Nourishing Novels

I would like to think that one day, of the myriad of things I shall leave behind, one of the most useful would be a list of some of the books I have read which have been nourishing to me as a woman. Webster's describes the word nourish to be synonymous with nurture, maintain, support, and to nourish is to promote the growth of. Now, these are not to be confused with the Oprah type of list called Books That Made a Difference. There are many such works, and they were not all nourishing, in fact some, like Brownmiller's Against Our Will were haunting and disturbing (albeit necessary).
No. These are the books that I liken to a mentor, a dear friend, a dip in the cold and clear ocean, and when I emerged I felt more myself.
In that spirit, I begin my list, which is by no means exhaustive, nor in any particular order.

1. The Birth House by Ami McKay. The first novel by McKay details the life of Ms. Dora Rare, as she finds her way in her town as a midwife, at a time when medicine, particularly the experience of childbirth - historically a womans' domain- is about to be taken over by men. It is a tale told in a wonderfully creative way (at times a narrative, at times a scrap book) with heartfelt warmth and humor. I loved Dora, and it's one of the novels that I have read more than once. I can't wait for Mc Kay's next novel, The Virgin Cure.

2. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf. Charming, insightful, Woolf meanders though various scenarios and suppostations to arrive at a great truth: there were so few women of genius because most women did not have money, time, and a room to call their own.
Think about it.

3. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Just sweetness. And while I'm at it, her biographical spiritual journey, Dance of the Dissident Daughter.

4. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindburgh. A series of reflections on the many faceted life of a woman. It was written during a vacation on a Florida island that she took alone. Each essay is a meditation based on the sea shells she has found and lined up upon her desk, and each shell corresponds to a point in woman's life (ie, the moonshell represents the woman alone, the double sunrise represents woman and her relationships). I return to this book year after year.

5. Cleopatra by Elizabeth George. A gorgeous feast of a historical novel. I read it during the end of my marriage when I was taking care of my father. Also, her Helen of Troy.

6. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. It took me a couple of years to finish this because I would read the texts as Nafisi discusses them. I felt like I was in her class.

7. The Tenant of Wildfel Hall by Ann Bronte. A novel ahead of its time.

8. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. A book for young and not so young adults, it is more about a girl's journey into adulthood. And in that spirit,

9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.