Gentle: Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want Hardcover – February 18, 2025

One of the best books I have read in years. It is easy to read with all the information on how to put being "gentle" into action and with tiny steps and permission slips, it is simple to follow along. I've learned so much on how to actually live a simpler and more gentle life. This book is exactly what people want; more rest, less stress, and to have a life they want. Thank you, Courtney Carver for writing such a great, gentle book!

I purchased the audible version and while I was listening to Courtney’s wisdom I knew I would have to purchase a hard copy so I could dog-ear the pages and write notes in the margins for future reference. This book is a keeper, it is written in an action oriented way. Courtney gives little steps to take after each chapter and if those feel to big, she gives you even smaller baby steps to take. Courtney is so kind and thoughtful in her writing. She has done her work and is willing to share what she has learned along her amazing journey. She writes in such a way that it helps you examine your belief systems without judgement. I am buying this for all my girlfriends! I absolutely loved this book.

Gentle reminders and roadmaps throughout this book broken down by topics divided into the main three sections of “Rest, Less, and Rise.”. I love that each chapter is a quick read, making it easy to understand and apply with suggested tiny steps along with an accompanying permission slip reminding me to be gentle as I go. Courtney’s writing is friendly in style interspersed with real life examples, research and expertise making it all approachable and memorable. I kept finding myself marking sections to tell a friend or family member about that I thought they might find helpful or interesting before I was a third of the way through the book! The beauty of this book is you could open to any chapter you find of interest if you’d like - it doesn’t need to be read from front to back. You can read any one chapter and find great value. This would make a great gift book and I will be a using as a reference book to go back to, I know.

Excited to read this book but it arrive with the cover dirty. A large spot and smear of something is on the cover.

Courtney Carver is a wonderful mentor in simplifying your life. She has a marvelous way of putting into words what you need to hear to go on this journey of being gentle, of taking care of yourself, of having fun in life again, of feeling good on your journey to who you really are and to how you really want to live your life. LOVE it!!

This book was a much-needed breath of fresh air. Such a radical thought to Rest First. There is this constant push to do more, achieve more, buy more, be more, which leaves us tired, overwhelmed, and burned out. This book is the much-needed alternative to all of that doing. Instead of pushing through ease through, instead of doing more, be intentional about what you do, what you buy, and do less. As always, Courtney has such a simple, gentle way of telling us exactly what we need to hear just when we need to hear it. My best advice for this book, take your time with it and gently go through it, do all the tiny steps, and enjoy it.

I'm a therapist and so I received an early recording of this book and had the pleasure (yes, pleasure!) of listening to the author, Courtney Carver, read it. I often get bored reading or listening to self-help books as they are repetitive, dry, and seem impossible to do most of what they suggest -- but Gentle is the opposite. Gentle has substantive content, has a unique perspective, is interesting, and offers accessible steps to achieve what Carver refers to as 'living the life you actually want." I love the "permission slips" that set me free from external pressures, to honor my own needs, guilt-free.I have now purchased a copy of this book for every one of my clients, as this book has something to offer for everyone and is transformative on many levels. We can all benefit from tools to learn how to rest, do less and rise (the Gentle "seasons"). Becoming our best selves doesn't happen by pushing through, grinding or burning the candle at both ends.Thank you, Courtney Carver, for giving us gentle practices and giving us all permission to live the life we actually want.

I'm a type-A achiever and I highly recommend this book if, like me, you've been thinking it's time to simplify. Not just decluttering, but your experience of how you go through your days. This book provides concrete ideas to be more gentle to yourself, delivered in a clear and non-judgmental way. I especially enjoy the 'permission slips' as a little voice telling me exactly the opposite of what I have heard so many times before, and I am finding it to be a helpful little voice.