BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR MENTAL HEALTH & EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
Reading about mental health can be a helpful way to gain perspective and insight. As a therapist, I find that book recommendations for 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!
Adult ADHD
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Delivered from Distraction by Dr. Edward M. Hallowell and Dr. John J. Ratey
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A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD by Sari Solden and Michelle Frank
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Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD by Dr. Tamara Rosier
General / Mental Health for Everyone
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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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Self-Care for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsey Gibson
Abuse & Narcissism in Adult Relationships
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Disarming the Narcissist: Surviving and Thriving with the Self-Absorbed by Wendy T. Behary
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Why Does He Do That by: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft
Body Acceptance & Justice
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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
Childhood Abuse & Trauma
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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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Will I Ever Be Good Enough?: Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers by Karyl McBride
Romantic Relationships / Sex / Attachment
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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
The Human Condition / Memoir
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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
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
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
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"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi
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Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach
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Man's Search for Himself by Rollo May
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​When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön