If you’re looking at the self-help section at your local bookstore and you’re cringing at some of the overly optimistic titles that feel like a late-night QVC advertisement, you are not alone. Reading can be a great way to get started in your own self-healing journey but it can be hard to find the right book(s). Luckily, we have provided a list from our therapists’ favorite books to help you get started.
- What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry – This book is a great place to start to better understand how childhood trauma shapes us into who we are today. Cowritten by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry (a renowned trauma and neuroscience expert) this book explores how early life experiences shapes our behaviors and mental life. Oprah provides her own childhood experiences with adversity to help us better understand the neurosequential model Dr. Perry introduces to use. Changing the question from What’s wrong with you to What Happened to You?
- Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson – Navigating relationships with parents can be tough as an adult, particularly if that parent was inconsistent, unavailable or self-centered during our childhood. It often leads to self-doubt, people pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries and emotional suppression. Dr. Gibson provides strategies to cope and heal from our childhood wounds while still maintaining a relationship with our parents if we choose. The perspective from her writing moves from blame to a place of understanding not only ourselves but the people who raised us.
- Unbound by Tarana Burke – Tarana Burke is the founder and activist behind one of the largest movements in this century, “me too”. Tarana explores how her own sexual assault caused a fracture within herself that left a scared child in the dark. Tarana show us how letting that child out lead her to becoming an activist within her community and healing her wounds through empowering other young girls. This self memoir walks us through how accepting the parts of ourselves that we feel are broken and ashamed of can be the source of our power.
- Scattered Minds by Dr. Gabor Mate – It seems like everyone now a days has a ADHD diagnosis, thanks to an increase accessibility to testing, mental health services and social media. In one of his best selling books, Dr. Mate (who himself has ADHD) brings a new optimistic perspective to ADHD and how to help children and adults living with difficulties related to the diagnosis. ADHD is often highlighted as an inherited illness that can only be tamed by prescription medication, but Dr. Mate’s take on ADHD is one that stems from how our brains self-regulate during moments of overwhelm and “tuning out” are products of our own life experiences. If you have been searching for a book to help better understand the origins of ADHD and how to cope with the diagnosis, this is it.
- I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy – Jennette McCurdy is a familiar face to many of us who grew up on shows like iCarly and Sam & Cat. In this memoir Jennette shares her struggles growing up as a child actor and taking on the burden of her mother’s demands. She walks us through her journey while addressing some tough topics like eating disorders, addiction, narcissistic mothers, self-loathing, etc… with humor and vulnerability. If you are feeling nervous about starting therapy Jennette shares her own experience in getting started and the challenges that can come from finding the right therapist, but also how transformational it is when you find them.
