Book reviews
Here you can find current and past book recommendations with short reviews.
Navigate back to the Bibliotherapy page for the full list of recommendations by category.
This is a fascinating read I’ve returned to several times. The breath is unique in its function as a bridge between the unconscious and conscious mind, and offers a direct pathway to regulating the nervous system. Journalist James Nestor travels the globe, tracing the history and science of breathing from ancient practices to cutting-edge research, and offers practical techniques that support both psychological and physical health.
This is another book I returned to recently after first reading it five years ago. The Nagoski sisters draw a clarifying distinction between stressors (external pressures like work, relationships, societal expectations) and stress itself (the physiological response that accumulates in the body and drives chronic exhaustion and burnout). Their framework for “completing the stress cycle” offers practical, compassionate tools for moving stress through and out of the body. While relevant for all adults experiencing chronic stress, the book speaks especially to the unrealistic demands placed on women.
Dr. Ramani Durvasula draws on her clinical expertise to illuminate the wide range of narcissistic abuse patterns found across relationships including family, friendships, romance, and work. She brings clarity to dynamics that are notoriously difficult to identify and name, given the complexity and subtlety of manipulative behavior. The book offers concrete strategies for protection, and centers the importance of self-compassion over self-blame. Most meaningfully, she offers a path toward healing that makes space for grief and the gradual recovery of a sense of Self.
Inspired by a few clients, this was my first return to the Enneagram since grad school, and it reminded me why the system endures. Riso and Hudson offer a rich, layered exploration of the nine personality types, tracing each type's core fears, desires, coping mechanisms, and childhood roots. The book rewards slow reading, I found myself highlighting and taking notes throughout. It deepens self-understanding while also illuminating the people around us, and offers frameworks for working through ego-driven patterns toward healthier relationships and greater inner freedom.
Meditation teacher Selassie is an excellent and witty storyteller offering a road map to reclaiming belonging and self-acceptance while resisting forces that perpetuate separation. I personally love her narration in the audio version of this book, and her weaving in of spirituality and anti-racism.
Author Tricia Hersey offers a powerful reframe of rest as a divine right, and a necessary and healing practice. She challenges burnout culture and encourages restoration, boundaries, and nervous system repair. This is a book I’ve returned to several times.
One of my favorite somatic practitioners, Dr. Schwartz lays out the polyvagal framework clearly and succinctly to deepen our personal understanding of how our nervous system responds to cues of threat and safety, offering a variety of evidence-based tools that support the nervous system in building more pathways toward safety and ease.
Psychic medium Laura Lynne Jackson explores meaning, intuition, synchronicities, and ongoing connection, offering comfort and perspective to those navigating grief or spiritual questions. Best suited for readers open to symbolic and spiritual perspectives on connection and loss. I found her non-dogmatic approach to be inviting and accessible.