Books that helped me along the way
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General Grief and Healing
Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief — Joanne Cacciatore
The After Grief: Finding Your Way Along the Long Arc of Loss — Hope Edelman
It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand — Megan Devine
How to Carry What Can't Be Fixed: A Journal for Grief — Megan Devine
The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief — Francis Weller
Healing Through the Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear, and Despair — Miriam Greenspan
On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss — Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, David Kessler
Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief — David Kessler
Hope and Help for Your Nerves — Claire Weekes
Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions — James W. Pennebaker
Saying Goodbye — Zoe Clark-Coates
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Family Dysfunction, Emotionally Immature Parents, & Narcissistic Parenting
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson PhD
Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents: Practical Tools to Establish Boundaries and Reclaim your Emotional Autonomy by Lindsay C. Gibson PhD
Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed: Help and Hope for Adults in the Family Scapegoat Role by Rebecca C. Mandeville MFT
Adult Children Secrets of Dysfunctional Families by John Friel and Linda Friel
The Highly Sensitive Person’s Guide to Dealing with Toxic People by Shahida Arabi, MA
Healing the Adult Children of Narcissists by Shahida Arabi, MA
It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People by Ramani Durvashula, PhD
The Origins of You: How Breaking Family Patterns Can Liberate the Way We Live and Love by Vienna Pharaon, LMFT
Healing the Adult Children of Narcissists by Shahida Arabi
Adult Survivors of Toxic Family Members: Tools to Maintain Boundaries, Deal with Criticism, and Heal from Shame After Ties Have Been Cut by Dr. Sherrie Campbell PhD
But It’s Your Family: Cutting Ties with Toxic Family Members and Loving Yourself in the Aftermath by Dr. Sherrie Campbell PhD
Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life by Dr. Susan Forward
Children of the Self Absorbed: A Grown Up’s Guide to Getting Over Narcissic Parents by Nina W. Brown
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Attachment-Based & Trauma-Informed Parenting
Parenting from the Inside Out by Dan Siegel, MD
The Whole Brain Child by Dan Siegel, MD + Tina Payne Bryson, PhDNo Bad Kids: Toddler Discipline Without Shame by Janet Julian
No-Drama Discipline By Dan Siegel, MD & Tina Payne Bryson, PhD
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne and Lisa M. Ross
Attached at the Heart by Barbara Nicholson and Lysa Parker
Trauma-Proofing Your Kids by Maggie Kline and Dr. Peter A. Levine
Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes by Dr. Peter Levine and Maggie Kline
You are Your Child’s First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy
Parenting in the Present Moment by Carola Naumburg, PhD
The Neurobehavioral and Social-Emotional Development of Infants and Children by Ed Tronick
The Power of Discord: Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships Are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust by Ed Tronick
Children’s Social and Emotional Development Starts with Co-regulation by National Institute for Children’s Health Quality
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Mother Wound
Mother’s Who Can’t Love: A Healing Guide for Daughters by Susan Forward, PhD
You’re Not Crazy It’s Your Mother: Freedom for Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers by Danu Morrigan
The Emotionally Absent Mother: How to Recognize and Heal the Invisible Effects of Childhood Emotional Neglect by Jasmin Lee Cori, MS, LPC
Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers: Quiet the Critical Voice in Your Head, Heal Self Doubt, and Live the Life you Deserve by Stephanie M. Kriesberg
Daughter Detox by Peg Streep
The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler
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Complex PTSD & Trauma
Transcending Trauma:Healing Complex PTSD with Internal Family Systems by Frank G. Anderson
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker
The Tao of Fully Feeling: Harvesting Forgiveness Out of Blame by Pete Walker
Nurturing Resilience: Helping Clients Move Forward from Developmental Trauma by Kathy L. Kain, PhD, and Stephen J. Terrell, PsyD
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor MD, Daniel Mate
The Body Keeps Score: Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk
Healing Trauma by Dr. Peter Levine
Waking the Tiger by Dr. Peter Levine
Burnout: The Secret to Unloing the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD
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Healthy Boundaries
Your Perfect Right: Assertiveness and Quality in Your Life and Relationships by Robert Alberti, PhD and Michael Emmons, PhD
When I say No, I feel Guilty by Manual J. Smith, PhD
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover TawwabNon-violent Communication by Marshall B Ronsebergy, PhD
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Poisonous Pedagogy & Hurtful Parenting
The Drama of a Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self by Alice Miller
The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Hurtful Parenting by Alice Miller
The Truth Will Set You Free: Overcoming Emotional Blindness and Finding Your True Adult Self by Alice Miller
The Untouched Key: Tracing Childhood Trauma in Creativity and Destructiveness by Alice Miller
Breaking Down the Wall of Silence: Liberating Experience of Facing Painful Truth by Alice Miller
Thou Shalt Not Be Aware: Society’s Betrayal of the Child by Alice Miller
For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence by Alice Miller
Banished Knowledge: Facing Childhood Injuries by Alice Miller
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Childhood Abuse
Stalking the Soul: Emotional Abuse and the Erosion of Identity by Marie-France Hirigoyen
It Wasn’t Your Fault: Freeing Yourself From the Shame of Childhood Abuse with the Power of Self-Compassion by Beverly Engel, LMFT
Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse by Shannon Thomas, LCSW
Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse by Carolyn Ainscough and Kay Toon
The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis
The Right to Innocence: Healing the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Beverly Engel, M.F.C.C
Healing Sex: A Mind Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma by Staci Haines
I Never Told Anyone: Writings by Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Edited by Ellen Bass and Louise Thornton
Cry the Darkness: One Woman’s Triumph Over the Tragedy of Incest by Donna Friess PhD
Family Secrets: The Path From Shame to Healing by John Bradshaw
Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw
A Light in the Dark: The Hidden Legacy of Adult Children of Sex Addicts by Kenneth M. Adams, PhD, Mary E. Meyers, phD, LFMT, and Culle L. Vande Garde, LCSW
Healing from Sexual Trauma: A Somatic Guided Therapy for Therapists and Adults Survivors by Genevieve Thorne MA LPC, Mable MMA PhD
When There Are No Words: Repairing Early Trauma and Neglect From the Attachment Period with EMDR Therapy by Sandra L Paulsen, PhD
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parts work
Healing the Child Within by Charles L Witfield M.D Radical Acceptance of Everything by Ann Weiser Cornell
Greater than the Sum of Your Parts by Dr. Richard Schwartz
No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz, PhD
Internal Family Systems Therapy with Children by Lisa Spiegel
Internal Family Systems Skills Training Manual by Frank G. Anderson, MD, Martha Sweezy, PhD, Richard C. Schwartz, PhD
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Spirituality, Soul Journeys, and the Afterlife
Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives — Michael Newton
Life Between Lives: Hypnotherapy for Spiritual Regression — Michael Newton
Many Lives, Many Masters — Brian L. Weiss
The Instruction: Living the Life Your Soul Intended — Ainslie Macleod
Your Soul's Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born — Robert Schwartz
The Light Between Us — Laura Lynne Jackson
Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe — Laura Lynne Jackson
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Near-Death Experience and Journey into the Afterlife — Eben Alexander
Dying to Know You: Proof of God in the Near-Death Experience — P.M.H. Atwater
Across Time and Death: A Mother’s Search for Her Past Life Children — Jenny Cockell
Spirit Babies: How to Communicate With the Child You Were Meant to Have — Walter Makichen
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Grief After Pregnancy, Infant, or Child Loss
I’ll Hold You in Heaven — Jack Hayford
Growing Up in Heaven: The Eternal Connection Between Parent and Child — James Van Praagh
Finding Hope When a Child Dies: What Other Cultures Can Teach Us — Sukie Miller
Stillborn Still Loved — Hailey Ricks
Rebirth: The Journey of Pregnancy After Loss — Joey Miller, MSW LCSW
You're the Only One I've Told: Stories Behind Abortion — Dr. Meera Shah
Empty Cradle, Broken Heart — Deborah Davis
You Are the Mother of All Mothers: A Message of Hope for the Grieving Heart — Angela Miller
Three Minus One: Stories of Parents' Love and Loss — Edited by Sean Hanish and Brooke Warner
There Was Supposed to Be A Baby: A Guide to Healing After Pregnancy Loss — Catherine Noblitt Keating
Stillborn: The Invisible Death — John Defrain
They Were Still Born: Personal Stories About Stillbirth — Janel Atlas
Almost a Mother — Christy Wompat
Unexpecting: Real Talk on Pregnancy Loss — Rachel Lewis
From the Lake House: A Mother's Odyssey of Loss and Love — Kristen Rademacher
The Still Point of the Turning World — Emily Rapp Black
An Exact Replica of A Figment of My Imagination — Elizabeth McCracken
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Men and Grief
Grieving Dads: To The Brink and Back — Kelly Farley with David Dicola
When Men Grieve: Why Men Grieve Differently and How You Can Help — Elizabeth Levang
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Infertility and Reproductive Challenges
Conquering Infertility — Alice Domar
The Infertility Workbook — Barbara Blitzer
The Infertility Survival Handbook — Elizabeth Swire-Falker