Self-Help

Gender studies expert Barash (Tripping the Prom Queen) explores ten types of female friendships and shows how women get in and out of unhealthy relationships. Most readers will recognize the Leader of the Pack, the Misery Lover, and the Doormat and will be able to see the plusses and minuses of staying in the relationship.

Psychologist Levine (NYU Medical Sch.) takes on the devastating loss of a friendship by drawing from personal testimonials of women who have been there and who can provide solace and suggestions for healing. Levine offers tools for personal assessment and actionable advice for helping readers use the experience to become stronger and handle future relationships better. Both of these books deliver on their titles, offering concrete help for specific problems that are highly relevant to women high school age and older.

Psychotherapists Bell and Fiordaliso guide readers toward making the most out of failed relationships with friends and lovers, i.e., view them as opportunities to gain personal insight. Through anecdotes and stories, they discuss such issues as how to recover power from a toxic ex, how to deal with unavoidable exes, and how to handle one's spouse's exes. The lists, inventories, dos/don'ts, and examples make for an entertaining and enlightening read. Adult women will especially embrace this positive twist on the ex genre.

Change-management advisor Berg helps readers choose long-term goals and set action steps for who they want to be, where they want to be, and with whom they want to be. Clear ideas for planning and implementing objectives are presented in a fun, accessible format. The book's real selling point is what Berg has dubbed "The Resource Center," the final 30 pages that contain quizzes, strategies, résumé tips, and self-assessment tools. College graduates and job seekers of any age would benefit from this book.

This book's underlying premise makes sense—that the whole equals more than the sum of its parts and that multiple minds offer more ideas, wisdom, and powers than does a single individual. The authors, who work in hypnotherapy, consulting, massage therapy, and advertising, joined forces in the spirit of "group manifesting" to nurture personal dreams and improve all aspects of their lives. Their instructions for forming similar dream teams are inspiring but most likely too challenging for average self-helpers. Perhaps a better fit for hyperambitious business types.

Davis (Confessions from an Honest Wife) explores women's friendships by using biblical, literary, and well-known TV characters as examples of the roles women have played for each other. She recognizes the conflict, jealousy, competitiveness, and betrayal inherent in female friendships but claims they ultimately demonstrate loyalty, forgiveness, and strength. Not strictly a how-to, this is a somewhat autobiographical journal of Davis's thoughts and experiences. Best for book groups with a Christian slant; Davis is the daughter of best-selling writer Ravi Zacharias.

For five years, psychotherapist England worked with military families at a NATO base. Drawing on those experiences, she compassionately helps couples cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Whether the PTSD patient suffered trauma during military warfare, physical or sexual abuse, or natural disasters, the partner is affected and needs to learn how to interact with the affected partner. Timely and well done; essential in communities with returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets.

Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist, business consultant, and FBI hostage-negotiation trainer, Goulston provides brilliant yet doable techniques for getting through to others. His approach boils down to a modernized version of eminent therapist Carl Rogers's client-centered therapy owing to its point that people need to be "felt"; clarifying questions and statements faciliate achieving just that. His advice on recognizing and steering clear of toxic people is on target. This book transcends the self-help category by promoting real communication.

Hohlbaum (S.A.H.M. I Am) and Kroeker (The Contemplative Mom) offer advice for reclaiming control over time in order to enjoy family, friends, and life better. Hohlbaum debunks the myths of multi-tasking, speed, and urgency, asking readers to reevaluate how they perceive and use time. She offers thought-provoking commentaries on efficiency and expectations while providing concrete tips for saying no with kindness, taking time out, and breaking habits.

Kroeker gears her message to Christian families who want to slow down childhood and find time for God and each other. She and other contributors offer practical suggestions for building an alternative lifestyle in which parents and children can savor traditions, create memories together, and spend time with nature. Both of these titles represent the movement to return to more relaxed lifestyles; ripe for book groups and working moms.

The beauty of retiree Price's book is its simplicity—one can pick a chapter and find a latent interest that could be developed, from building a bird house to quitting smoking. Price gives the reader the opportunity to do that by providing the idea, the opportunity potential, and the resources for getting started. The title doesn't do the book justice; it's an inspirational guide that will provoke people of all ages to engage in new ventures and discover what life can offer.

Psychologist Slattery (Beyond the Masquerade) and Wilson (The Invisible Bond: How To Break Free from Your Sexual Past) both write from an evangelical Christian viewpoint in encouraging women to enjoy sex within marriage. Slattery takes a comprehensive approach to reigniting sexuality, discussing gender differences, body image, and the exhaustion of having young children. Her light doses of humor and honesty pull the reader along.

Wilson comes from a rehabilitative stance, helping readers overcome past mistakes and trauma to re-create loving relationships. She includes journaling exercises, husband/wife discussion questions, and a ten-week study guide. Both authors interweave their text with Bible verses and references to being the woman God wants one to be. While both books would circulate well in Christian communities, Slattery's would be slightly more accessible to women of other faiths.

Combining the advice of numerous therapists, clergy, and stepparents, clinical psychologist Wenck and teacher Hansen provide preventative and healing strategies to help women form healthy relationships between themselves and current or future stepchildren. The authors include everything from building a relationship with each child to defining boundaries as a couple. As both Wenck and Hansen have personally dealt with the trials and joys of stepchildren, their advice rings true. The book would prove valuable to those in the same situation or women about to enter into a blended family relationship.

And just for fun comes this great little book for women who may have been passed over for promotions, dated a string of jerks, or just wanted to have a little time for themselves. Warren, vice president/director of lifestyle publishing at Scribner, provides an antidote to the "Buy Me," "Lease Me," "Connect with Me" world with specific instructions for saying "no" to family, friends, work, and life in general. A nice complement to Hohlbaum's and Kroeker's books on leading slower lifestyles (see reviews in the upper left-hand corner of this page).