Raad Reads
Fuel for the Curious Mind
From timeless wisdom to fresh voices reshaping how we think about life, work, and reinvention—these are the titles that have lit a fire in us
because sometimes it’s not just the book, but the conversation it starts within you.
Favorite Books
Zero Hour for Gen X by Matthew Hennessey
Zero Hour for Gen X, Matthew Hennessey calls on his generation, Generation X, to take a stand against tech-obsessed millennials, apathetic baby boomers, utopian Silicon Valley “visionaries,” and the menace to top them all: the soft totalitarian conspiracy known as the Internet of Things. Soon Gen Xers will be the only cohort of Americans who remember life as it was lived before the arrival of the Internet.
Reboot
by Jerry Colonna
One of the start-up world’s most in-demand executive coaches—hailed as the “CEO Whisperer” (Gimlet Media)—reveals why radical self-inquiry is critical for leadership development, professional success, and healthy relationships in all realms of life. Jerry Colonna helps start-up CEOs make peace with their demons, the psychological habits and behavioral patterns that have helped them to succeed.
Loving Bravely by Alexandra H. Solomon
Real love starts with you. In order to attract a life partner and build a healthy intimate relationship, you must first become a good partner to yourself. This book offers twenty invaluable lessons that will help you explore and commit to your own emotional and psychological well-being so you can be ready, resilient, and confident in love. Many of us enter into romantic relationships full of expectation and hope, only to be sorely disappointed.
Whealthspan
by Scott B. Fulton
ulton’s analysis of more than 55 million Americans over 90 years is revealing in many ways. Achieving the top 10% of lifespan is well within reach for almost everyone, but most will needlessly throw tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars away in hard-earned equity and fall far short of their active longevity potential. Thankfully, life’s Triple Crown doesn’t rely on longevity genetics, bio-hacks, or unrealistic diet and exercise regimes.
Trust and Inspire by Stephen M. R. Covey
This book flipped the script on leadership for me. It’s no longer about control or authority—it’s about trust, modeling integrity, and igniting greatness in others. This is the kind of leadership the second half of life demands— and deserves.
Stage (Not Age) by
Susan Golden
This book belongs on every reinvention warrior’s shelf. Golden reframes aging as a stage—not a decline. It gave me the data, the optimism, and the call to action to embrace longevity as a creative force, not a countdown.
The Longevity Economy by Joseph F. Coughlin
The future isn’t just young—it’s aging, boldly. *The Longevity Economy* awakened the strategist in me. It’s a blueprint for the massive opportunity (and responsibility) we have to shape how we live, work, and thrive as we grow older.
The Language of Emotions by Karla McLaren
This one helped me finally listen to my emotions like trusted advisors—not problems to fix. McLaren’s work deepened my emotional literacy, which in turn made me a better leader, partner, and human. A powerful guide to becoming whole.
The Second Mountain by David Brooks
This book cracked something open. It’s about the quiet hero’s journey of leaving behind ego-driven ambition to climb a second mountain—one built on meaning, service, and soul. It helped me understand the real terrain of midlife transformation.
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow reminded me that the most alive moments don’t come from chasing happiness—but from full presence. Whether I’m designing, podcasting, or just walking on the beach, this book helped me recognize and recreate that magic state where time disappears and purpose takes over.
House as a Mirror of Self by Clare Cooper Marcus
This book made me look at “home” as more than walls and furniture—it’s a living reflection of who we are, where we’ve been, and what we long for. It reminded me that the spaces we create either nourish our becoming or hold us back, and that redesigning our environment is often the first step to redesigning our life.
The Power of Discipline by Daniel Walter
In a world that sells shortcuts, this book is a reset button. It’s about the quiet power of showing up for yourself—daily, deliberately, and with grit. It reminded me that freedom in life and reinvention in midlife are built on the backbone of self-control and the art of doing the hard things first.
Mastery by
Robert Greene
Mastery is a love letter to the long game. It showed me that true brilliance isn’t luck or talent—it’s devotion, patience, and the willingness to fail forward. Reading it was a reminder that in the second half of life, mastery isn’t about chasing everything—it’s about choosing the one thing that lights you up and going all in.
The Creative Cure
by Jacob Nordby
This book woke up my inner artist. Nordby makes the case that creativity isn’t a luxury—it’s medicine for the soul. It gave me permission to reclaim play, curiosity, and wonder, reminding me that reinvention often begins the moment we pick up a pen, a brush, or a bold idea we’ve been afraid to try.
Roar: Into the Second Half of Your Life by M. Clinton
Roar is a rallying cry for those of us who refuse to fade quietly into the background. Clinton challenges you to reinvent, reimagine, and reclaim life on your terms. It’s not about aging gracefully—it’s about living audaciously, with both gratitude for the past and courage for what’s next.
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
This book pushed me to get uncomfortable—literally and metaphorically. Easter shows how our modern comfort zone is a trap, and how real vitality lives just beyond the edges of ease. It’s a call to seek challenge, adventure, and wildness.
The Way Of The Traveler by Joseph Dispenza
This gem reframes travel as more than an escape—it’s an awakening. Dispenza reminded me that every journey, whether to distant continents or the next town over, is a mirror reflecting who we’re becoming. It’s a soulful companion for anyone who feels that movement through the world is also movement toward the self.
Let Your Life SPEAK by Parker J. Palmer
Palmer doesn’t shout—he whispers truths that land deep. This book invited me to slow down and actually listen to my inner life. It’s a call to peel back performance and live from essence. For anyone at a crossroad (or midlife reinvention), it’s a gentle, powerful nudge to live the life that’s been waiting for you all along.
The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
Reading this felt like unclenching a fist I didn’t know I’d been making. The Untethered Soul is a powerful reminder that freedom isn’t something you chase—it’s something you uncover by letting go. If The Raad Life has a spiritual compass, this book sits at true north.
Braving The Wilderness by Brene Brown
This one shook me in the best way. Brené reminds us that belonging isn’t about fitting in—it’s about standing alone, rooted in truth, and still choosing connection. Braving the Wilderness made me think deeply about courage, solitude, and the kind of leadership the world—and our own hearts—need now.
The Art of Abundance by Dennis Merritt Jones
A beautiful reminder that prosperity begins within, in the mind and the heart, not the wallet. This book reframed my understanding of prosperity and wealth as an energy, not an inventory, not as accumulation, but as flow. Jones blends spirituality with practicality, reminding us that abundance is a state of awareness, an invitation to live from gratitude rather than grasping. Jones’s wisdom reinforced what I’ve come to believe through experience: when you align your inner world, the outer one expands naturally.
Certain Uncertainty by Des Dearlove
A powerful guide to navigating the unpredictable with grace. This book is that it doesn’t promise false stability — it celebrates uncertainty as the birthplace of growth and wisdom. It’s an essential mindset manual for anyone in midlife or beyond. Des Dearlove captures the paradox of our times: that the only real constant is change. What I love about this book is how it turns unpredictability into an advantage, especially for leaders, creators, and anyone reinventing themselves.
Design Your Age by Tuck Kamin
Tuck Kamin’s philosophy resonates deeply with my Design for Life approach. Design Your Age flips the script on getting older — it’s not about decline, it’s about design. Kamin invites us to architect our next chapters with the same intentionality we bring to our work and our spaces. It’s empowering, liberating, and entirely modern in its view of what it means to age well.
How to Surf and the Art of Style by Uncle Tim
Part surf manual, part soulful reflection, How to Surf and the Art of Style isn’t really about surfing — it’s about learning how to move through life with grace. Uncle Tim captures the poetry of balance, patience, and humility in motion. Reading it echoed my own experience in Baja: finding rhythm in the waves and realizing that style, in surfing and in life, comes from surrender, not force.
Make Your Own Waves by Louis Patler
This one spoke to my entrepreneurial soul. Patler uses surfing as a metaphor for leadership and innovation, reminding us that timing, adaptability, and presence matter more than control. It’s not about commanding the ocean; it’s about learning to ride it. How to read the tides, catch the moment, and stay balanced when the next wave comes.Every creative, anyone building a business, a brand, or a life, any founder, or reinvention-minded reader will feel seen here and be reminded that success isn’t about control — it’s about rhythm, courage, and flow.
The Placeholder: The Place to Go to Create Your Noble Work
This one reminded me that pause isn’t failure, it’s power. It gave me language for the space between what was and what’s next… the space where reinvention actually begins. A quiet, liberating nudge for anyone rebuilding their path with intention.
he Midlife Male by Greg Scheinman
Part manifesto, part field guide, this book speaks directly to men who sense that midlife isn’t a decline but a pivot. With clarity, warmth, and lived experience, Scheinman explores how to feel stronger, more grounded, and more fulfilled in work, health, relationships, and purpose. No empty bravado. No crisis clichés. Just a clear-eyed invitation to design the next chapter with intention. If you or someone you love is ready to trade burnout for vitality and autopilot for authorship, The Midlife Male is a smart, encouraging place to begin.