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An encouraging read for anyone looking to hone their listening and observational skills while staying true to their own needs and abilities.
PREMIUM
Good Grief
This title includes 40 new poems that supplement those found in Pastor’s self-published debut poetry collection of the same name. Recommended for anyone seeking encouragement, support, or commiseration when coping with grief, trauma, anxiety, and more.
Koch empowers readers to improve their lives or mindsets by briefly reflecting on a daily concept. This book will appeal to all 80/20 adherents and anyone aspiring to better living.
After the isolation of the pandemic, many people want help making personal connections. This is a solid addition to self-help or psychology collections everywhere.
With its mix of astute cultural analyses, quippy personal anecdotes, and deeper dives into sociopolitical and theoretical factors, this book does more than show disabled and chronically ill people that they belong. It also serves as a reminder that it matters how one shows up on dating apps and in relationships, in order to counteract the systems that try to render invisible the people whose bodies don’t conform to social norms.
There is no bibliography, nor is there a concluding chapter to reinforce the central message. However, Johnson’s book offers excellent meditation tips and practical advice to help readers live more fulfilling lives, even in times of unrest.
A helpful book that may appeal to those seeking a spiritual consideration of doom related to climate change and ecological disaster.
Those who admire Nepo’s work and are seeking advice about friendship will relish this book. Reading it feels like having a discussion with the author over a delicious meal.
Readers who embraced the message in Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret will relish Barr’s book, but those with a more skeptical nature may want to skip this one.
This book will appeal to fans of Raines’s YouTube channel, allies, and trans people at any stage of their transition.
With quotations and references drawn from pop culture set alongside cutting-edge research on neuroplasticity and other facets of cognition, this is an easy-to-read addition to the growing ranks of biohacking books. Will appeal to readers of Tara Swart Bieber and Wendy Suzuki.
Change, anxiety, happiness, coping—these subjects and more are addressed in books that help readers achieve their best lives.
A thoughtful, moving memoir about a writer navigating the pandemic. Suggest to writers who need inspiration and to memoir readers.
Anyone feeling exhausted by their current pace of life will find concrete steps and tools to energize, from someone who has been there and discovered a new way of living.
Lomax has developed a pathway to facing and overcoming fears, for people who experienced similar feelings to hers. She respectfully and thoughtfully challenges beliefs and behaviors that are barriers for individuals and communities to achieve wellness and reach their goals.
With research-based information, examples, and thoughtful exercises, Kress’s guidebook provides a path for readers to heal from trauma and embrace a joyful future.
This book will appeal to three types of readers: people who are grieving the death of a pet, readers who know someone who has recently lost a pet, and those who are interested in the bonds between animals and humans.
This would be a fun book club selection for wellness groups and is a solid addition for displays on related subjects.
A timely, highly informative, and practical guidebook for navigating cross-cultural dating experiences.
Wellman does make liberal use of profanity, so readers who won’t enjoy that should look elsewhere, but this is an exceptional and amusing workbook for taking charge of future Mondays.
An excellent little volume that offers a big punch of ideas. Great for all psychology and self-help collections.
Many authors have written about happiness, yet few write about it in such a succinct and memorable way.
Filled with clear and pragmatic advice, this book is a thorough and fresh approach to embrace and bolster one’s inner power by considering its link to the nervous system and stress hormones. Recommended for readers who are interested in an approachable self-help volume.
The Enneagram is reliably popular on social media, and readers interested in navigating their friendships through the lens of the Enneagram will appreciate this well-organized guide.
A valuable guidebook for navigating discomfort with a sense of safety and strength that defies binary thinking and encourages readers to express themselves in authentic yet circumspect ways.
Peterman provides tools that everyone can use to identify, confront, and reduce implicit bias and implement best practices of negotiation.
Hard-biting and vulnerable, this is a recommended read for LGBTQIA+ patrons and twentysomething cis women, especially children of immigrants like the author.
A primary purchase for collections of well-researched and entertaining nonfiction regarding health, relationships, and sex.
PREMIUM
Somehow: Thoughts on Love
Recommended. Readers already familiar with Lamott’s nonfiction work will find comfort in her familiar touchstone topics of faith, family, and recovery viewed through the lens of love and aging. Readers new to Lamott might want to start with her earlier works such as Help Thanks Wow or Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith.
In each letter Wilson shares what she faced and how she overcame it and lets Black girls know that they too can overcome adversity. Her love for Black girls is evident, and they will benefit greatly from reading this book.
This is a singular and honest view of the Enneagram that plays the necessary devil’s advocate for readers wanting to better themselves. A great companion to other titles so libraries can provide a well-rounded approach to the Enneagram.
The inclusive language and accessible tone, along with McCabe’s knowledge and exhaustive research, make this smart and timely take on ADHD a necessity.
Those experiencing social media fatigue, abuse, or addiction can greatly benefit from this book. Highly recommended.
This title complements publications such as The Grief Recovery Handbook by John W. James and Russel Friedman, and It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine. Libraries looking to enhance their nonfiction collections should consider this book a must-have. It also contains a diverse reference list that supports and expands the topics discussed.
Fans of Groves and McBeath or readers who are looking to improve their relationship with themselves and their approach to partnerships will enjoy this book.
A friendly, practical guide filled with excellent advice, this book makes the ups and downs in professional life seem manageable. An excellent addition to career self-help collections.
Readers who enjoyed VandeHei’s previous work Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less will appreciate the writing style. Similarly, fans of The No-BS Self-Help Book by Honerod will find this title refreshing. Libraries looking to expand their self-help collections would greatly benefit from adding this book.
This book provides meaningful advice in an engaging style. It succeeds in conveying an important message of seeing substance in life’s little things.
Mackintosh’s words deliver because of her honesty and openness about getting past the pain. Highly recommended.
Fans of the author, self-help books, and those interested in clinical psychology will love this book.
As with any book that promises tools for finding purpose and meaning, this requires deep work, which sometimes feels like it was glossed over; still, the principles are sound and thought-provoking. For fans of authors like Martha Beck who are looking for additional clinically sound practices to explore.
Positive and affirming without ever sounding hollow or reductive, this title may help individuals struggling with anxiety to feel less alone.
This title would pair well with journaling. Once readers absorb the concepts of upper-limit problems and genius, they will find this work is an approachable guide to attitude and habit improvements.
This well-written volume encourages users to ask the tough questions in their lives. Best suited for self-help, pastoral, and spiritual counselors.
PREMIUM
Tending Grief: Embodied Rituals for Holding Our Sorrow and Growing Cultures of Care in Community
Barton specifically speaks to the way in which grief impacts queer and BIPOC communities, but their embodiment practice exercises will appeal to anyone working through feelings of trauma, pain, and loss.
Will appeal to those looking to improve their relationship with stress and to fans of Law’s podcast as well as readers of Gawdat’s books and followers of his popular podcast, Slow Mo.
This book will appeal to readers interested in contemplating the relationship between life and death from an academic or psychological point of view, and those who are interested in a Jewish perspective on death and loss.
Smerling’s system for creating or restoring healthy relationships should appeal to readers interested in childhood development and connecting with their younger selves.
An excellent resource with attainable outcomes. Roberts delivers another outstanding guide that can be life-changing for those who struggle with anger issues.
This is a bold book for women who are sick of feeling small and unseen and think there must be more to dating than patriarchal standards of beauty, female subservience, and desire.
PREMIUM
The Happiness Formula: A Scientific, Groundbreaking Approach to Happiness and Personal Fulfillment
Obayuwana notes that this book’s original title was the Mathematics of Happiness but it was changed owing to concerns that this might turn some people off, so perhaps readers who enjoy working with formulas would find his approach helpful.
Designed as a journal readers can use as a means of self-care, self-reflection, and inspiration, this collection of gentle ideas will please those looking for diary prompts. Most pages are worksheets or include spaces to add personal art and reflections.
Timeboxing is a mindset and a method that could assist readers in staying focused when completing any type of task. Written in a pragmatic, straightforward style, this book is highly recommended for anyone seeking to improve their time-management skills.
With short chapters and some valuable tools, this title isn’t a substitute for therapy, but it does build a sense of community by chipping away at the stigma surrounding anxiety in ways that may appeal to readers who need a little extra support.
This is highly recommended for young professionals as they navigate their boundaries, and for seasoned workers who need a boost to continue doing their best work.
This is an interesting and well-reasoned approach to help readers slow down, relearn how to relax, and shed any notions of what it means to be an adult.
PREMIUM
The Story of Upfront Carbon: How a Life of Just Enough Offers a Way Out of the Climate Crisis
An information-heavy overview of the cost of new purchases and how they affect the world. Though it’s BISAC’d as self-help, this is more of a technical book that will be beneficial to those looking to understand the pollution costs embedded in new things or seeking justification for living a simpler lifestyle.
Giscombé’s commitment, expertise, and compassion is evident as she shares her methods for Black women to experience joy and well-being.
A solid title for those interested in self-help, life coaching, success building, and motivational exercises.
Readers interested in Swedish culture and in Scandinavian contentment and mindfulness concepts will find this appealing.
Allen’s latest (after 2021’s self-published Shapes of Truth: Discover God Inside You) equips readers to be free.
The authentic voice that made Brown a social media “Mom and Auntie to America” shines bright in this read sprinkled with a warm, welcoming, and inclusive spirituality (God is Brown’s touchstone, but her asides and testimonies are colloquial and nondidactic). Recommended for readers who are already familiar with Brown’s other books (Feeding the Soul; Cooking from the Spirit; Seen, Loved, and Heard) as well as newcomers to her works.
A foray into sound healing that will help readers connect breath, voice, and body in beautiful ways.
Like her father, Applebaum has arranged a piece of work that is valuable for caregivers and those who support them.
Routledge brings a clinician’s eye for evidence-based research and a lay person’s fascination with everything from Star Wars to pop psychology to the topic of nostalgia, giving readers reasons to think back on their lives, their families, and their histories and consider who they want to become.
Roxo’s book reminds readers that stories matter, and that to be good tellers of their stories, they also need to listen to and learn from the people around them. A beautiful if somewhat jargony exploration of coming home to one’s body, feelings, and truths in collective, vulnerable ways.
A profound yet simple book designed to introduce anyone to mindfulness, with lessons that offer experienced meditators options for renewing their practice.
Heavily footnoted, carefully researched, and ultimately prescriptive not of pills and potions but of foods close to nature and fairly accessible, this title may not be the magical fountain of youth, but it delivers good advice in palatable, practical ways that will make every blueberry taste like it’s erasing a wrinkle or two.
A solid, well-organized work that should appeal to a broad audience of people interested in self-help and psychology.
This work is intentional, resourceful, and a place to land, heal, and grow for those who have experienced similar circumstances to Garcia.
The blend of science and storytelling that Nagoski’s readers expect is on full display throughout this affirming, inclusive guide, which has the potential to transform readers’ sex lives and their general well-being. An essential purchase.
For readers who can get through the book’s more clinical and anecdotal first section, there is some usefulness to be found in Taitz’s easily applicable tools and techniques.
PREMIUM
45 Ways To Live Like an Italian: Italian-Inspired Self-Care Traditions for Everyday Happiness
This charming and instructive book will appeal to Italophiles everywhere.
A refreshing take on the usual romantic relationship self-help; highly recommended for all collections.
Recommended to readers looking for advice about how to reframe negative thought patterns and rewrite their stories and for anyone seeking to learn from someone with a voluminous capacity for finding strength in difficult circumstances.
While the book leans a little heavily on buzzwords like “resilience” and “grit,” it’s full of examples from Schnaidt’s clients, plus ample actionable tips for anyone interested in flexing their creativity muscles to build long-term strength, rather than sparking occasional episodes of genius followed by periods of creative blockage.
This is a great read for anyone navigating the pandemic’s disruption of work; highly recommended for all collections.
A book designed for advocates and activists (and to make anyone who gets a little older each year into an advocate or activist). Walrond disrupts dominant narratives about age, race, class, gender, and sexuality in ways that will catalyze readers to reflect on how they can live boldly beyond middle age.
An honest, self-reflective book, peppered with journaling prompts and suggestions for readers to help process grief. Cervantes also acknowledges that no single book or self-help toolkit can do away with real human loss; this in itself is enough to make her book an essential work for anyone impacted by grief.
PREMIUM
The Sex You Want: A Shameless Journey to Deep Intimacy, Honest Pleasure, and a Life You Love
For readers who are ready to let go of their preconceived notions about sexual roles and categories so they can redefine their relationships with their bodies and their partners.
Clear, supportive guidance, coupled with the book’s logical structure, will make this a title that couples return to whenever they need a relationship tune-up. An excellent work for newlyweds.
This is a good book for those interested in self-help, psychology, and guided exercises to gain new insights about themselves.
Sun’s book provides actionable strategies for discovering one’s confidence style, primarily through personal observations but with a dose of science and data thrown in to support her points. Recommended for anyone who’s ready to reflect on the mindset traits and behaviors that limit them so they’re able to achieve the gravitas that Sun suggests can enhance all aspects of life.
Possibly of interest for readers with a scientific background who want to explore the cognitive theories behind anxiety, but those wishing to read a general self-help work should look elsewhere.
Recommended as a next step for readers who have begun practices of introspection and want to find shared experiences, common patterns, and valuable tools for continuing their journeys of self-discovery.
Fans of Tatum’s podcast and Instagram will enjoy the book, but it also could be a good introduction to self-help for readers who are on the fence about the genre.
Although some of the topics can be a bit disheartening, this is a motivating book that could guide anyone seeking to improve the world and/or their life perspective.
Highly recommended for anyone working through personal or collective loss, such as that caused by the COVID pandemic.
Beautiful, painful, and healing, this is a much-needed reminder of society’s common humanity and the authority people have in determining what it means to share in the work of being human.
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