BOOKS
Reading about mental health can be a helpful way to gain perspective and insight. As a therapist, I find that recommending books to my clients can be a great tool for growth. Here are some of my personal favorites plus wishlist books I've heard good things about!
general mental health
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Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
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The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
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The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris
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The Anger Trap by Dr. Les Carter
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Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab
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Loving What Is by Byron Katie
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Self-Care for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsey Gibson
religious trauma & spiritual abuse
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​Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein.
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Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
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Traumatized by Religious Abuse: Courage, Hope and Freedom for Survivors by Connie A. Baker
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You Are Your Own: A Reckoning with the Religious Trauma of Evangelical Christianity by Jamie Lee Finch
body focused (i.e. positivity, acceptance, neutrality, justice) & mindful nutrition
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The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
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Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
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Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
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What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat By Aubrey Gordon
existential topics
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Staring at the Sun by Irvin Yalom
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Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
couples, relationships, & sex
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Sexual Intelligence: What We Really Want From Sex and How to Get It by Dr. Marty Klein
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Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel
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Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson
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The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman (or anything by Gottman)
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Attached: Are You Anxious, Avoidant Or Secure? How the Science of Adult Attachment Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love by Amir Levine and Rachel S. F. Heller
childhood trauma & narcissistic abuse
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Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson
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Disarming the Narcissist: Surviving and Thriving with the Self-Absorbed by Wendy T. Behary
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Will I Ever Be Good Enough?: Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers by Karyl McBride
relatable, normalizing, memoir-based, & humor-driven favs
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Furiously Happy and Let's Pretend this Never Happened, both by Jenny Lawson
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Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
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Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
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We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
