"If you're someone who loves wandering the self-help section, drawn to stories and insights that spark self-discovery and reflection, you're in good company. Here, I've gathered a collection of books straight off my shelf, these have inspired me—especially in the realms of mindfulness, personal growth, and empowerment to reconnect with inner strength.
Each title has been a companion in different seasons of my life, offering something grounding, encouraging, or just the right nudge forward. Whether you're just beginning your personal growth journey or are a longtime seeker of meaningful reads, I hope you find something here that speaks to you.
Take what you need, and leave the rest."
- Emily Millar
Each title has been a companion in different seasons of my life, offering something grounding, encouraging, or just the right nudge forward. Whether you're just beginning your personal growth journey or are a longtime seeker of meaningful reads, I hope you find something here that speaks to you.
Take what you need, and leave the rest."
- Emily Millar
Mindful Moments
You Are Not Your Pain
by Vidyamala Burch Offers an eight-week mindfulness program developed by Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman, both of whom have lived with chronic pain. With just ten to twenty minutes a day, these proven meditations help reduce physical pain and emotional distress, empowering readers to reclaim their lives.
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A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook
by Bob Stahl, PhD Introduces the clinically proven MBSR program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn to help reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. Through guided exercises and meditations, readers learn to respond to life’s challenges with calm awareness, building lifelong skills for a healthier, more balanced life.
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A New Earth
by Eckhart Tolle Explores how letting go of ego-based thinking is essential for personal fulfillment and global peace. With practical insights and spiritual guidance, he invites readers to awaken to a higher consciousness and embrace a more meaningful, harmonious way of living.
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Stillness Speaks
by Eckhart Tolle In Stillness Speaks, New York Times bestselling author Eckhart Tolle shares the essence of his teachings on presence and the power of living in the now. Through short, profound reflections drawn from universal spiritual wisdom, Tolle offers a path to inner peace by freeing the mind from past and future thinking.
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Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD
A timeless introduction to mindfulness, offering gentle guidance on how to find calm and presence in everyday life. This updated edition of the bestselling classic includes new reflections and insights to help readers navigate today’s world with clarity and peace.
Feel-Good Reads
The Happiness Project
by Gretchen Rubin Gretchen Rubin chronicles her year-long journey to boost her happiness by applying insights from science, philosophy, and personal experience. This engaging and relatable edition includes bonus materials to help readers start their own happiness project and focus on what truly matters.
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Think like a Monk
by Jay Shetty Jay Shetty shares practical wisdom from his time in an ashram to help readers overcome negativity, find purpose, and cultivate inner peace. Blending ancient teachings with modern insight, Shetty offers relatable tools to reduce stress, improve relationships, and live a more meaningful life.
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Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
by Katherine May A gentle, introspective look at how rest, retreat, and acceptance can help us navigate life’s difficult seasons. Blending memoir with cultural and natural insights, it invites us to see periods of struggle as essential times for growth and renewal.
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Lighter: Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand the Future
by Yung Pueblo A compassionate guide to healing through self-awareness, emotional maturity, and inner transformation. Drawing from his own journey, Pueblo shows how shedding emotional burdens can help us reconnect with ourselves—and ultimately contribute to a more compassionate world.
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Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World
by Eve Rodsky
by Eve Rodsky
Explores the essential role of creativity and self-expression in a fulfilling life. With practical advice and inspiring stories, she helps readers reclaim time for what lights them up—proving that fun and purpose aren’t luxuries, but necessities.
For Caregivers
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind
by Daniel J. Siegel M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, PhD. Offers twelve practical strategies to help parents support their child’s brain development and emotional well-being. Blending neuroscience with everyday parenting, this insightful guide shows how to turn challenging moments into opportunities for growth and connection.
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No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind
by Daniel J. Siegel M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, PhD. Offers a calm, compassionate approach to handling misbehavior while nurturing a child’s developing brain. With practical strategies and neuroscience insights, it helps parents turn meltdowns into meaningful moments of connection, learning, and growth.
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Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential
by Peg Dawson, EdD, and Richard Guare, PhD Learn how to identify your child's executive function strengths and challenges, from attention and organization to impulse control and emotional regulation. This practical guide helps you motivate your child, build key skills, and problem-solve everyday struggles with confidence and clarity.
The Explosive Child [Sixth Edition]: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children
by Ross W Greene, PhD Offers a compassionate and research-based approach to parenting children who respond to everyday challenges with intense outbursts. Instead of punishments or rewards, Greene’s Collaborative Problem Solving model helps parents understand lagging skills and work with their child to build flexibility, frustration tolerance, and problem-solving abilities.
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Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents
by Eli R. Lebowitz Offers a groundbreaking, parent-based approach to reducing anxiety without forcing change on the child. Backed by science and filled with practical tools, it empowers parents to shift their own responses—fostering calm, confidence, and long-term resilience in the whole family.
The 5 Love Languages of Children: The Secret to Loving Children Effectively
by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell Teaches parents how to express love in ways their child understands best. By identifying and speaking your child’s primary love language, you can build a deeper connection, support their growth, and foster lasting emotional security.
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The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
by Jonathan Haidt Explores the sharp rise in teen mental health struggles since the early 2010s, linking it to the decline of play-based childhood and the rise of constant phone and social media use. Backed by research, Haidt offers a powerful diagnosis of the problem—and a clear, actionable path toward reclaiming healthy development for the next generation.
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The Yes Brain
by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., and Tina Payne Bryson Offers parents practical tools to help children develop balance, resilience, insight, and empathy. By shifting kids from a reactive “No Brain” to a receptive “Yes Brain” state, it empowers them to face challenges with curiosity, confidence, and compassion.
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🏳️🌈 Pride in Practice
The Savvy Ally: A Guide for Becoming a Skilled LGBTQ+ Advocate
by Jeannie Gainsburg
by Jeannie Gainsburg
A practical, engaging guide for anyone looking to become a more confident and effective LGBTQ+ advocate. Packed with real-world tools, respectful language tips, and allyship strategies, it’s a must-read for educators, parents, and professionals ready to support inclusion with clarity and compassion.
Roots & Relating
Self Help: This Is Your Chance to Change Your Life
by Gabrielle Bernstein A transformative guide that brings the healing power of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy into everyday life. With a simple 4-step process and practical tools, Gabby helps readers shift limiting patterns, cultivate self-compassion, and reconnect with their true inner guidance.
8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go
by Jay Shetty A practical guide to building and sustaining meaningful relationships, grounded in both ancient wisdom and modern science. With clear, actionable steps, Shetty helps readers navigate every stage of love—from dating to breakups—with intention, self-awareness, and compassion.
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Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find--and Keep--Love
by Amir Levine, M.D., and Rachel S.F. Heller, M.A. Explores the science of adult attachment styles and how they shape our relationships. With practical insights and tools, it helps readers identify their own patterns and build healthier, more secure connections in love and beyond.
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Tend to Yourself
Who Is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind
by Fariha Roisin A powerful blend of memoir and cultural critique that challenges the exclusivity and appropriation within the modern wellness industry. Through personal stories and sharp analysis, Róisín reclaims ancestral healing practices and calls for a more inclusive, justice-centered approach to true well-being.
Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life
by Jamie Kern Lima An empowering guide to breaking free from self-doubt and embracing your inherent value. With practical tools and powerful mindset shifts, it helps you build unshakable self-love, overcome limiting beliefs, and step boldly into the life you were meant to live.
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The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition: The Power of Radical Self-Love
by Sonya Renee Taylor A powerful call to embrace radical self-love as a path to healing body shame and challenging systems of oppression. Through poetic insight and activism, Taylor empowers readers to reclaim their bodies, celebrate difference, and imagine a more just and compassionate world for all.
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Goal Setting & Habits
The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul
by Danielle LaPorte The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte flips traditional goal-setting on its head, inviting you to pursue how you want to feel—not just what you want to achieve. With soulful guidance and practical tools, this life-planning system helps you create “Goals with Soul” so you can chase fulfillment, not burnout.
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Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
by James Clear A practical, science-backed guide to transforming your life through small, consistent changes. With simple strategies and real-world examples, it shows how building better systems—not just setting goals—leads to lasting habits and remarkable results.
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Your Healing Journey
The Artist's Way
by Julia Cameron A transformative guide to reigniting creativity and overcoming blocks through a 12-week journey of self-discovery. With tools like Morning Pages and the Artist Date, Cameron offers practical exercises and spiritual insights to help readers reconnect with their creative spirit and live more inspired, purposeful lives.
The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living
by Russ Harris A practical, empowering guide based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) that helps readers break free from negative thought patterns and emotional struggles. With tools to reduce stress, build self-compassion, and clarify personal values, it offers a path to lasting, meaningful happiness from the inside out.
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Indigenous Healing: Exploring Traditional Paths
by Rupert Ross A powerful exploration of traditional Indigenous worldviews and their vital role in healing from the deep wounds of colonization. Drawing from his experiences as a Crown Attorney and the wisdom of Indigenous thinkers, Ross presents a compelling case for “decolonization therapy” and a return to community-rooted, land-connected definitions of wellness and identity.
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