Literature can be incredibly healing, validating, and informative. Here is a collected list of books I recommend for healing, self-exploration, and growth.
Highly Sensitive People and Empaths
- The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine Aron
- Brain Training for the Highly Sensitive Person by Julie Bjelland
- Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You by Jenara Nereberg
- Sensitive Is the New Strong: The Power of Empaths in an Increasingly Harsh World by Anita Moorjani
- Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World: How to Create a Happy Life by Ilse Sand
- The Empowered Highly Sensitive Person: How To Harness Your Sensitivity In A Chaotic World by Julie Bjelland
- The Highly Sensitive Person in Love: Understanding and Managing Relationships When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine Aron
- Thrill: The High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person by Tracy M. Cooper
- The Power of Sensitivity by Ted Zeff
- The Empath’s Survival Guide by Dr. Judith Orloff (see my book review here.)
Introversion
- The Introvert Advantage: How Quiet People Can Thrive in an Extrovert World by Marti Olsen Laney
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
- Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung (see my book review here.)
Social Justice, Liberation, and Activism
- How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community by Mia Birdsong
- The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
- What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Audrey Gordon
- Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F Saad
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- Queering Sexual Violence: Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Violence Movement edited by Jennifer Patterson
-
Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change by Angela Garbes
Attachment & Relationships
- Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab
- Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller
- Deeper Dating: How to Drop the Games of Seduction and Discover the Power of Intimacy by Ken Page
- Friendshipping: The Art of Finding Friends, Being Friends, and Keeping Friends
- You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For: Bringing Courageous Love To Intimate Relationships by Richard Schwartz
- Conscious Lesbian Dating & Love: A Roadmap to Finding the Right Partner and Creating the Relationship of your Dreams by Ruth L. Schwartz and Michelle Murrain
Soul Work & Creativity
- Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
- The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Forest Therapy: Seasonal Ways To Embrace Nature for a Happier You
- Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship with Food Through Myths, Metaphors, and Storytelling
- Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore
- Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Productivity & Personal Development
- Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual by Luvvie Ajayi Jones
- The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Live To The Next Level by Gay Hendricks
- Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
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Trauma Recovery
- No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard Schwartz
- Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide and Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma by Pete Walker
- Trauma Recovery Handbook for Survivors by Rachel Walker
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van de Kolk
- Transgender Sexual Violence Survivors: A Self Help Guide to Healing and Understanding by FORGE (e-book)
- The Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook by Anneliese Singh