Web Only: Five Contemplative Reads

Lindsey Dawson wrote 'the road to redemption' (issue 23), a story about hiking the camino, the ancient pilgrim path across the top of spain and a spiritual journey. we asked her for her five favourite contemplative reads.

I'm pretty ruthless about culling my shelves from time to time because you can end up with hundreds of dusty books. But there are some I can't bear to part with, including:

Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World by John O'Donohue. He died a little while back, sadly. But these words from the wellspring of an Irish scholar's soul are so clear, calming and illuminating.

Meetings with Remarkable Trees by Thomas Pakenham. He produced this book on English trees 12 years ago and has since gone on to roam the world, collecting gorgeous photos and great stories about strange and wonderful ancient trees.

Secrets of the Talking Jaguar: Memoirs from the Living Heart of a Mayan Village by Martin Prechtel. Once a rebellious white boy from the American south, Prechtel had his head put right and his world turned upside down by a Guatemalan shaman.

One Song: A New Illuminated Rumi by Michael Green. This lovely book glows with evocative illustrations, but any book of Rumi poetry is wonderful. It continues to fascinate me that a 13th century Persian poet could write words about the human condition that are so right for how we feel now, 800 years later.

My mother's cookery book. It's just a grubby plain brown notebook full of hand-scribbled recipes, each page marked by splatters and drips, and every one evocative of my childhood. I browse it to put my grownup life back into perspective. And it always has the power to make me smile.  

All of these books (apart from Lindsey's mother's cookbook) are available from Amazon, www.amazon.com.