Tina Turner consistently demonstrated a talent for transcending genre boundaries. While she excelled in the realm of R&B and soul, her ability to infuse energy into her favourite songs also established her as a fixture within the rock community. This garnered admiration from both rock legends and R&B aficionados.
As Turner navigated through the 1980s, she embodied the ultimate tale of redemption. After enduring years under the oppressive shadow of her husband, Ike, Turner could have easily surrendered. Instead, she made a triumphant comeback with albums like Private Dancer, where she directly confronted her tumultuous marriage through songs that addressed the aftermath of multiple shattered romances.
Around this time, Turner began practising Buddhism as a way to transform her challenges into something meaningful. “I used to be baffled about why I had to endure so much abuse because I hadn’t done anything to deserve it,” Turner told the Harvard Business Review in 2021. “After I began practising Buddhism, I realised that my hardships could give me a mission—a purpose. I saw that by overcoming my obstacles, I could build indestructible happiness and inspire others to do the same.”
It comes as no surprise, then, that one of Turner’s favourite books of all time is The Teaching of Buddha. “The more I studied Buddhist principles, the deeper I dug within myself and cleaned up whatever attitudes or habits were standing in my way,” Turner explained. “And the more I chanted and aligned my goals with an authentic desire to inspire happiness in others, the more my life began to improve. I credit my spiritual practice with all the positive transformations — from the smallest to the largest — I’ve had in my career and personal life.”
In her life-long search for self-discovery, she also looked to the poignant works of Taro Gold, specifically Living Wabi Sabi, to enrich her world by seeking wisdom in natural simplicity. The book teaches the valuable lesson of exhibiting your own brand of “perfect imperfection”. Wabi Sabi is a universal standard of beauty that honours the fundamental, the distinctive, and the imperfect aspects of our existence.
The Power of Compassion & The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama also makes Turner’s list, which comprises a selection of talks given by the Dalai Lama during his last visit to Britain. Many people asked the Dalai Lama to address various current challenges facing humanity. In The Power of Compassion & The Art of Happiness, he speaks about a wide range of issues, including Bosnia, racial hatred, gender and environmental protection.
Dante’s The Divine Comedy, which is also one of Patti Smith and Susan Sontag’s favourites, is a narrative poem widely considered to be one of the greatest works of world literature. The creative depiction of the afterlife in the poem reflects the medieval perspective prevalent in the Western Church during the 14th century. This demonstrates the appreciation Turner had for afterlife ideology — allegorically, The Divine Comedy represents the soul’s ascent to God.
See the full list below.
Tina Turner’s favourite books:
The Teaching of Buddha
Living Wabi Sabi by Taro Gold
Surfing the Himalayas by Frederick Lenz
Illusions by Richard Bach
Jackie, Janet & Lee by J. Randy Taraborrelli
What Jackie Taught Us by Tina Santi Flaherty
The Power of Compassion & The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama
The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra
The Divine Comedy by Dante
Photography by Horst P. Horst
