and our world.

De Mello's international acclaim rests on his unique approach to contemplation and ability to heighten self-awareness and self-discovery. His is a holistic approach, and in the words of one reviewer: "his mysticism cuts across all times and peoples and is truly a…


Book cover of Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation

Lynn Alsup Author Of Tinderbox: One Family's Story of Adoption, Neurodiversity, and Fierce Love

From my list on memoirs that crack open a brutal and beautiful world.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a young social worker, I left the world I knew and moved into violent urban centers and traveled the developing world. The suffering and beauty entranced me. Questions reverberated in me: What does it mean to be part of the vast human community? How can I live most fully? When I adopted children, violence and difference confronted me not “out there” but at home. I wrestled, shocked by my own judgment and narrowness—until I accepted in my bones the myriad ways to live a remarkable life. Curiosity became my superpower. Tinderbox, my unflinching memoir, invites readers into my family’s brutal and beautiful transformation through embracing neurodiversity. 

Lynn's book list on memoirs that crack open a brutal and beautiful world

Lynn Alsup Why did Lynn love this book?

Starr infuses her language with lyricism and in-your-face honesty. She opened a window for me into the counterculture of the 1970s as a bright young daughter of nomadic parents, landing in Taos among intellectuals and spiritual seekers.

Death crashes into the story in the opening pages with her child’s death and pervades it throughout. It offered me courage to write my own parenting story: fear, mistakes, devastation included. Starr doesn’t hold taboos, facing death, drugs, abuse, and despair as she unveils her story of unfolding adolescence to motherhood.

I felt like I’d kicked off my shoes and tucked my legs under myself to listen to a new friend’s life story, gaining a wise, quirky, compassionate companion.

By Mirabai Starr,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Caravan of No Despair as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On the day her first book came out-a new translation of Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross-Mirabai Starr's daughter, Jenny, was killed in a car accident. "My spiritual life began the day my daughter died," writes Mirabai. Even with decades of spiritual practice and a deep immersion in the greatest mystical texts, she found herself utterly unprepared for "my most powerful catalyst for transformation, my fiercest and most compassionate teacher."

With Caravan of No Despair, Mirabai shares an irreverent, uplifting, and intimate memoir of her extraordinary life journey. Through the many twists and turns of…


Book cover of Game - Ranger

Roy Aronson Author Of The Curse of the Ancestors, with Jamie James

From my list on animals, mysticism, and the wild heart of Africa.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a veterinarian who has worked extensively with African Wildlife in the heart of the African bush. I have also met African Sangoma’s, witch doctors. I have made a study of African mysticism and Ancestral communications and have participated in African mystic rituals, including the cleansing ritual called smudging or burning of herbs and utilizing the smoke for spiritual cleansing. In my books, I fuse my knowledge of African wildlife, African customs and rituals, and my innate ability to tell a good story and have brought forth the Jamie James series. They are quintessential African Adventures taking place in the heart of the African bush.

Roy's book list on animals, mysticism, and the wild heart of Africa

Roy Aronson Why did Roy love this book?

This is the true story of a game ranger who worked with African Wildlife in the early part of the history of the Kruger National Park. It is a well-written account of a bygone error where the heroic deeds of one man could make a difference. I loved this book because it evoked in me a sense of the dramatic history of the Southern African Game Reserves and the struggle to attain recognition during the early days when animals were a resource only to be hunted. There were a few brave men who recognized the value of conservation and preservation of wildlife, leading to the wildlife game reserve industry as we know it today. If not for the efforts of these few brave souls our world today would be a poorer place.

By Hannes Kloppers,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Game - Ranger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of The Essential Mystics

Alexandra DeSiato Author Of Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses: A Practical Workbook for Integrating Themes, Ideas, and Inspiration Into Your Class

From my list on yoga teachers who feel stuck in a rut.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for teaching yoga stems from over a decade as a yoga teacher. I’ve taught a variety of populations including college athletes, aging practitioners, and prenatal and postpartum moms and people. I’ve written two books on yoga; one is about how we can use yoga as we age healthily and the other is a helpful guide for yoga teachers who would like to incorporate philosophical theming in their classes. I know what it means to feel stuck in a rut as a yoga teacher, and I have so often counted on these well-loved books to help me find my way out of that rut and into inspired teaching. 

Alexandra's book list on yoga teachers who feel stuck in a rut

Alexandra DeSiato Why did Alexandra love this book?

Harvey chooses from a variety of faith traditions (including Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Ancient Greek thought) to share mystical and spiritual passages from sacred texts. His approach is not to explain the meaning as he sees it, but to offer the selections for readers to immerse themselves in the beautiful, historical writings without too much direction. This book is a source of renewal for me. My copy is dog-eared and highlighted. There is writing in the margins and post-its on the pages. I find the words of the mystics, including Rumi, Buddha, and saints like Francis of Assisi as a balm to my weary soul. More than once, sections of this book have been read aloud in my yoga classes. 

By Andrew Harvey (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Essential Mystics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the celebrated scholar and lecturer Andrew Harvey, a fascinating and inspiring introduction to the essential texts and themes of the great mystics.

Not merely a feast of the greatest and wisest mystical revelations, 'The Essential Mystics' i


Book cover of Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics

Parvati Markus Author Of Love Everyone: The Transcendent Wisdom of Neem Karoli Baba Told Through the Stories of the Westerners Whose Lives He Transformed

From my list on by Westerners on Eastern mysticism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've devoured books ever since learning to read. Now I am an author and a professional substantive book editor, particularly for spiritual memoirs. I am indeed fortunate to be able to combine my love of books with my love of the mystic realms, spiritual transformation, and beloved gurus. The first book I ever helped to edit was the first part ("Journey") of Be Here Now. Then I lived in India for a year, spending much of it with Neem Karoli Baba, Ram Dass's (and my) guru, absorbing his unconditional love. That state of real love, and the pathway leading to it, are the focus of the books I have recommended.

Parvati's book list on by Westerners on Eastern mysticism

Parvati Markus Why did Parvati love this book?

Mirabai Starr weaves together the threads of feminine mysticism from many different spiritual traditions with a poetic sensibility, yet her feet are planted firmly on Mother Earth as she validates women's wisdom throughout the ages.

I was thrilled with the way this book shows that touching the earth—with all its human pain and suffering, death and loss, even the grief over losing a child as happened to Mirabai in her own journey—is a pathway to the divine, often moreso than meditation and breath work.

The women mystics proudly proclaim that everything is holy, and lead us into surrender to the mystery of the Great Mother. Women reading this book will feel seen and heard.

By Mirabai Starr,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wild Mercy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Wild Mercy is essential reading for anyone ready to awaken the feminine mystic within and birth her loving, creative, and untamed power into the world.

"Mystical brilliance at its best." -Caroline Myss

"No one can take us into the fiery and tender depths of the sacred feminine with more skill, humor, clarity, and vibrant naked honesty than Mirabai Starr." -Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope and The Return of the Mother

We live in a world that has suffered the abuses of an unbalanced masculine rule for thousands of years-but the feminine is rising. "Seeds of feminine wisdom that have…


Book cover of The Discernment of Spirits: A Reader's Guide: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living
Book cover of There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem
Book cover of Your Faith is Your Fortune

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