Books that helped me along the way

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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, PhD

    No 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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 Tawwab

    Non-violent Communication by Marshall B Ronsebergy, PhD

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • Infertility and Reproductive Challenges

    Conquering Infertility — Alice Domar

    The Infertility Workbook — Barbara Blitzer

    The Infertility Survival Handbook — Elizabeth Swire-Falker