Welcome to The Shelf Help Club 💛
The SHC is the first global self-help book club and we are dedicated to celebrating self-development and empowering readers to make - and maintain - positive change by sharing the tools and tribe that will support you to manage your mental health and better understand your Self.
I started the SHC as a local book club in West London in October 2017, because it was something I needed as I began a journey to understand and improve my mental health in my late thirties, after years of neglecting it had resulted in physical, emotional and spiritual burnout/catastrophe.
After leaving a high octane (and high stress) career in journalism I suddenly had the time and space to consider my life choices (I did NOT like what I saw), and to start reading again (something I had loved so much once upon a time), and so began a glorious love affair with self-help, and a catalogue of life-changing ‘lightbulb moments’ that I wanted to explore further and share with others.
We don't have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to.
- Brené Brown
I’ve since read 500+ self-help books and done all kinds of weird and wonderful things in the name of personal development. I’ve made huge shifts to my life and my Self, and I am in a happy and healthy place.
And the Shelf Help Club is now a global online and offline collective, reaching over 20,000 readers and seekers worldwide.
The Shelf Help Club exists to celebrate and promote self-help, connecting as many people as possible with books, ideas and experts to inspire them to create healthier and more positive relationships with themselves. And also to connect these people with each other. Because self-help is great, but it’s even better with friends.
Substack is our new community HQ, and I hope it will be a place to grow our global network, continue to share the best in self-development and incredible authors, and host our group Read-alongs.
SHELF HELP and SUBSTACK: A new love affair!
Over the years our kind and curious global community has grown completely organically, thanks to a combination of serendipity, social media and some hard work (and Work) on my part, but - if I’m being honest - not much strategy.
I knew from early on that the SHC had the potential to do great things and help a lot of people. And over the years as I watched people heal and grow while reading these books, and book clubbers brought their friends and/or requested to start their own meetups, and authors and publishers started approaching us, and strangers around the world started becoming friends via social media, my little hobby book club turned into a passion project then a side hustle and finally - as a result of lockdown - a small business, with a big social impact.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Ghandi
And along the way we’ve tried various platforms and community models (and GOD BLESS YOU if you are one of the Shelfies who has journeyed with us from Facebook to Teachable to Squarespace to Mighty Networks and now Substack 🤗).
I know change is hard, and moving around different platforms is not without its frustrations for us all BUT having spent time across these various spaces I also know what does and doesn’t work for our community.
And I’m very VERY sure that Substack is the place we need to be right now.
As a writer running a book club I love the appreciation of words and story and deep conversation here.
It’s a positive and nurturing space full of cheerleaders and opportunities for collaboration and connection.
And on a technical note, I love the simple format and community functions that let me stay in touch with my members and subscribers without overwhelming them with content.
Below you’ll find more information on what I’m planning for The Shelf Help Club here on Substack, and no doubt that will change as we all get used to this new space (and I want to be co-creating this next chapter of the Club experience with the community, so please get in touch with any and all suggestions).
WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO FIND HERE
FREE SUBSCRIBERS:
Weekly Monday emails/posts featuring info on the best new self-help strategies and releases and our latest author interviews and events
A chance to connect with the community via comments and occasional threads
PAID SUBSCRIBERS
Book Club membership, including Read-along resources, a reading schedule, weekly prompts and Book Club discussion starters
Access to all of our Monday Club online events including 2 x self-help author events and 1 x self-help workshop and 1 x Book Club meetup every month
Extended Monday emails/posts and OPs
Subscriber-only threads
Access to our private community, including chats and subscriber-only comments
Opportunity to create/attend IRL self-help themed meetups where you live
Guidance and resources for Local Shelf Help Hosts
INNER CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP (limited numbers)
All of the above plus:
First access to our IRL events
A 1-2-1 Bibliotherapy session with me (digital)
Access to our invite-only Inner Circle community and the chance to road test and review brand new self-help books before they hit the stores
The warm glow of being part of the SHC inner circle and supporting us as we work out ways to support the wider community
I hope this has given you a flavour of what I and the SHC are about, why we’re here on Substack, why you should join us and what I hope we can do together.
This is all new to all of us so please let me know using the button below if there’s anything that doesn’t make sense/you need more info on (I’ll be updating this page as we go/grow and I read and reply to all emails).
If you do decide to sign up today, please come and introduce yourself HERE.
And finally if you know someone else who might benefit from being here then I’d love it if you could share this page with them.
Big love from SH HQ.
I hope to see you on screen soon.
Toni 💛
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
