The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel A. Van der Kolk

The Body Keeps Score

As society navigates increasingly complex times, this book seems to occupy a lasting position on bestseller lists. The author provides an evidence-based exploration of the mind-body connection, explaining how the body responds to trauma, and most importantly, pathways to healing. If you are interested in stress management or trauma, this is a wonderful addition to your library.

The Four Agreements by Inc Peter Pauper Press

The Four Agreements

If you want to learn how to better cope with the challenges that life throws your way, start with this small but powerful book based on Toltec wisdom. The rules are simple: 1) Be impeccable with your word, 2) Don’t take anything personally, 3) Don’t make assumptions, 4) Always do your best. However, living them out in daily life is a challenge that you will find involves a continual commitment to personal development and growth. Once you learn what is truly under your control (your response) and that others behaviors have little to do with you, you find yourself experiencing situations in a less charged maner. This is a book I plan to reread regularly for the rest of my life

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Atomic Habits

This book underscores so much of what I have learned from decades of public health practice about what it takes to achieve sustainable behavior change. To put it simply, knowledge doesn’t equal behavior. We can have ambitious goals about new habits we would like to build, but the secret sauce is in laying a foundation for lifelong change using approaches such as tiny habits. I find myself returning to this book again and again to better understand how I can create realistic habits that last.

My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem

My Grandmother’s Hands

I find it difficult to put into words what this book means to me, but suffice to say, it helps me understand why even hearing or watching incidents of racism cause a felt experience in body–from a thumping in my heart, to taking shallow breaths as I brace myself for the worst. It explores racial trauma across different times and contexts, from current society, to slavery in the United States, and Medieval Europe, as one segment of the population inevitably used bodily force and other forms of oppression to dominate another. It explores the impacts of racism for the oppressor and the oppressed alike. The author uses his training as a somatic therapist to provide guidance for how we can collectively heal from this trauma, and create better pathways moving forward.