2020 Medalists

We’re excited to announce the 2020 Living Now medalists! These outstanding books represent the best in lifestyle publishing, helping readers lead healthier, more fulfilling, and sustainable lives.

From wellness and fitness to cooking and personal growth, this year’s medalists showcase the innovation of creators dedicated to books for better living. Congratulations to all the 2020 medalists for their inspiring work!

BOOKS OF THE YEAR

MIND

Headstrong: Surviving a Traumatic Brain Injury

by JoAnne Silver Jones

(She Writes Press)

BODY

Love Notes to My Body

by Nicole C. Ayers; illustrated by Mica Gadhia

(SPARK Publications)

SPIRIT

The Worst First Day: Bullied While Desegregating Central High

by Elizabeth Eckford Eurydice Stanley and Grace Stanley

(Amused Media and Productions LLC)

GENERAL CATEGORIES

1. Cookbooks - General

Silver

Quick & Healthy: 50 Simple, Delicious Recipes for Every Day

by American Cancer Society

(American Cancer Society)

Bronze

Beautiful Balance: A Wellness Guide to Healthy Eating and Feeling Great

by Zoe Palmer-Wright

(Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press)

2. Cookbooks - Ethnic, Holiday, Specialty

GOLD

Cooking with Marika: Clean Cuisine from an Estonian Farm

by Marika Blossfeldt

(Delicious Nutrition)

Bronze

The Mediterranean Functional Lifestyle

by Nikos Ligidakis

(Inkwell Books)

3.Gift/Specialty/Keepsake

GOLD

Colorado Kids: The Art of Making Memories

by Gail Riley and Amy Kenney

(Highland Haven Creekside Inn)

Silver

Tattle Tales: Tattoo Stories and Portraits

by Brandy Isadora

(Brandimar Publishing)

Bronze

4. Journal/Activity/Coloring Book

GOLD

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall... Where Does My Self-Love Fall

by Nina Norstrom

(WriteLife Publishing) 

Silver

The Thankful Mermaid: I Am Confident

by Hayley Rose

(Flowered Press) 

Bronze

I’m Feeling

by Jolyn Farber and Reagan Farber

(Self-Published)

5. Animals/Pets

GOLD

Forest Bathing with Your Dog

by Nadine Mazzola

(Blue Cloud Books)

Silver

Little Mouse Adventures: Yoga at the Zoo

by Teresa Anne Power; illustrated by Emma Allen

(Stafford House Books)

Bronze

Bean Saves the Day

by Rey A. Banda; illustrated by Chris Sweet

(Northopolis Publishing Company)

6. Green Living

GOLD

Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change

by Rob Badger and Nita Winter

(WinterBadger Press)

Silver

Renewal: How Nature Awakens Our Creativity, Compassion, and Joy

by Andres R. Edwards

(New Society Publishers) 

Bronze

Your Body’s Environmental Chemical Burden

by Cindy Klement, MS, CNS, MCHES

(Mindstir Media)

7. Family/Parenting

Silver

The Call of the Wild and Free

by Ainsley Arment

(HarperCollins)

Bronze

On the Edge: Help & Hope for Parenting Children with Mental Illness

by Andrea Berryman Childreth

(The Lemonade Project) 

8. Social Activism/Charity

GOLD

A Politics of Love

by Marianne Williamson

(HarperCollins)

Silver (tie)

Silver (tie)

American Prophets

by Jack Jenkins

(HarperCollins)

Bronze

Stand Up! Be an Upstander and Make a Difference

by Wendy L. Moss PhD

(American Psychological Association)

9. Personal Growth - Self-Help

GOLD

Vibrate Higher Daily

by Lalah Delia

(HarperCollins)

Silver (tie)

Big Wild Love: The Unstoppable Power of Letting Go

by Jill Sherer Murray

(She Writes Press)

Silver (tie)

Out of Love: Finding Your Way Back to Self-Compassion

by Marianne Ingheim

(She Writes Press) 

Bronze

The Meaning of Life

by Nathanael Garrett Novosel

(Nathanael Garrett Novosel) 

10. Motivation - Practical Self-Improvement

GOLD (tie)

Do The Work

by Gary John Bishop

(HarperCollins) 

GOLD (tie)

Rethinking Success

by  J. Douglas Holladay

(Harper Collins)

11. Sexuality/Femininity

GOLD

Stripped Down: How Burlesque Led Me Home

by Anna Brooke

(Legs Malone Inc.)

Bronze

12. Relationships/Marriage

Silver

The 5 Core Conversations for Couples

by David Bulitt and Julie Bulitt

(Books Forward)

Bronze

Simple Habits for Marital Happiness

by Dr. Randy Schroeder

(Crosslink Publishing)

13. Inspirational Memoir - Male

GOLD

Quest for Eternal Sunshine

by Mendek Rubin & Myra Goldman

(She Writes Press)

Silver

One by One by One

by Aaron Berkowitz

(HarperCollins)

Bronze

The Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance

by Harold Michael Harvey

(Cascade Publishing House)

14. Inspirational Memoir - Female

GOLD (tie)

Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days

by Andrea Wilson Woods

(Build Your BLISSS)

GOLD (tie)

All the Silent Spaces

by Christine Ristaino

(She Writes Press)

Silver

The Rural Diaries

by Hilarie Burton

(HarperCollins)

Bronze

Broth from the Cauldron: A Wisdom Journey through Everyday Magic

by Cerridwen Fallingstar

(She Writes Press)

15. Enlightenment/Spirituality

GOLD

The Power of Ritual

by Casper ter Kuile

(HarperCollins) 

SILVER (tie)

Calm Mind Perfect Ease

by Venerable Hsin Ting

(Buddha's Light Publications USA Corp)

Silver

Elegant Simplicity

by Satish Kumar

(New Society Publishers)

Bronze

Christ in Crisis

by Jim Wallis

(HarperCollins)

16. Metaphysical - Astrology, Tarot, Psychic Development

GOLD

Silver (tie)

Illumination of the Shadow: Ancestral Wisdom from the Past for the Future

by Anthea Durand 

(Shamanism and Evolving Consciousness Ltd) 

Bronze

Soul Afterlife: Beyond the Near-Death Experience

by Bud Megargee

(Megargee Healthcare Group)

17. Exercise/Fitness/Yoga

GOLD

The Book of Help: A Memoir in Remedies

by Megan Griswald

(Rodale Books)

Silver

Bronze

Journeys on a Football Carpet

by Matthis Krug

(Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press)

18. Health/Wellness

GOLD

All Of Us Warriors: Cancer Stories of Survival and Loss

by Rebecca Whitehead Munn

(She Writes Press)

Bronze

A Nation of Unwell: What's Gone Wrong?

by Kristine L. Gedroic MD and Valerie A. Latona

(LCR)

19. Meditation/Relaxation/Anxiety Relief

Silver

Designing for Wellness

by Susie Frazier

(Susie Frazier)

Bronze

The EQ Intervention

by Adam L. Saenz PhD

(The Applied EQ Group)

20. Healing Arts/Bodywork/Energy Techniques

Category cancelled

21. Caregiving

GOLD

Creative Care

by Anne Basting

(HarperCollins)

Silver

Take Care of Ivan: A Caregiver’s Struggle to Save Her Husband

by Suzanne Anest

(Origin House Publishing)

Bronze

22. Mature Living/Aging

GOLD (tie)

GOLD (tie)

Disrupt Aging

by Jo Ann Jenkins

(AARP)

Bronze

A Delightful Little Book on Aging

by Stephanie Raffelock

(She Writes Publishing)

23. Grieving/Death & Dying

GOLD

I’m Still Here

by Martina Reaves

(She Writes Press)

Silver

Loss to Legacy: A Stepping Stone to Healing and Transformation

by Lily Myers Kaplan

(Rainbow Bridge Press)

Bronze (tie)

But I Didn't Say Goodbye

by Barbara Rubel

(Griefwork Center Inc.)

Bronze (tie)

Restored: A Grief Workbook

by Marilyn Willis LPCC NCC 

(Marilyn C F Willis)

24. General Fiction

GOLD (tie)

The Good Stranger

by Dete Meserve

(Lake Union)

GOLD (tie)

Father Sweet

by J.J. Martin

(Dundurn Press)

Silver

Not Yet

by Erik Segall

(Harvard Square Editions)

Bronze

Song of Ourself: Voices in Unison

by The Anthology Team

(Dragolin Indie Press) 

25. Adventure/Romance Fiction

GOLD

Ernest From Earth

by Luke Nielsen

(Self-Published)

Silver

Tales from Bombast’s Bookshelf

by Steve Michael Reedy; illustrated by Tom Fee

(Monkey Mind Tales)

Bronze

The Adventure Begins

by Dr. Roy Smith

(LiveUp Resources)

26. Children's Picture Book

GOLD

Everyone Belongs

by United States Conference of Bishops; Illustrated by Kristin Sorra

(Loyola Press)

Silver

The Firefly

by Ameera H. Al-Naemi; illustrated by Nikos Yanopulos

(Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press)

Bronze

Yogi Superhero: Adventures in Nature-Forest

by Anna Smithers; Illustrated by Martyna Nejman

(Orange Lotus Yoga)

EVERGREEN CATEGORIES

To commemorate world-changing books published in this new millennium, we launched the Living Now Evergreen Book Medals. The medals are presented in five categories, recognizing books published since the year 2000 for their contributions to positive global change.

World Peace

Silver

A World Without Identity: The Sacred Task of Uniting Humanity

by Patrick Paul Garlinger

(Anastasis Books)

Bronze

50 Women: Book One and 50 Women: Book Two

by Jessica Buchleitner

(Nikita Publishing)

Health & Wellness

GOLD

Piloting Your Life

by Terri Hanson Mead

(Class Bravo Ventures)

Silver

Personal Growth

GOLD

The Boy the Mole the Fox and the Horse

by Charlie Mackesy

(HarperCollins)

Silver

My Dog is More Enlightened Than I Am

by Maureen Scanlon

(Life Coach Maureen Scanlon)

Bronze

Hard Way Home: A Woman’s Inspiring Battle with Cancer and the Lives She Touched

by Amy and Mike Nappa

(Harvest House Publishers)

Spiritual Leadership

GOLD

Leadership with a Servants Heart: Leading through Personal Relationships

by Kevin Wayne Johnson

(Writing for the Lord Ministries)

Silver

Bronze (tie)

Not in Charge...Anymore

by Jim Wetton

(WestBow Press)

Bronze (tie)

A Heart for Leadership

by Tim Schneider

(Aegis Learning LLC)

Nature Conservation

GOLD

Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders

by Angelou Ezeilo with Nick Chiles

(New Society Publishers)

Silver

Coyotes in the Pasture and Wolves at the Door

by John & Sukey Jamison

(Word Association)

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