Book Recommendations

Highly Recommend

These are my personal favorite and most often recommended books for personal growth, relationships, and emotional resilience.

📖 No Bad Parts – Richard Schwartz

• A deep dive into Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, explaining how embracing all parts of yourself leads to healing. This foundational book introduces so many concepts.

📖 You’re the One You’ve Been Waiting For – Richard Schwartz

• Explores how IFS applies to relationships, particularly romantic ones, and how to heal attachment wounds. This is the one I read over and over.

📖 Liberated Love – Mark Groves & Kylie McBeath

• Explores how to break free from codependent patterns and build conscious, fulfilling relationships. It’s a little messy but covers so many topics so well and introduces “The Sacred Pause.”

📖 Atlas of the Heart – Brené Brown

• Breaks down human emotions with research-backed insights, helping readers build deeper emotional literacy. So many clients can’t name emotions that this is a must-have.

Further Reading

These books provide valuable insights into relationships, attachment, communication, and self-compassion.

📖 Attached – Amir Levine & Rachel Heller

• A beginner-friendly book on attachment theory, explaining how we form relationships and what patterns shape them.

📖 Polysecure – Jessica Fern

• Bridges attachment theory and non-monogamy, providing tools for secure, healthy relationships in polyamorous dynamics.

📖 Self-Compassion – Kristin Neff

• A game-changer for understanding why self-criticism is ineffective and how to build self-compassion instead. A good companion to parts work on how to speak to your vulnerable parts.

📖 The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work – John Gottman & Nan Silver

• A research-backed guide from the Gottman Institute on what makes relationships thrive and how to strengthen emotional connection. These two are the cornerstones of couples therapy work.

📖 Daring Greatly / Braving the Wilderness / Dare to Lead – Brené Brown

• Powerful books on vulnerability, courage, belonging, and leadership. Brené is an imperfect author, but her research is brilliant.

📖 The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel van der Kolk

• A must-read on trauma and great intro on how it affects the brain and body, offering insights into healing through somatic approaches.

📖 The Myth of Normal – Gabor Maté

• Discusses how modern society contributes to trauma and disconnection and what healing looks like. So many clients hold themselves to a standard of “normal” so this one ranks high.

📖 Mating in Captivity – Esther Perel

• Explores the paradox of desire in long-term relationships and how to keep eroticism alive. Perel is at the center of all sexual relationship work in the field.

📖 Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss

• A fascinating look at negotiation and communication, useful in both personal and professional relationships.

📖 Come As You Are – Emily Nagoski

• A must-read about sexual desire and intimacy, offering science-backed ways to enhance sexual well-being.

📖 The Way of Integrity – Martha Beck

• A blend of psychology and spirituality, guiding readers toward living authentically and in alignment with their true selves.

📖 Radical Acceptance – Tara Brach

• Explores mindfulness and self-compassion as pathways to overcoming shame and self-judgment.

📖 The Ethical Slut – Janet W. Hardy & Dossie Easton

• A classic in sex-positivity and ethical non-monogamy, advocating for open, honest relationships.

📖 Nonviolent Communication – Marshall Rosenberg

• An essential book for improving conflict resolution, deepening empathy, and fostering emotional understanding.

Spiritual & Mindfulness Books

For those looking to deepen their spiritual and mindfulness practice.

📖 The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz

• A simple yet profound guide to personal freedom and self-liberation, based on Toltec wisdom. This is the most practical of the bunch.

📖 The Untethered Soul – Michael Singer

• A guide to breaking free from limiting thoughts and achieving inner peace. I will forever honor this book as the one that started my journey into the spiritual and taught me about consciousness.

📖 The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

• Teaches how to stay present, reduce suffering, and cultivate mindfulness. Once you understand IFS you can think about this as “Self energy” but some of his language runs the risk of spiritual bypassing.

📖 A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle

• Explores how ego-driven behaviors create suffering and how to transcend them. Same as The Power of Now, I recommend learning the basics of what Self-energy is before tackling these.