Episode · Oprah's Super Soul · 2026-11-01
Oprah Winfrey & Barbara Brown Taylor: books mentioned on Oprah's Super Soul
Why Barbara Brown Taylor Says Running from Pain May Be Holding You Back | Super Soul Sparks
Oprah sits down with bestselling author and Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor for a powerful discussion on uncertainty, grief, faith, resilience, personal growth, and spiritual transformation.
Oprah Winfrey discussed A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson. Barbara Brown Taylor discussed The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton. Also mentioned: Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Learning to Walk in the Dark
Discussed“Her latest book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, challenges believers and non-believers alike to probe the shadows of our lives and to embrace darkness in all its forms.”
Where to get it
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A Return to Love
A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson is a spiritual guide and mainstream adaptation of A Course in Miracles that explores how to replace fear with love.
Discussed“Because, you know, Marianne Williamson said in her book, Return to Love, we're either moving in the direction of love or moving in the direction of fear. When something shows up in your life that causes that fear to rise, take three breaths in the moment that it shows up.”
Where to get it
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The Anatomy of Melancholy
The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton is a massive, seventeenth-century encyclopedic work that explores the causes, symptoms, and cures of melancholy through extensive literary and medical learning.
Discussed“I'm a big reader, though, and it always helps when somebody names something for me. And I got a great big fat book called The Anatomy of Melancholy. And it was written a long time ago.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“She wrote about the life-altering experience in her critically acclaimed memoir, Leaving Church.”
“Barbara is the best-selling author of 13 books, including her latest, Learning to Walk in the Dark.”