Wellness Bookshelf

This compassionate guide from NAMI offers support, education, and practical tools for parents and caregivers navigating a loved one’s mental health journey. You are not alone—this resource is here to help you feel more informed, supported, and empowe
What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo is a powerful memoir exploring the lasting impact of complex PTSD and the journey to healing. With honesty and vulnerability, Foo blends personal storytelling with research, shedding light on the invisible wounds o
Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine offers a groundbreaking approach to understanding and healing trauma. Drawing on somatic experiencing, the book explores how trauma lives in the body—and how we can gently release it to restore balance, resilience, an
Voices from the Ancestors: Xicanx and Latinx Spiritual Expressions is a powerful collection of essays, poems, and reflections celebrating cultural wisdom, ancestral healing, and decolonized spirituality. This book honors the sacred practices passed d
Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman is a foundational text that traces the impact of trauma—from personal experiences to collective violence—and outlines the path to healing. Grounded in both clinical insight and historical context, this book has sh
The Pain We Carry by Natalie Gutierrez offers a compassionate and culturally grounded approach to healing from complex trauma, especially for BIPOC communities. Blending personal stories, therapeutic insight, and somatic practices, this book invites
Self-Care for Black Women is an empowering guide filled with 150 intentional practices to nurture your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. This book celebrates radical self-love and offers practical tools to help Black women reclaim rest, joy
Self-Compassion by Dr. Kristin Neff explores how treating ourselves with the same kindness we offer others can transform the way we live, love, and heal. Backed by research and filled with practical tools, this book is a powerful invitation to quiet
The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris explores how childhood adversity affects long-term health and well-being. Blending science, storytelling, and compassion, this book sheds light on the lasting impact of trauma—and offers hope, healing, and
The Caregiver’s Guide to Mental Illness offers practical advice, emotional support, and resources for those caring for loved ones with mental health challenges. This guide helps caregivers navigate difficult moments with compassion, resilience, and c
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk reveals how trauma reshapes the body and mind. Combining neuroscience, clinical insight, and patient stories, this book explores powerful pathways to healing and reclaiming your life from trauma’s hold.
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab is a practical guide to creating healthy boundaries in your relationships. With compassionate advice and actionable tools, this book helps you protect your well-being, communicate clearly, and cultiva
Self-Care for Latinas celebrates the unique strength, culture, and resilience of Latina women. This guide offers practical and culturally rooted ways to nurture your mind, body, and spirit—helping you prioritize your well-being with love and intentio
You are powerful beyond measure. Your strength, wisdom, and beauty shine through every challenge. Remember, your voice matters, your dreams are valid, and your healing is a revolutionary act. Keep rising, queen — the world needs your light.
Permission to Come Home invites readers on a healing journey to reclaim belonging, safety, and self-love. Through personal stories and compassionate guidance, this book offers permission to rest, to heal, and to return to your true self with grace an
My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem explores how trauma is stored in the body, especially in Black and Indigenous communities. This powerful book blends somatic healing with cultural wisdom to guide readers toward personal and collective healing
Mindsight by Daniel J. Siegel introduces the power of “mindsight” — the ability to perceive and change your own mind. Combining neuroscience and mindfulness, this book offers tools to heal emotional wounds, build resilience, and transform relationshi
Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel explores the complex dance between intimacy and desire in long-term relationships. With insight and honesty, this book challenges assumptions about love, helping couples rekindle passion while maintaining closeness
It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn explores how unresolved family trauma can shape our lives and patterns. This book offers tools to uncover inherited wounds and break free to heal and grow.
Homecoming by Thema Bryant is a powerful guide to healing from trauma and reclaiming your authentic self. Blending spirituality, psychology, and personal stories, this book offers a path to overcome fear, find inner peace, and live fully empowered.
For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts by Asha Bandele is a fierce and loving celebration of the complexities, strengths, and vulnerabilities of brown girls and women. Through poetry and prose, this book honors your boldness and tendernes
Decolonizing Therapy explores how mental health practices can honor and integrate the histories, cultures, and experiences of marginalized communities. This approach challenges traditional models by centering cultural wisdom, healing justice, and emp
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown invites us to embrace vulnerability as a source of strength and courage. This book teaches how showing up authentically can transform our relationships, creativity, and sense of worth.
What Will People Say? explores the weight of cultural expectations and the fear of judgment that can hold us back. This work encourages breaking free from others’ opinions to live authentically and boldly.
Break the Cycle guides readers through recognizing and healing generational patterns that no longer serve them. With practical tools and compassion, this book empowers you to create new, healthier paths for yourself and future generations.
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson helps readers understand how growing up with emotionally unavailable or immature parents impacts their adult relationships and self-esteem. This book offers guidance to set boundarie
Attached explains how understanding your attachment style—secure, anxious, or avoidant—can transform the way you connect in relationships. Grounded in research, this book offers insights and tools to build healthier, more fulfilling bonds.
Period Power by Maisie Hill is a no-nonsense, empowering guide to understanding your menstrual cycle. With humor and wisdom, this book helps you harness the power of your hormones to live in sync with your body—not against it.
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown encourages you to let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you truly are. Through stories, research, and heartfelt wisdom, this book guides you toward wholehearted living—with courage, com
I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brené Brown explores the shame and self-doubt so many of us carry in silence. Through research and real stories, this book reminds us that we’re not alone—and that empathy, connection, and courage can help u
The Eldest Daughter Effect by Lisette Schuitemaker explores how being the firstborn girl shapes identity, responsibility, and relationships. With compassion and insight, this book honors the strengths and challenges eldest daughters carry—and offers
Eldest Daughter Syndrome speaks to the invisible load carried by firstborn daughters—being the fixer, the caretaker, the strong one. Often expected to grow up too fast and hold the family together, eldest daughters may struggle to prioritize their ow
The Conscious Caregiver by Linda Abbit is a compassionate guide for those caring for loved ones. With practical tools and heartfelt wisdom, it encourages caregivers to care for themselves as they care for others—finding balance, support, and meaning
Healing After Loss by Martha Whitmore Hickman offers daily meditations for those grieving a loved one. With tender reflections and comforting wisdom, this book provides solace, hope, and gentle guidance through the healing process—one day at a time.
It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine is a powerful guide for navigating grief in a world that expects you to “move on.” With honesty and heart, Devine challenges the myths of grieving and offers permission to feel your pain without fixing it—re
Decolonizing Wellness by Dalia Kinsey is an affirming guide that centers the healing of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. This book dismantles toxic diet culture, whitewashed wellness narratives, and body shame—offering inclusive, joyful approaches to

This book hit me right in the heart. Viktor Frankl’s story as a Holocaust survivor is incredibly raw and real, but what stays with me most is his message: even in the worst moments, we can find meaning. That idea, that we don’t always control what happens, but we can choose how we respond, is powerful.

As a therapist, I see so many people struggling to find purpose during tough times. Frankl’s words remind me (and my clients) that meaning can be a lifeline, a source of strength when everything feels uncertain.

If you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed, this book offers a quiet kind of hope. It’s a reminder that healing starts with finding something worth holding onto, even in the darkest moments.

📖 Why I Chose This Book:
💛 It encourages self-reflection and personal growth.
💛 It offers a compassionate perspective on suffering.
💛 It reminds us that even in hardship, hope is possible.

BOOK OF THE MONTH