The Ultimate Summer Nonfiction Reading List
There’s nothing quite like getting lost in a great book, and summer is the perfect time to discover fresh voices and unforgettable stories. But where do you find those hidden literary gems?
Introducing The Ultimate Summer Nonfiction Reading List—a curated collection that celebrates the incredible talent within our Writing Off Social community!
At Writing Off Social, our mission is to help writers share their work without relying on social media. Because we’re all about collaboration, we created this list as a way to spotlight our amazing community of authors.
So go ahead—treat yourself to a few new reads, support fellow writers, and share the list with your book-loving friends. Every book you choose helps an author feel seen, supported, and inspired to keep creating.
And if you fall in love with a book, we have one small favor to ask: leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It’s one of the easiest—and most impactful—ways to encourage an author and amplify their work.
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Looking for FICTION books? Check Out This Post Instead!
Please Note: Some of these links may be affiliate links, meaning should you purchase something after clicking on this link, the author will receive a small payment from that company- at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Bible Studies & Devotionals
Come To The Table – Pursuing Peace & Joy Through Grace & Mercy – A 31 Day Devotional
By: Kathleen Knapp
Are you yearning for peace and joy in your life? Are you struggling with anxiety and forgiveness? Discover a collection of devotions that offer a path to finding peace, joy, and hope as you seek God’s grace and mercy through relatable stories of everyday life.
Kathleen shares her candid struggles with trusting God, forgiving others, and finding purpose in life through praise and thanksgiving. Join her as she shares her inspiring journey towards inner peace and fulfillment. God invites us all to the table to receive all his good gifts for us – both now and for eternity.
Navigating Grief – A Journey of Hope & Healing – A 31-Day Devotional
By: Kathleen Knapp
Are you grieving, longing for wholeness, and wondering where to turn? Regardless of the kind of loss you’ve suffered, God desires to comfort you with hope and healing as you navigate your journey of grief.
Navigating Grief – A Journey of Hope & Healing is a 31-day devotional that guides you to the spiritual healing your broken heart desires. Kathleen Knapp invites you to journey one step at a time sharing how Jesus met her in the grief of the loss of her mother and son. Through relatable Bible verses and personal stories, this interactive devotional encourages you to hope again.
Lighthearted 100-Day Devotional: One Word Promises to Lighten Your Load and Lift Up Your Heart
By: Susie Crosby
Lighthearted is a refreshing combination of a promise book with a daily devotional— providing several promises from Scripture for each hard emotion. Each short meditation contains a keyword, a prayer, and some simple ways to remember God’s faithfulness throughout the day.
Susie’s conversational and familiar voice offers compassion, strength, truth, and help by calling readers to look to Jesus. Let this simple devotional help you find these promises to be lasting and true as you accept his invitation into a lighthearted life with him.
From Pain to Change: God’s Transformation for Your Soul
By: Phyllis Keith Boles
You may be stuck in old ways or have entered a new phase in life where patterns of doing the same things over and over do not work. Maybe this repeated cycle has gone on for years, where the pain paralyzes you from trusting God.
This book encourages you to recognize new phases in life to make changes. Trust in God for the transformative work He wants to do for you. Experience God’s wholeness as you journal the truth, journal the pain, and journal the change.
This Beloved Road: A Journey of Revelation and Worship (2nd Edition)
By: Amy Layne Litzelman
Ever wonder if God is interested in the details of your life?
In This Beloved Road: A Journey of Revelation and Worship, Amy Layne Litzelman pulls back the curtain on her search for God, revealing a Creator who wants to be known in the routines and the mysteries. In simple but profound encounters, Amy has experienced the laughter, discipline, revelation, encouragement, guidance, holiness, and extravagant love of God. Through eighty essays, she invites you to know this One who’s even better than you hope, closer than your breath, and wiser than your dilemma. Step inside and expect to be changed.
Consider it All Joy: A Daily Prayer Book for Women
By: Sheryl Aeschliman & Emily Saxe
Consider it All Joy is your daily companion for finding light in life’s darkest seasons.
This 365-day prayer book, written by co-authors Emily Saxe and Sheryl Aeschliman, offers honest, Scripture-based prayers to help women draw near to God when life feels overwhelming.
Whether you’re walking through weariness, parenting struggles, spiritual warfare, or seasons of silence, each day invites you to anchor your heart in truth, pray God’s Word back to Him, and rediscover lasting joy—even in the hardest moments.
Afternoon Tea: An Invitation to Draw Near to God’s Presence.
By: Claire C. Davies
Feeling overwhelmed, drained, or anxious? Pulled in many directions with little rest for your soul? I’ve been there too—and found peace in an unexpected place: afternoon tea with the Lord.
This 4-week Bible study journal invites you to slow down and embrace the Lord’s T.E.A: Time in His Word, Experience His presence, and receive the Abundance of His love. Each week includes Scripture, reflection questions, and a special tearoom feature inspired by real English tearooms. Whether alone or with a group, come be refreshed—physically, spiritually, and mentally—as you discover rest and intimacy with Jesus.
Knowing God’s Peace Through the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer: A Bible Study Journal.
By: Claire C. Davies
“You have breast cancer.” Whether you’ve just heard those life-altering words or have been living with the diagnosis for some time, this 12-week self-paced Bible study journal is here to support you. Through guided prayer, honest journaling, and Scripture study, you’ll discover strength, peace, and hope in God’s Word.
This journal invites you to reflect, grow, and remember God’s faithfulness along the way. I’ll walk beside you, sharing my own journey with stage 2 breast cancer. Let this be your companion as you navigate this season—anchored in truth, comforted by faith, and encouraged for the road ahead.
Seen in the Unseen: Experiencing God’s Presence Through the Psalms: A Four-Week Devotional for Mamas of Littles
By: Bekah Buchterkirchen
Seen in the Unseen is a four-week devotional inspired by the Psalms, written to meet moms in the thick of it. Each day offers a Psalm, heartfelt reflection, and guided prayer—designed for busy schedules and quiet moments alike.
With a simple five-part prayer rhythm—address, describe, confess, request, and praise—mothers are invited to engage with God honestly. This devotional helps you anchor your heart in His presence, offering strength, hope, and spiritual renewal in both the ordinary and overwhelming moments of motherhood.
Graced: How God Redeems and Restores the Broken
By: Teresa Whiting
Graced: How God Redeems and Restores the Broken is an in-depth Bible study inviting women to move beyond shame and discover the redemptive heart of God.
Rooted in Scripture and rich with storytelling, Graced explores the lives of six biblical women—Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, and the sinful woman at Simon’s house—each marked by sexual brokenness, yet rescued, redeemed, and restored by God.
Psalms Bible Study Journal
By: Lisa Hamilton
In this study, we’ll witness the awe-inspiring nature of God—not just His constant presence with us, but His creative work in the world, shaping the past, present, and future because He exists beyond time. His incomprehensibility is beautifully revealed throughout the book of Psalms. Study God’s character, practice prayer, look for themes across scripture, be creative and learn new ways to study God’s word!
Esther Bible Study Journal
By: Lisa Hamilton
In this study of Esther, we’ll not only witness God’s providential work in restoring the lives of His people, but also see who is truly in control. We’ll explore covenants, study the difference between God’s providence and His sovereignty, and examine how Esther “found favor.” Was it simply coincidence, or was it God’s divine providence at work?
Touching the Heart of God Special Edition
By: Cindy Barrineau Curtis
Have you searched for ways to grow your faith? Have you walked the paths of life that leave you reeling? Have you been moved to tears of joy? Have you been slammed to your knees in anguish? Touching the Heart of God was written for such times as these.
The poetry, scriptures, and prayers were written to help you endure those times in your life and to allow the love of God to guide you when you cannot take one more step forward. The topics represent a life story of trials, joys, blessings, and sorrow. Take this guide and let your story rest with mine as we touch the heart of God together through poems, prayers, and His holy word.
21 Days of Encouragement: A Devotional
By: Jackie Scott
We’re surrounded by negativity every day. Why not choose to make our lives more positive? Here are 21 encouraging verses and how they’ve positively impacted my life. Why not try them to see if they encourage you, too?
Dive into this 21 day devotional and explore how daily faith-based encouragement can improve your mindset and brighten your day. You’re worth it!
Faith Alive: A 6-Week Devotional for Mothers
By: Anna Hawkes Cabral
Mama, God sees you—and He loves you deeply.
In a world weighed down by fear, anxiety, and hopelessness, He desires for you to stand strong in faith and overflow with hope.
That’s why I wrote this devotional—to walk alongside you, heart to heart, as we grow in faith and learn to shine the light of Christ in the chaos around us.
If you’re a mom longing to grow in faith and find fresh strength for each day, this devotional will meet you right where you are—with truth, grace, and hope.
Inspirational
Cutting Through Despair: Dare to Hope
By: Kathy Brasby
In life’s darkest moments, hope can seem impossible. But what if despair doesn’t have the final say? Cutting Through Despair: Dare to Hope contains powerful stories of ordinary people who faced life’s darkest trials and discovered an unshakable hope through faith.
These individuals emerged from hardship’s darkness armed with a newfound confidence in God’s work. Learn from their resilience how to navigate your own trials, trust in God’s plan, and dare to believe you can entrust your future to God’s guiding hands.
Can I Have Your Heart … Daddy?
By: Regina Sanchez
Why did Jesus say to His disciples and to us, “I promise that I will never leave you helpless or abandon you as orphans – I will come back to you.”
Were they orphans? Was there something more to His statement?
Women sit in Church pews feeling alone, neglected, and wounded wanting desperately to feel loved and give love back. Because of past trauma, they are dressed beautifully on the outside but falling apart on the inside.
Knowing you are loved by the perfect Father in Heaven is truly the only thing that will bring you complete healing.
Astounding Truths of the Bible – A Bite-Sized Approach to Understanding the World’s Bestselling Book
By: Annie Weber
Discover a transformative journey through the scriptures with Annie Weber’s captivating book, Astounding Truths of the Bible. Whether you’re a newcomer to the pages of the Bible or have grown up immersed in its teachings, this insightful exploration will inspire your quest to unravel the profound truths that lie within.
Annie’s refreshing approach combines a love for wordplay, nods to pop culture, humor, and personal anecdotes to illuminate the teachings of Jesus and His character. These devotions, brimming with wit and authenticity, offer a unique lens through which to understand the heart of God’s message.
Nature at Night – Finding Faith, Wonder & Resilience After Dark
By: Laurie Kehler
Laurie Kehler guides readers through a moonlit exploration of God’s nocturnal creation, blending natural history with spiritual wisdom. With warmth and insight, she reveals how nighttime creatures reflect divine promises of hope and resilience in darkness.
Barn owls teach us to hear God’s voice in silence; badgers inspire tenacity; raccoons demonstrate adaptation to challenges; and spider webs show how failures become foundations for new attempts.
This unique marriage of science and faith unveils the mysteries that emerge after sunset, offering personal growth for daily living. For nature enthusiasts and spiritual seekers alike, Kehler’s observations reassure that even in darkness, God’s presence remains brilliantly evident. Step into the night with faith—wonder awaits.
Memoir
When Dreams Are Disrupted
By: Sandy Ramsey
“Sandy, it will be a boy!”
The only time Sandy ever recalls hearing the audible voice of God, those were the words He spoke to her. Immediately she imagined God’s plans for this boy, her son, must be extraordinary.
Years later, Sandy found herself raging at God as her son fought for his life from an illness that would ultimately leave him with multiple disabilities and significant medical challenges.
In When Dreams Are Disrupted, you’ll discover how lives traumatically impacted by illness and disabilities are redeemed by the unrelenting love and faithfulness of God.
Empty-Nest Joyride: Hope, Love, and Purpose on the Road to Contentment
By: Linda Hanstra
In Empty-Nest Joyride, Linda Hanstra shares a heartfelt collection of personal stories inspired by bike rides through the Midwest countryside. Using cycling adventures as metaphors, she reflects on the challenges and blessings of this midlife stage with humor, warmth, and wisdom.
Whether you’re approaching the empty nest or already in the midst of it, this book will encourage you to:
- Reach for new opportunities in personal and spiritual growth
- Ignite and rekindle the spark in your marriage
- Dream of ambitions you put on hold during the parenting years
- Engage in healthy, fulfilling relationships with your adult children
Me, Mom, & Jesus: An Unlikely Love Story of Two Broken Hearts and One Miracle-Working God
By: Nikki S. White
A Bible study dropout tired of being the spiritual problem child, Nikki was determined to earn back her salvation and her mother’s blessing. When a sudden diagnosis forces them on a perilous five-day journey together, it leads to an unexpected miracle that causes Nikki to embrace her mom’s faith and find her own.
Speaking with a tiny bit of sarcasm and a whole lot of love, Nikki shares her relatable path from the hard pews of church legalism to God’s tender grace, proving that love deserves the final word in every impossible story.
Poetry
Details: The Poetic Language of God
By: Amy Layne Litzelman
To those who savor beauty in overlooked, ordinary, and unexpected places… To those who look for hope in chaos and are willing to lean in to hear a whisper…
Amy Layne Litzelman extends a poetic invitation to sit a moment. To breathe deeply and embrace the splendor found in modest elements of life. To allow the wisdom which lies in the details around and within you to lift you to a higher place. To come to know yourself and your Creator in unexpected measure.
More than words, Details is an encounter with wonder.
An Ocean Without
By: Sarah Steele
What if saying “no” was the first step toward healing? What if your breaking point was really the beginning?
In these poetic reflections, Sarah Steele traces the quiet unraveling of a people-pleaser—the giving that turned to grasping, the boundary that broke a false peace, the ache of rejection, and the slow return to wholeness.
For the weary soul who’s been everything to everyone, this collection offers more than sympathy—it offers a way back to yourself, to a faith that frees, and to a community where love doesn’t demand your undoing.
Mining the Bright Birds- Poems of Longing for Home
By: Jody L Collins
The manner in which we chart our lives is less a straight line on the calendar and more a song cycle moving upward into the future, circles growing closer as we move towards the center, where God is. Ecclesiastes declares we are made for a longing towards Heaven, our true home, and so we journey, often in the dark.
The poems in Mining the Bright Birds: Poems of Longing for Home reflect this circular, upward journey, one of change and growth. Mining the Bright Birds offers a glimmer of light to shine the way.
Self-Help & Personal Development
Church(ing) Kids: Four Keys to Keeping Your Children Engaged In Church
By: Beth Meverden
A short devotional-style resource, Church(ing) Kids empowers parents to disciple their children at home and at church!
This book encourages parents who want to help their children stay engaged in church as adults with practical tips and help.
Take God’s Hand: Hope and Help for Rebuilding Your Family after Divorce
By: Aimee Claire Cooks
As a Christian, getting divorced was not on my radar. In fact, people commented that my ex-husband and I were the couple that was going to stay married. Yet, I found myself, a single mom, with two sons under the age of three.
Twenty years later, I desire to share my story to encourage others in similar circumstances. There is hope for your family as you rebuild with God as your foundation.
Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted
By: Lori Ann Wood
A serious diagnosis took Lori Ann Wood on a faith detour she never saw coming. As a lifelong believer, she felt profound disappointment in the God she thought she knew. Wanting answers, but more than anything, needing permission to ask the questions, Divine Detour is a result of a risky decision to embrace those difficult questions.
She shares her hard-won insights through relatable stories, inviting you along on a journey deep into the heart of a God who often doesn’t behave as we’d like. The 40 vulnerable essays in Divine Detour will give voice to your most challenging life questions.
Heartmending: God Can Heal Your Heartbreak From Sexual Abuse
By: Nancy Manassero
Are you carrying the weight of sexual trauma? Heartmending offers a path to healing through research-based strategies, Scripture, and prayer. Author Nancy Manassero shares her journey from shame and rage to freedom and wholeness in Christ. This compassionate guide helps you overcome shame, make peace with hard questions, embrace soul care, understand forgiveness, and live as an overcomer.
If you’re ready to move beyond survival mode and reclaim your joy, let Jesus breathe life into your soul and gently mend your broken heart. Healing is possible—and it begins here.
Longing to Belong–Filling the Longings of Our Hearts with the Hope of Home
By: Ellen Chauvin
Longing to Belong is a journey through grief to wholeness.
It helps readers who are suffering to grieve with hope. Grief leaves us with longings only God can fill.
This book shows how God fills the longings of our hearts with better things He has for us, things we can’t find here on earth.
Unbraided: Transform Your Pain to Power and Purpose
By: Karla B. Monterrosa
What if your deepest pain held the key to your God-given purpose? Unbraided is Karla B. Monterrosa’s story of healing from childhood trauma and finding freedom through Christ. It is written for every woman who has wrestled with the wounds of her past and longs for true, deep, eternal healing.
In this transparent, Spirit-led journey, Karla shares how the Lord met her in the tangled places of her life—fear, shame, and grief—and gently began to release her from the lies she had believed so she could walk in freedom, peace, and purpose.
Hidden Heartache: Finding Courage When Your Husband Struggles with Pornography
By: Jody Allen
Hidden Heartache is for the woman who never thought this would be part of her story. When pornography invades a marriage, it wounds deeply—but you don’t have to stay stuck in silence or shame. With honesty and tender wisdom, Jody Allen shares her own journey of heartbreak and healing, offering biblical truth and practical steps to help you find clarity, courage, and hope.
This is not a book about his struggle—it’s about your strength. Hidden Heartache is your invitation to stop hiding, start healing, and remember you are never alone in your pain or your path forward.
Create Anyway
By: Ashlee Gadd
What if you could pursue your creative gifts alongside motherhood, for the enrichment of both experiences? What if you stopped viewing creativity as a selfish act, and started to see it as essential to your own flourishing as a mother?
This book is a much-needed permission slip to do just that.
One-part commissioning, one-part pep talk, Create Anyway will propel you forward with a renewed sense of energy, purpose, and enthusiasm for stewarding the creative dreams God has planted in your heart.
I Am Who God Says I Am: Getting to the Heart of Your Identity
By: Alicia Terry
IDENTITY. It’s a word we hear a lot about these days from so many different perspectives, but what about God’s perspective? Does it matter?
Yes, it absolutely does matter.
When you know your identity, you are positioned to know and fulfill your destiny. This makes the devil very uneasy. Want to know what else makes him uneasy? Embracing your identity as a daughter of God and learning to fight like Jesus to protect it.
The Most Overwhelmed Women of the Bible: How Their Stories Help us Find Peace
By: Mary DeMuth
With the onset of social media, we not only worry about myriad tasks, but we feel bad if we don’t measure up to everyone else’s highlight reels. We lack Sabbath, and we push away rest—even though we desperately need it. And yet, the Bible is replete with women just like us—women who felt the weight of overwhelming schedules and circumstances. In their stories, you will not only learn more about the women of the Bible, but you’ll begin to unpack ways to find true rest and peace.
