Meet the author: James Butler on writing The Power of Mindfulness
We sat down with James Butler to talk about burnout, breathing, and why he wrote the book he needed five years ago.
James Butler's The Power of Mindfulness has quietly become one of our most-recommended titles in the self-development section. We asked him where it started.
On the book's origin
"I wrote the book I needed five years ago," James told us. "I was working eighty-hour weeks and treated stillness like it was a waste of time. It took a genuine burnout to slow down enough to notice anything."
That period became the spine of the book — not a set of abstract techniques, but a record of what actually helped him rebuild a sustainable relationship with his own attention.
On starting small
"People think mindfulness means an hour of silent meditation. For most of us it means noticing one breath at a red light. Start absurdly small, or you won't start at all."
James is currently working on a follow-up exploring mindful reading — something we're very much looking forward to stocking.
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Reading Foyer Editorial
Interviews, essays, and behind-the-scenes stories from the Reading Foyer team.
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