PERFECT HUNGER link-up + $100 Bookshop.org giveaway
May the book faeries be ever in your favor! 🧚
The PERFECT HUNGER Link-Up is woven from what’s been capturing my attention and pulling at my heartstrings lately, featuring resources to help you feel better and live more beautifully. For full access to these Link-Ups, my step-by-step Guide to Transformative Eating, and the rest of PERFECT HUNGER, upgrade your subscription here:
*New! Each month, as a small thank you to paid subscribers, I’ll be offering a chance to win a $100 gift card to Bookshop.org.
If you’re a paid subscriber, simply leave a comment below to be entered. I’ll draw this month’s winner on January 15 at 12:00 a.m. PT. (If Bookshop doesn’t ship to you, I’ll send the amount via PayPal instead.) ❤️No purchase necessary. To enter without subscribing, email hello AT danaleighlyons DOT com with the subject “January Giveaway” by January 15 at 12:00 a.m. PT.
Dearest Reader,
It’s a little before 8 a.m. and still chilly in the corner of Thailand where I’m writing to you. Our temple cat, Tucker, has commandeered my blue blanket and is snoozing nearby—mouth slightly open, one arm draped over his eyes like an eye mask. Between typing, my hands move to the mug of steeped ginger warming my lap.
Before we get into this month’s link-up, I want to share four offerings that might interest you. All are perfect for this season of finding clarity, shedding what’s unhelpful, and taking your next healing steps:
Buddhist Practice for Building Bridges to Peace and Justice: A Dialogue between Mohsen Mahdawi and Gil Fronsdal. This online, donation-based event will explore how to have empathy for “both sides” in the face of injustice, including when we have deep personal stakes. (I’ll be there! I’m enrolled in a Certificate of Theravada Buddhist Studies at the Sati Center and highly recommend their offerings.)
Your Uncensored Year Masterclass with Africa Brooke. I attended this class live last year and enthusiastically recommend the recorded version for anyone seeking a bold vision for the new year, uncensored clarity, and freedom from fear. (More generally, I sign up for Africa’s live offerings whenever I can—get on her list!)
One-on-ones with Maria Luz O'Rourke. Along with being an astrologer, hypnotist, psychic medium, and herbalist, Maria is a bright light and dear connection. She gifted me a session last month that was deeply insightful and tremendously helpful. Maria is generously offering 15% off any service when you use the code SUBSTACK at checkout.
Undimmed, The Eight Awarenesses for Freedom from Unwanted Habits. I’m thrilled to see Cecily Mak’s book in the world! Like Cecily’s path and process, my own decision to stop drinking nearly six years ago was deeply tied to Buddhist practice as well as to conscious choice, self-trust, and presence—not diagnosis or assuming a rigid identity. If you love her book and want more, you can listen to my conversation with Cecily from a couple years ago here, and get a window into her story and life’s work here.
None of these are sponsored; just beautiful humans and offerings I want to share with you! The only affiliate links in this letter are for Bookshop.org, where I may earn a small commission if you use my links to make a purchase.
Now on to the link-up!
This month’s reads and listens wind through themes such as:
how shame and low self-worth make it really hard to say sorry
how a self-centric lens on healing hurts others
how to stop spinning out with preoccupations and projections
how to reach across language barriers (including with cats!)
Paired with stories of people choosing to live differently:
an American woman living a simple, abundant life in rural Slovenia
an entrepreneur who made millions, said goodbye to that game, and now lives in a cabin with lots of books and no internet
a Canadian farmer, mother, and nutritionist who’s taking a digital sabbatical in a winter tent for the next two or three months or longer
And, yes, some resources for making your resolutions (or goals, or deepest desires) come true:
a beautiful invitation to get really honest, be brave, and make this year the year you follow through with what you most want
a shortlist of resources to support you in taking next healing steps, organized according to food and health, alcohol and sobriety, money and spending, overwork and burnout, and transforming your habits in a way that finally sticks
All that below, and I hope you’ll pull from it what your own body-mind-spirit most needs. I’d also love to hear your thoughts and what you’re reading or listening to in the comments.
And remember: commenting gets you a chance to win $100 towards books! ❤️
