BOOKS WORTH READING
Books I recommend. A lot.
I love a good book recommendation—and these are the ones I find myself coming back to again and again.
Some offer language for experiences that are hard to put into words. Some help us understand ourselves or the people we love a little differently. And some are simply good at making complicated things feel more understandable.
Consider this my very opinionated bookshelf.
What are you looking for?
A note about children’s books: they aren’t just for kids. Children’s books can be remarkably good at taking really big, complicated things and making them easier to understand. And there’s something different about encountering those words as an adult—especially when they offer the reassurance, understanding, or language that a younger version of you may have needed, too.
Grief + Loss
It’s OK that you’re not OK — Megan Devine
Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief — Joanne Cacciatore
Living Beyond Loss: Death in the Family — Monica McGoldrick + Froma Walsh
The Rabbit Listened — Cori Doerrfeld
The Invisible String — Patrice Karst
Why do we cry? — Fran Pintadera
All From a Walnut — Ammi-Joan Paquette
Looking for books about pregnancy and infant loss?
I’ve curated those separately, along with other resources for navigating pregnancy and infant loss.
Pregnancy + Postpartum
Good Moms have Scary Thoughts — Karen Kleiman
Unchecked: OCD & Intrusive Thoughts after having a baby— Karen Kleiman and Noah Suzuki
Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts: Breaking the Cycle of Unwanted Thoughts in Parenthood — Karen Kleiman + Amy Wenzel
How to Keep House While Drowning — KC Davis
Before the Letdown: Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex and the Breastfeeding Mother by Alia Macrina Heise
My Milk Will Go, Our Love Will Grow — Jessica Elder
Loving Comfort: A Toddler Weaning Story — Julie Dillmuth
Growth + Self-Understanding
The Magical Yet — Angela DiTerlizzi
The Curious Why — Angela DiTerlizzi
The Marvelous Now — Angela DiTerlizzi
Who I am: Words I tell myself — Susan Verde
I am Human — Susan Verde
Visiting Feelings — Lauren Rubenstein
The Power of One — Trudy Ludwig
Neither — Airlie Anderson
After the Fall — Dan Santat
Sacred Contracts — Caroline Myss
Trauma + Nervous System
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma — Peter Levine
Always Enough, Never Done — Erica Bonham
Burnout — Emily Nagoski
Sticky Brains — Nicole Libin
Parenting + Family Life
Lighthouse Parenting — Kenneth Ginsburg
Good Inside — Becky Kennedy
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk — Adele Faber + Elaine Mazlish
Raising Good Humans — Hunter Clarke-Fields
Differently Wired — Deborah Reber
The Montessori Baby — Simone Davies
The Montessori Toddler — Simone Davies
The Montessori Child — Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike
The Anxious Generation — Jonathan Haidt
The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World — Jonathan Haidt + Catherine Price
Families, Families, Families! — Suzanne Lang
Fair is Fair — Sonny Varela
Relationships + Boundaries
What about Us? A New Parents Guide — Karen Kleiman
Becoming Us: The Couple’s Guide to Parenthood — Elly Taylor
Fair Play — Eve Rodsky
How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids — Jancee Dunn
Drama Free: A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships —Nedra Glover Tawwab
Set Boundaries, Find Peace — Nedra Glover Tawwab
Self-care for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents — Lindsay C. Gibson
Who Deserves Your Love? — KC Davis
Come as You Are — Emily Nagoski
Women’s Health
The New Perimenopause — Mary Claire Haver
The New Menopause — Mary Claire Haver
The Crone Zone — Nina Bargiel