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Spiritual Seeker: Best New Inspirational Fiction and Nonfiction Fall 2026

Spiritual Seeker: Best New Inspirational Fiction and Nonfiction Fall 2026

Autumn naturally invites us to slow down and reflect on everything we have accomplished this year. For the Spiritual Seeker, this cozy season offers an ideal space to nourish your soul, practice mindfulness and deepen your inner faith.

Explore our hand-picked selection of the best spiritual new release books, including inspirational fiction and nonfiction titles designed to offer comfort, clarity and purpose. If you enjoy transformative books from beloved spiritual voices and inspirational storytellers like Jay Shetty, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr and Karen Kingsbury, these books will guide you on your path.

Inspirational New Books for October 2026

A Castle of Sand

by Wanda E Brunstetter

isbn: 9798891512726,template: list

Solitude, Sunshine, and a Second Chance at Love

Don't miss this new stand-alone Amish romance from New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter.

Young widow Sharon Raber has been feeling hopeless. Still restless after a visit to her parents, she decides to retreat from Indiana to Sarasota, Florida, for some solitude in the sun. Finally drawn out of her grief by an older widow in the Pinecraft community, Sharon meets Peter Stutzman, who is helping his aunt make home repairs. Could a second chance at love be possible for Sharon, or will the courage needed to release her heart be too much for her... and Peter? 

Features:

  • From New York Times Bestselling Author, Wanda E. Brunstetter
  • Unique Amish romance about second-chance love
  • Story takes place in Sarasota, Florida
  • Brunstetter has strong ties to the Amish community
  • Amish fiction delivers life-changing inspiration and entertainment
  • Brunstetter's fiction has sold more than 13 million units

 

A Plain Confession

by Suzanne Woods Fisher

isbn: 9780800745301,template: list

When hidden secrets surface in Stoney Ridge, one act of grace will change everything.

Sam Mustang has come to Stoney Ridge with one purpose--to make amends before his time runs out. An outsider with a past he can't undo, he finds unexpected companionship in Darcy Delaney, a traveling nurse whose restless spirit is steadied as Sam teaches her and young Gus Troyer the wonder of stargazing. 

But the stars aren't the only things shifting in Stoney Ridge. Dok Stoltzfus is thrust back into the hardest chapter of her life when the child she once fostered returns. His presence stirs complicated questions: Is she now too old to be a mother, and what lies behind the troubling changes she sees in the child? 

As those secrets ripple outward, the lives of Sam, Dok, and Gus begin to pull at the same thread. Sam's search for redemption, Dok's struggle with calling and family, and Gus's bond with a vulnerable child collide in ways that test faith, love, and the very meaning of forgiveness.

Suzanne Woods Fisher delivers a heartwarming Amish story of unexpected romance, friendship, community, and redemption in Lancaster County that will captivate readers and book clubs who enjoy Beverly Lewis and Shelley Shepard Gray.

American Pope: Leo XIV's Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City

by Daniel Burke - Scott Detrow

isbn: 9781250446053,template: list

From the co-host of NPR's All Things Considered and NPR's Senior Editor of Religion and Spirituality, a deeply reported, revelatory biography of Robert Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, that offers rare and exciting new insight into the life and times of the man who would come to lead the Catholic Church. 

On May 8, 2025, eighteen days after the death of Pope Francis, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to share the name of the new leader of the Catholic Church.

"Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum, Robertum Franciscum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Prevost--qui sibi nomen imposuit Leo XIV."

For the first time in its 2,000 year history, the Catholic Church would be led by an American.

NPR's Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow, who were in St. Peter's Square that day leading the network's coverage, were among those shocked by the selection. Growing up in the faith as kids and reporting on it as adults, they had been told it was an article of faith, a given, that the Catholic Church would never elect an American pope. And yet, there was Prevost--now Leo XIV--smiling, waving, and declaring to the crowd in Italian, "Peace be with you."

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who grew up just outside Chicago but had spent much of his adult life in Peru, had been a dark horse candidate to say the least-an unassuming Augustinian who had only recently been promoted to the top levels of Church leadership. His elevation to the most prominent religious seat in the world prompted unprecedented enthusiasm--a surge of "Da Pope" memes and American tourists flocking to Rome with gifts of deep dish pizza and hats from Villanova (his alma mater)--but despite international media coverage and fascination, the scope of Prevost's journey has yet to be told in full, intimate detail.

Now, in American Pope, Burke and Detrow present the first comprehensive, impressively sourced biography of the new pontiff. The two journalists spent the year after Leo's election reporting in Peru, Chicago, and Rome. They tracked down Leo's close confidants, childhood friends, family members, classmates, fellow clergy, and Vatican insiders. They gained unprecedented access to archival documents, letters, emails, and other personal correspondence that provide key insights into Prevost's experiences and views.

As a result, readers are introduced to a man at varying stages of his destiny: Robert, a quiet young boy from a working-class parish straddling Chicago's southern border, coming into his faith in Kennedy-era America; Bob, a serious student who writes for his high school paper and spends time in the seminary leading family interventions for alcoholics; Padre and Monsignor Roberto, a stabilizing and hopeful presence in impoverished and terrorized communities of Peru, and who would help lead his diocese through the COVID-19 pandemic; Father Bob, the leader of the Augustinian order at a time of crisis for the Catholic Church; Cardinal Prevost, the unassuming ally of Pope Francis; and, finally, Leo, whose ascension will forever change the Church he serves and loves.

Enlightening, engrossing, and undeniably human, American Pope is the key to understanding one of the most consequential figures of our time.

Into the Quiet: Following Jesus in a World of Noise

by John Mark Comer

isbn: 9780593193808,template: list

A profound exploration of the ache for quiet in a chaotic, noisy time of overstimulation and distraction--and the transformative effects of solitude, silence, and stillness--from the New York Times bestselling author of Practicing the Way and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

"The noise of the world doesn't just hurt your ears--it harms your soul. John Mark Comer shows in this wonderful book how to step back from the world and find God in stillness." -- Arthur C. Brooks, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Build the Life You Want

Modern living is inundated with noise, busyness, and a digital cycle fueled by outrage and fear. We are anxious, overstimulated, exhausted, and bone-dry in our souls. We ache for God yet can barely pay attention.

Drawing on the wisdom of the contemplative tradition and spiritual practices that date back to the earliest centuries of the church, Comer invites readers to rediscover an ancient path of quiet, peace, and serenity--to step out of the chronic noise and constant motion of the modern world into the still, silent presence of the God of peace.

What The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry was to the speed of the modern world, this book is to the noise of it.

As with the pace of modern living, the volume of the modern world can cut off our hearts from God, colonize our minds, and make "practicing the presence of God" virtually impossible. It can damage our bodies and degrade our spirits.

Comer is convinced quiet is the antidote--not just the quiet of a retreat or a morning hour, but an intentional quest to de-noise your overall life.

And in doing so, to live just a little slower and softer before God.

Mercy's Child

by Richard Paul Evans

isbn: 9781668264218,template: list

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans comes an emotionally rich work of historical fiction inspired by the true story of Etta Wheeler, a woman whose courage and compassion helped spark a movement that forever changed a country. 

In 1874, Etta Wheeler leaves her quiet upstate New York farm town behind to follow her husband into the bustling and sometimes brutal world of Gilded Age New York City. Surrounded by wealth, power, and ambition, Etta struggles to find where she belongs until a chance encounter in the tenements of Hell's Kitchen changes everything.

There she meets a young girl trapped in conditions no child should endure. What began as one woman's determination to help a single child soon draws Etta into a battle against the city's most powerful institutions, forcing her to discover a courage she never knew she possessed.

Set against the stark contrasts of Gilded Age Manhattan, this uplifting historical novel of compassion and moral courage tells the extraordinary story of how a singular act of courage ignited lasting change that still impacts the world today.

Return to the Shack: A Journey Into Redemption

by Wm. Paul Young

isbn: 9781546008873,template: list

In the long-awaited sequel to one of the world's most beloved and widely read books of the last twenty years--The Shack--unrivaled storyteller Wm. Paul Young leads us back to the great questions of human existence: How does life go on in the face of irreconcilable loss? How can the irredeemable find redemption?

Ten years after the devastating events of The Shack, Mackenzie Allen Phillips is still living in the shadow of loss. Though life has moved forward, grief continues to haunt his family, his relationships, his faith, and his very sense of self. Nan, his wife, carries her own hidden sorrow. They are two people bound together by love yet often divided by pain.

On what would have been their daughter Missy's sixteenth birthday, Mack and Nan confront the unthinkable when Mack is asked to visit death row to speak with the serial killer who abducted and murdered her. In the stark silence of the prison, Mack encounters not only the brokenness of another human being but also the raw weight of his own anger, doubt, and disappointment with God. Where is God when unbearable suffering endures? How can a shattered heart ever heal?

In Return to the Shack, William Paul Young invites readers on a profound journey into the depths of grief, the complexity of trauma, and the surprising humanity of those we most fear. With honesty and compassion, he explores the devastating impact of mental illness, abuse, and violence, the strain of loss on relationships, and the staggering cost--and unexpected freedom--of forgiveness.

This long-awaited sequel dares to ask the hardest questions: What does it mean to forgive the unforgivable? How do we live with God's silence when our wounds cry out for answers? And can even the darkest prison and the most desolate wreckage of broken dreams become places where grace and redemption take root?

Both tender and unflinching, Return to the Shack is a story of pain, faith, and the relentless possibility of hope.

The Battle for Your Soul: 31 Biblical Secrets of Spiritual Warfare

by David Jeremiah

isbn: 9781400345250,template: list 

The Unseen War Is Real. But Your Victory Is Already Secured.

You sense it, don't you? A force in the world actively working against your peace, your family, and your faith. The Bible calls this spiritual warfare, and while the reality of this unseen battle can sound intimidating, Dr. David Jeremiah wants to offer a liberating truth: You have nothing to fear in Christ.

For too long, the topic of spiritual warfare has been shrouded in confusion or sensationalism. Now, Dr. Jeremiah cuts through the noise to give you the clear, biblical perspective you need. In this book, he shows you:

  • How to identify the enemy's strategies without becoming obsessed with them.
  • The absolute assurance of your eternal victory secured by Jesus Christ.
  • Practical, everyday ways to guard your heart and mind from attack.
  • Why a proper understanding of spiritual warfare actually leads to greater peace and freedom.

 

You are not a helpless target. You are a victor in Christ. It's time to stop walking in fear and start living in the confidence of the One who has already overcome the world.

The Practice of Wisdom: Five Quests

by Davíd Carrasco - Arthur Kleinman - Stephanie Paulsell - Michael Puett

isbn: 9780674306622,template: list

A master class from four renowned Harvard professors--an anthropologist, a physician, a theologian, and a historian--on discovering wisdom in challenging times.

In moments of uncertainty, to whom do we turn for solace and insight? How can we endure and overcome our own suffering? Harvard University professors Davíd Carrasco, Arthur Kleinman, Stephanie Paulsell, and Michael Puett turn to great thinkers, artists, and religious traditions not for definitive answers, but for lessons we can bring to our own quests for wisdom. Wisdom, they find, is not an abstract ideal but a way of living formed by caring for others and through everyday practices of solitude, ritual, and art. Based on their celebrated Harvard course, The Practice of Wisdom helps us brave loneliness, grief, and crises and bring beauty, healing, and spiritual significance into our lives.

Wisdom, they teach, is an ongoing quest--a practice to be lived and deliberately cultivated. Through five interwoven chapters, we travel from Chinese temples and Hindu ashrams to Emily Dickinson's Homestead and US-Mexico borderlands. We encounter philosopher William James on the power of the subconscious after trauma; theologian Howard Thurman on solitude as a source of dignity; Toni Morrison on the interplay between mercy and goodness; writer John Phillip Santos on generational wisdom; physician Paul Farmer on medical compassion; and Confucius on ritual as a way of breaking the patterns that entrap us. We hear from Wendy Doniger, the eminent scholar of Hinduism, whose reflections present wisdom as a lifelong, unfinished art of seeking meaning, balance, and purpose.

Threaded throughout this short but powerful book is the image of the labyrinth: life as a series of turns that carry us through adversity and loss to hard-won clarity and grace. Led by teachers who have walked these paths, lost their way, and carried on, we learn the art--and practice--of living wisely.

Unwavering Heart: The Story of Rebekah

by Angela Hunt

isbn: 9780764245183,template: list

"Hunt's fans will be eager to sink their teeth into this evocative historical and its inspiring message of faith in times of trial." -- Publishers Weekly on The Sisters of Corinth 

When Rebekah is offered a marriage to Isaac--heir to wealthy and well-respected Abraham--she leaves behind the only world she has known and ventures into the sunbaked lands of Canaan. In her new household, Rebekah learns of the mysterious Adonai, whose favor has showered Abraham's family with abundance. To ensure her future children have a different childhood from hers, she makes a promise to God: If blessed with children, she will love all of them equally.

Twenty years later, her prayer is answered with twins who could not be more different. Gentle and thoughtful Jacob captures her heart, while wild Esau seems determined to defy her at every turn. As her sons grow into men, Rebekah finds herself torn between her promise and undeniable truths. Can she keep her love impartial even as she places her faith in God's covenant?

New York Times bestselling author Angela Hunt brings the world of the Old Testament matriarchs to life in this biblical fiction story of motherhood, love, and God's everlasting faithfulness. A perfect read for fans of Francine Rivers, Mesu Andrews, Heather Kaufman, Tessa Afshar, Connilyn Cossette, and Jill Eileen Smith.

Inspirational New Books September 2026

40 Days to Look Again: A Devotional to Embrace Your Worth, Reclaim Your Hope, and Run with Confidence

by Tim Tebow - A J Gregory

isbn: 9781400254217,template: list

Find the hope and confidence you've been longing for when you learn to stop believing the lie that you're not enough.

In 40 Days to Look Again, join speaker, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author Tim Tebow for a 40-day devotional journey to discover that your true, infinite worth was something God gave the moment He created you.

We all want to know that we have value. We try so hard. We strive for success and achievements that we think will make us feel we have worth. And in the end, we are left feeling empty and alone. But if we look again, there is a different and better truth that God has been trying to get us to see all along.

In 40 Days to Look Again, Tim invites you to see a whole new way to live. You will discover that no matter what the world says, God gave you infinite worth the moment He created you. Nothing and no one can ever change that. You will learn to:

  • Stand up to the lies that say you're not enough
  • Anchor your hope in the truth of God's promises
  • Rediscover the infinite worth God stamped on every life

 

Each daily entry includes:

  • A verse from Scripture to anchor your life in God's Word
  • An uplifting devotional reflection to Tim
  • A declaration of God's truth that you can speak over your life for that day
  • A personal action step
  • An encouraging quote to affirm God's love for you

 

40 Days to Look Again is a wonderful gift for friends or loved ones. It is also a perfect six-week study for small groups and classes, with prompts and action steps that spark honest conversation about worth, hope, and how we see others.

It's time to change the way you see yourself and the way you see others. If you are ready to experience the hope, confidence, and joy that comes when you embrace the amazing truth that your worth was given to you by God the moment He created you, then get ready to look again.

The Butterfly Season: What 64 Butterflies Taught Me about Nature's Great Mysteries and the Meaning of Life

by Lea Korsgaard - Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg

isbn: 9798217208869,template: list

Lea Korsgaard's number-one international bestseller tells the story of the year she spent tracking every species of butterfly in her native Denmark. Suffused with beauty and wonder, The Butterfly Season is a love letter to the natural world and an unforgettable reflection on the precious and fleeting nature of life itself.

"The Butterfly Season is an inspiring love letter to the magic of the natural world, in all its beauty and complexity and joy--an unforgettable reminder that wonder awakens the heart." --Amy Tan, New York Times bestselling author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles

Combining nature writing, philosophy, myth, science, and 64 beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, The Butterfly Season is a luminous account of one woman's quest to see all 64 species of butterflies native to Denmark in a single year. Part field diary, part mythological tapestry, part existential reflection, Lea Korsgaard's journey unfolds across seasons and geographies, through meadows, marshes, and ancient coastal lands, as she discovers the mysteries and miracles of the natural world.

On the first day of the year, Korsgaard sat at her desk, making a list. It was a typically cold, quiet January day, and the possibility of the new year--of new discoveries and new challenges--reawakened an old dream of hers: to see every Danish butterfly species in one year. At first, the goal felt impossible--Korsgaard knew almost nothing about butterflies--but she persevered, creating a color-coded tracking system that mapped butterfly regions and flight times with meticulous care. As the project developed, what was at first a simple exercise in discovery became an intimate reckoning with transformation and rebirth, the butterfly's fleeting existence knitting together beginnings, endings, and the life made in between.

The Butterfly Season is perfect for readers of Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton and The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan.

Count It All Joy: Stories, Poems, and Essays to Inspire the Soul

by Editors at Paraclete Press

isbn: 9798893480566,template: list

This beautifully designed gift book celebrates the power of joy in all seasons and circumstances of life through short stories, Scriptures, poems, and contemporary images.

Joy can come out of nowhere, surprising us in a moment of gratitude and delight. Joy can be hard-won, something we struggle to choose when our emotions lead us elsewhere. Different from happiness, joy has a divine quality-it can take our breath away with wonder and yet be strangely linked with sorrow. It can flood into our heart one moment and leave it aching the next. C.S. Lewis called it a holy longing--a kind of heavenly homesickness. Count it All Joy: Stories, Poems, and Essays to Inspire the Soul shines a light on the ways joy has been found by others in many circumstances, inspiring us to reflect on how we might have more joy in our own lives.

Count It All Joy explores the joy that comes in all seasons of life: joy chosen defiantly in the face of suffering, joy found in generosity, joy hidden in the mundane, joy erupting from the wonder of creation, and joy springing from creativity. This biblically rooted, passionately hope-filled book combines evocative photography with poems, short stories, essays, and prose, from Scripture to Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Helen Keller, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Emily Dickinson, and Mary Oliver, to Francine Rivers, Andrew Calis, Nikki Grimes, and many more.

Count it All Joy: 

  • Combines classic and contemporary writings with compelling imagery that gives the book a fresh, modern aesthetic.
  • Includes full-color illustrations and a ribbon marker--making it a beautiful gift for any occasion.
  • Will appeal to book lovers who enjoy and draw spiritual wisdom from classic and contemporary literature.
  • Makes a thoughtful and meaningful gift for a friend who is going through a difficult time and for pastors, counselors, teachers, doctors, nurses, caregivers, and others in the field of service.

 

In a culture of cynicism, false promises, and confusion, Count it All Joy points to the true and unfailing source of joy, God the creator and heavenly Father who delights in his people. It will leave you with a new understanding of joy - not as an elusive emotion, but as a spiritual power and vital necessity in our world today.

House of the Forest: Life-Giving Declarations for Strength and Abundance in Every Season

by Tara Sierra Moseley

isbn: 9781546011866,template: list

Words for when prayer is hard. Strength for when the season is heavy.A beautiful and powerful collection of scripture-based declarations for moments when faith must be spoken before it is felt. Birthed in prayer and forged in the fire, each decree carries the authority of Heaven and is meant to be spoken in faith. Inspired by Solomon's House of the Forest of Lebanon--a sacred armory where gold shields and trophies of victory were stored--this book is a spiritual armory of its own. Not for display, but for use.

Organized by theme, House of the Forest offers life-giving declarations for every season, including:

  • Decrees of Health and Healing
  • Decrees over Family and Relationships
  • Decrees over Identity and Struggles
  • Decrees over Suffering and Crisis
  • Decrees for Home and Daily Life

 

House of the Forest is a gift for the weary, the believing, and the barely holding on--a reminder that God is present, faithful, and that nothing is impossible with Him.

It All Starts When You Do: How to Do the Real Work of Self-Healing

by Kier Gaines

isbn: 9780316587426,template: list

What if the biggest obstacle to happiness isn't your environment, your past, or other people--but a blindness to some uncomfortable truths about yourself? 

In the book his fans have been waiting for, one of the internet's most beloved therapists, Kier Gaines, sets the record straight: mantras and toxic positivity won't solve your problems. Instead, Gaines offers a bold new path to getting what you want in life: You need to know yourself better. A lot better than you do now.

In It All Starts When You Do, Gaines walks you through the hard but rewarding work you need to do when you simply can't figure out what feels off in your life. Whether your career is stuck in neutral, your family is driving you crazy, or you're struggling to find love, you'll learn how to:

  • Begin healing from the inner wounds you might not even be aware you have
  • Conquer unconscious emotional hijacking
  • Align your actions with your true desires
  • Build self-esteem based on solid evidence and effort, not empty affirmations
  • Stop consuming the empty calories of negative self-talk which can destroy progress
  • Overcome the illusion of comfort that keeps you stuck
  • And much more

 

It All Starts When You Do will arm you with the tools you need to stop sabotaging your life, and get down to the business of living it.

Psyche's Awakening: A Guide to Emotional and Somatic Healing Through the Wisdom of Greek Myth

by Gillian O'Shea Brown LCSW

isbn: 9780063473638,template: list

Ancient Greek mythology meets the best of today's psychological insights for a hero's journey you won't soon forget: your own.

It's a tale as old as time: a seeker steps out from the familiar into the unknown, facing great danger on the way to enlightenment. While in ancient myth the hero must slay a monster, in real life you must conquer the challenges within. This emotional quest invokes an inner alchemy, transforming wounds into wisdom, shame into self-forgiveness, and pain into purpose. In Psyche's Awakening, psychotherapist Gillian O'Shea Brown turns to these epic dramas as mirrors and maps guiding you to rediscover powers of resilience and wisdom within waiting to be claimed.

The Greek myths are some of the most enduring stories of all time because their archetypal energies are alive in us today, woven into our psyche and shaping our thoughts, behaviors, and experiences as we move through life. We have much to learn from Medusa's body-based trauma, Sisyphus's pattern of pain (known as "the bite that fits the wound"), Pygmalion's boundary work and emotional walls, Icarus's efforts to balance the dignity of risk with the duty of care, and Chiron's transformation beyond trauma in becoming "the wounded healer."

Through vibrant mythical retellings and evidence-based, trauma-informed psychological insights, Psyche's Awakening will support your journey with: 

  • Somatic exercises such as breathwork, body scans, and grounding rituals
  • Guided tools for charting your erotic-emotional map
  • Techniques for social pruning and revitalizing your relationships
  • Compassionate shadow work and self-healing practices

 

As Gillian writes, "The greatest adventure you will ever embark on is the journey back to yourself. This path is rich with unexpected twists, turns, heartbreak, fear, and the vital experience of learning to release what no longer serves you." This book is your map to this sacred awakening.

This Side of the Sky: 101 Poems and Scriptures for the Hungry, Hopeful, and Homesick

by Laura Wifler

isbn: 9798400516054,template: list

Known for giving language to what many women feel but struggle to name, Laura Wifler's debut poetry collection is as riveting as it is relatable.

Written with her signature timbre of startling honesty and unfaltering hope, Laura offers readers a new way to witness life in This Side of The Sky. Through poetry that is remarkably specific yet wildly universal, Laura explores what it means to grow older in a fallen body, tangles with complicated feelings about grief and suffering this side of Heaven and examines the aches of living in a world that feels both heavy and holy.

In these poems and Scriptures, you will find:

  • permission to be honest about the pain of life, without losing faith
  • a tender awareness of God's nearness, even when life feels chaotic
  • encouragement, joy, and comfort in your pursuit of Christ, fortifying your faith even in trials
  • a reminder that Heaven is real, and it holds hope for you today

 

A trusted and authentic voice for modern Christian women, Laura's poems grapple with the parts of us that know God is real but need reminders that He is moving in our lives, even now. Her compassionate words are ones to tape onto mirrors, tuck into Bibles, send to friends in crisis, and save for days when everyday life feels like too much. Like a hand beckoning, these poems invite us to notice the holy mystery woven through our ordinary days and trust that, even here on this side of the sky, we are held by a God who is both tender and present.

Tree: My Encounters with Trees

by Aya Koda - Charlotte Goff

isbn: 9780063443464,template: list

**A London Review Bookshop Bestseller**

'Translated into English for the first time after a hugely successful 2022 reissue in Japan, this classic text, which features prominently in Wim Wenders' film Perfect Days, takes us on a "beautiful, pensive" journey through trees in Japan.'--Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller

A Japanese classic, Tree invites us to foster peace in our lives by connecting with trees.

Cherry blossom, hinoki, ezo spruce. Persimmon, maple, cypress. The trees of Japan are wondrous emblems of beauty that cast a spell on those who venture to its unique landscape.

As a child, Aya Kōda realized they were more than mere objects of beauty. Gifted a sapling by her father, she discovered that we depend on trees as much as they do on us. Markers of time passing, they clear the air and regenerate our earth - while we are responsible to care for their future.

Following her travels around Japan, as she witnesses landslides, lumber and forests of falling ash, Tree is a beautiful series of essays that contemplate the most distinctive and eternal features of our natural world. A modern classic translated for the first time, Kōda's voice echoes down the generations, to remind us that trees hold a mirror to what we cherish on earth, and what we choose to leave behind.

Featured in Wim Winders' Oscar-nominated film Perfect Days and now in English for the first time, translated from Japanese by Charlotte Goff.

For more inspirational reads, check out our guide to the best books for Spiritual Seekers from the Summer of 2026, or visit our sister website Graceful Reads, where you can find more Christian and faith-based content.

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