Resources

Therapy-Recommended Books for Self-Empowerment and Personal Growth

As a dedicated reader and therapist, I’m passionate about sharing empowering resources that support mental wellness, self-compassion, and personal growth.

Below, you’ll find a curated collection of recommended books on a variety of therapeutic topics to help you navigate specific challenges and deepen your journey toward self-empowerment.

Mental wellness starts at home

Mental wellness starts at home

  • Eating/Image Related

    Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works by Evelyn Tribole

    Body Kindness: Transform Your Health from the Inside Out - and Never Say Diet Again by Rebecca Scritchfield

  • General

    Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

    Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

    The Upside of Being Down: How Mental Health Struggles Led to My Greatest Successes in Work and Life by Jen Gotch

  • Trauma

    The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

    The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity by Nadine Burke Harris

    Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy by Francine Shapiro

  • Change/Habit Building

    Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

  • Boundary Setting

    Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guild to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab

  • Personality Typing

    The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron

  • Relationships

    Attached: The Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find and Keep Love by Amir Levine

    Dance of Anger: A Women’s Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships by Harriet Lerner

    Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus by John Gray

    Silent Agreements: How to Free Your Relationships of Unspoken Expectations by Linda D. Anderson

    Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough by Lori Gottlieb

    Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle

    Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: And How You Can Make Yours Last by John M. Gottman

    Insecure in Love: How Anxious Attachment Can Make You Feel Jealous, Needy, and Worried and What You Can Do About It by Leslie Becker-Phelps

  • Anxiety

    First, We Make The Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety by Sarah Wilson

    My Friend Fear: Finding Magic in the Unknown by Meera Lee Patel

    Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski

    The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chodron

    The Dance of Fear: Rising Above Anxiety, Fear, and Shame to Be Your Best and Bravest Self by Hariet Lerner

  • Parenting

    Under Pressure: Confront the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls by Lisa Damour

    I’d Listen to My Parents If They’d Just Shut Up: What to Say and Not Say When Parenting Teens by Anthony E. Wolf

    Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through Seven Transitions Into Adulthood by Lisa Damour

    How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims

  • Self-Compassion

    Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristen Neff

    Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive by Kristen Neff

  • Increasing Insights Into Emotions

    Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown

    Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive by Marc Brackett

  • Grief and Loss

    It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine

    No Happy Endings by Nora McInerny Purmort

  • Leadership

    Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead by Brene Brown

    Dare to Lead by Brene Brown

  • Substance Use

    Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol by Holly Whitaker

    Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy by David Sheff

    Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used & Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy by Cynthia M. Kuhn

  • Meaning Making

    Untamed by Glennon Doyle

    Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown

    Rising Strong: the Reckoning, The Rumble. The Revolution. by Brene Brown

    Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness by Rick Hanson

    The Last Lecture by Randy Pasuch

  • Perfectionism

    The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

    Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu

  • Adulting

    The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay

  • Sexual Wellness

    Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski