10 Life-Changing Slow Living Books (That Will Inspire You)
From beginners guides to philosophical musings on modern-day stress, there’s a lot of incredible books on slow living.
And a good slow living book is a powerful push to change your lifestyle, whether you want to spend less time online, get in tune with nature or just declutter your closet.
So which slow living books are best for your current stage in life?
I’ve been living a slower, simple life for years and these are my favorite books that have changed my worldview and helped me fight stress and anxiety.
They’re packed with insights from experts, beautiful images and inspiring wisdom to live by.
1. Destination Simple – Brooke McAlary
Recommended for: busy beginners looking for an accessible, easy-to-read guide.
Destination Simple is a no-nonsense guide that focuses on how to reduce busyness with habits like single-tasking, unplugging from social media and gratitude.
It includes practical tips to slow down and create calming morning and evening rhythms to anchor your day. The chapters are readable with checklists, step-by-step guides and bullet points on how to implement the ideas in real life (even if you have children).
The book is about being intentional with your daily actions and creating the life you want. But it’s also realistic. Creating change takes effort, time and energy – but the payoff is huge.
There are also insights on how disconnecting from social media leads to more creativity and better conversations.
Favorite quote:
“Achieving and then maintaining a state of balanced perfection would be incredibly stressful and unfulfilling. Instead you need to understand that your time is limited and valuable. And you can choose where to place your energies, depending upon where they need to be.”
2. Essentialism – Greg McKeown
Recommended for: those feeling stretched thin, overworked and unfulfilled.
Essentialism makes a case for doing less – but doing it with more focus. It’s not about getting more done, but about doing the right things that make the biggest impact.
The book is inspired by the author’s real life. McKeown once rushed off to a client meeting the day after his daughter’s birth, as his wife lay in the hospital. But later the client lost all respect for him. And McKeown realized that if you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.
Essentialism is a guide for being more productive at work and it’s filled with anecdotes from the business world.
It makes a compelling case for cutting out the busywork to focus on work that makes an impact. When you invest your time and energy in fewer things, you’ll make more significant progress.
Favorite quote:
“The Nonessentialist operates under the false logic that the more he strives, the more he will achieve, but the reality is, the more we reach for the stars, the harder it is to get ourselves off the ground.”
3. In Praise of Slowness – Carl Honore
Recommended for: those interested in how society began to speed up – and what’s being done against it.
In Praise of Slowness is a look at how speed permeates every facet of your life – from orgasm-oriented sex to the increased tempo of classical music concerts.
Honore chronicles the slow movement from Maryland’s suburbs (where they prioritized communities over cars) to Rome and the origins of the Slow Food movement amid the backlash against a McDonald’s opening on the Spanish Steps.
The book traces the origins of the modern world’s preoccupation with speed from the first public clocks in Medieval town squares to the punch clocks of the Industrial Revolution.
It looks at slow food as a reaction against industrial farming, and slow cities that have cut noise and increased green spaces. And it examines trends like tantric sex, meditation and hobbies like knitting that were once considered old-fashioned.
Favorite quote:
“Fast is busy, controlling, aggressive, hurried, analytical, stressed, superficial, impatient, active, quantity-over-quality. Slow is the opposite: calm, careful, receptive, still, intuitive, unhurried, patient, reflective, quality-over-quantity.”
4. Wintering – Katherine May
Recommended for: those who love literary writing and powerful storytelling.
Wintering is a story about the power of retreat when life gets overwhelming. It reads more like a literary autobiography than a guide to slow living.
Wintering is the story of a university lecturer who becomes physically ill from the stress of a demanding career. She recounts her journey to recovery – from guiltily taking time off work to swimming in the Blue Lagoon and celebrating solstice at Stonehenge.
It’s a compelling story about the taboos associated with rest, and how it’s often synonymous with weakness. Wintering argues for embracing the difficult winters of your life as a chance to grow (instead of trying to power through).
It’s a guide to dealing with illness, loss and defeat. And it’s a handbook to facing loneliness, despair and all the other emotions that society often dismisses.
Favorite quote:
“When I started feeling the drag of winter, I began to treat myself like a favored child: with kindness and love. I assumed my needs were reasonable and that my feelings were signals of something important.”
5. Slow – Brooke McAlary
Recommended for: those overwhelmed who want practical strategies to prioritize what’s important.
Slow is the story of McAlary’s messy journey towards a simpler life. It’s full of personal anecdotes sprinkled with tips on everything from decluttering to fighting perfectionism.
McAlary also looks at why we crave material possessions in the first place – whether that’s advertising, our egos, insecurity or boredom. There are tips on how to share items instead of buying, and how to mend what you already have without stigma.
The book lists practices like yoga, creativity and going outside as ways to appreciate the present moment. When you’re aware of your thoughts, you notice the lies and negativity you’re dwelling in.
Slow also talks about how the online world often means no downtime because you’re constantly connected. McAlary gives strategies to fight overwhelm, whether that’s phone-free weekends or no screens at the dinner table.
Favorite quote:
“Do the work of establishing your own personal philosophy and set of values. Do the work of naming the highest, eulogy- worthy priorities in your life. Then do the work of putting them at the center of your life, every day.”
6. Rest Is Resistance – Tricia Hersey
Recommended for: those who want to explore the root causes of grind culture and their inability to slow down.
Rest is Resistance shows how grind culture brainwashes you to equate your self-worth with productivity and material wealth.
This life-changing book sheds light on how grind culture supports both capitalism and white supremacy. And how this system exploits and oppresses humans while keeping them constantly exhausted, sleep deprived and struggling just to make a living.
Hersey looks at how capitalism convinces you to constantly hustle to pay your bills. Capitalism also convinces you that rest is a weak and unambitious indulgence – or a reward that must be earned.
Hersey tells her story as a Black woman who found liberation through rest. She also gleans inspiration from her ancestors, whose very bodies were properties used as machines for labor.
Favorite quote:
“Rest is a form of resistance because it disrupts and pushes back against capitalism and white supremacy. Both these toxic systems refuse to see the inherent divinity in human beings and have used bodies as a tool for production, evil, and destruction for centuries.”
7. The Slow Fix – Carl Honore
Recommended for: those in business looking for fresh insights on a slower, more holistic approach to problem-solving.
The Slow Fix is a look at our addiction to shortcuts. It’s filled with stories about how a holistic, slower approach is better – whether that’s rehabilitation at a Norwegian prison or a school in Los Angeles that tackles the roots of its troubles.
The Slow Fix explains why we’re hooked on quick fixes (that rarely work) and the rush of an easy solution. Our brains are fond of familiar solutions so we’re less likely to think outside the box. And we’re more likely to repeat past mistakes.
A slow fix usually starts with admitting there’s a problem, accepting blame and thinking deep. Rushing makes us less creative – and all creativity needs an incubation period.
Honore lists the elements of a slow fix and draws on examples from how Bogota revitalized its downtown to how officials in Spain convinced the majority to agree to organ donations.
Favorite quote:
“We must tame our addiction to the quick fix. Given human biology, and the world we inhabit, this will not be easy, but there are ways to inoculate against the virus of hurry.”
8. Soulful Simplicity – Courtney Carver
Recommended for: those want slow but radical changes in their life to reduce stress, debt and overwhelm.
Soulful Simplicity tells the story of how Carver’s MS diagnosis changed her life and inspired her to focus on what’s most important.
Carver’s journey was slow but radical. She paid off her debt, decluttered, quit her job, downsized to a small apartment and deepened her relationships.
She talks about her experiences with yoga, the benefits of sleep, and having fewer needs instead of working endlessly to make ends meet.
Carver tells the story of her trademark Project 333 and dressing with only 33 items or less for three months. She not only freed up her time and money, but also received more compliments.
Favorite quote:
“The better I felt, the less I cared about upgrading appliances, buying new carpet for the living room, or building a new deck or fence.”
9. The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down – Haemin Sunim
Recommended for: those looking for a deep, Zen Buddhist reflection on mindfulness and how it impacts all aspects of their life.
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down is a collection of reflections on life, love and relationships. Penned by an influential Zen Buddhist teacher from Korea, it’s a guide to being mindful in a fast-paced world.
From finding your calling to not worrying about what others think, this book reads like advice from a wise grandfather. There are no bullet points or strategies. This book is more about gentle, poetic reflections that make you examine your life.
The book touches on everything from love and friendships to work and aspirations – and how mindfulness helps with everything.
Sunim explores the importance of tolerance and learning from different spiritual traditions. He also talks about the importance of independence in relationships, and the life-changing magic of observing your own thoughts and emotions.
Favorite quote:
“The world is experienced according to the state of one’s mind. When your mind is joyful and compassionate, the world is, too … when your mind is filled with negative thoughts, the world appears negative, too.”
10. Seeking Slow – Melanie Barnes
Recommended for: those looking for visual inspiration, practical tips and insights into being kinder to themselves.
Seeking Slow is a beautifully photographed guide to slow and seasonal living by the creator of the blog Geoffrey and Grace.
It takes a holistic approach and offers insights on everything from mindful travel to leisure. There are also activities for each season and crafts to make with kids.
Barnes writes eloquently on the role of self-compassion in slow living. And there’s an entire section on digital detoxing and strategies to keep the internet from taking over your life.
There are sections on well-being and taking care of your body, seasonal living in tune with nature and crafting a simple home that inspires a slower pace of life.
Favorite quote:
“When we begin to live more slowly … we have time to think about the purpose and meaning within our lives, and naturally, we become more intentional and thoughtful with the decisions we make.”
Read next:
54 Life-Changing Simple Living Quotes (To Inspire You)
15 Inspiring Slow Living Instagram Accounts
16 Practical Tips For Slow Living in the City
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