Knowledge is power, learning about your mind, the world, and others is a great way to help you on your journey to recovery and growth.

 I am not being paid to recommend any of the below books or films they are just my personal recommendations.  The list will grow as I read and discover more authors.  

General Self-Help Books:

Superhero Therapy (2017) By Janina Scarlet. How to become a superhero and concur with your fears

The Happiness Trap(2008) By Russ Harris. Overview of ACT (recommend full-text version over illustrated version)

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life(2005) By Steve Hayes. Overview of ACT

The Confidence Gap(2011) By Russ Harris. How to build confidence to go after what matters in your life

The Reality Slap (2012) By Russ Harris. Recovering after life knocks you down

Books About Relationship Issues:

ACT with Love (2009) Russ Harris. Relationship book using principles of ACT

Secrets of a Passionate Marriage (1997) David Schnarch. An excellent non-blaming method for looking at how to improve your relationship, theory is great for all types of relationships not just romantic relationships** I recommend the abridged audio version of this book over the printed version!

The 5 Love Languages (1995) Gary Chapman. Discusses the five different ways we communicate love and how to communicate love to those close to you in their “love language”

Boundaries (1992) Henry Cloud and John Townsend. Book on establishing boundaries in the relationships (not just romantic) in your life.  This is a Christian-based book so if that is not your cup of tea just be forwarded.  

Disorder Specific Books:

Things Might Go Terribly Horribly Wrong(2010) By Kelly Wilson and Troy DuFrene. Using ACT to work through anxiety

The Wisdom to Know the Difference (2012) By Kelly Wilson. Using ACT for addiction

The Mindful Way Through Depression (2007) Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal and Jon Kabat-Zinn. How to use principles of mindfulness to treat and work through Depression.

The Diet Trap (2014) By Jason Lillis and JoAnne Dahl. Using ACT to help with issues related to weight 

Living With Your Body and Other Things You Hate (2014) By Emily Sandoz and Troy DuFrene. Using principles of ACT to learn how to be accepting of your body 

 Finding Life Beyond Trauma (2007) By Victoria Follette and Jacqueline Pistorello. Using ACT to help work through traumatic events in your life.   

Living Beyond Your Pain (2006) By JoAnne Dahl and Tobias Lundgren. Using ACT to help you learn to live with and have a full life with chronic pain.

ACT on Life Not on Anger (2006) By George H Eifert and Matthew McKay. Using ACT to understand anger and how to disengage from anger and rage.

Books on Parenting:

Southeast Psych's Guide For Imperfect Parents (2017) by Craig Pohlman, Fronk Gaskill, Mary B. Moore, et. al.  Lots of tips for parenting all kinds of kids in all kinds of situations. 

No-Drama Discipline (2014) By Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson. Methods for teaching your child without yelling and getting into arguments 

Mindful Motherhood (2009) By Cassandra Vieten. Using ACT principles to connect and enjoy your child's first year

Parenting Your Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance (2009) By Christopher McCurry and Steven Hayes. Using ACT to help you as a parent connect with and teach an anxious child

The Joy of Parenting (2009) By Lisa Coyne and Amy Murrell. Using ACT and mindfulness to slow down and enjoy your child while they are young 

Good Books to Read:

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior (1980) By Dan Millman. A great novel about mindfulness and being intentional in life.  There is also a film and it is just as good as the book.  

Man's Search for Meaning (1946) By Victor Frankel. Book about survival and thriving in the worse circumstances one can be in.  My must-read book for everyone out there.  

Who Moved my Cheese? (1998) By Spencer Johnson.  A short story about adapting to change

Outliers (2008) By Malcolm Gladwell. A book on what it takes to become great at a task

Mindset (2006) By Carol Dweck.  A book about how to change how you approach problems to increase your ability to learn new information and improve your skills at just about anything.  

It Worked For Me (2012)By Colin Powell.  Book of stories about how Colin Powell rose through the ranks in the military and his life in politics.  Great lessons for any soldier to listen to and learn from.

WitchLight Trilogy (2012) Debora Geary.  A fun fantasy trilogy that can give some insight into the importance of emotional flexibility, and is just a fun read if nothing else.  

You’re Never Weird on the Internet [almost] (2015) Felicia Day.  A great book outlining the importance of finding your community and also life lessons about working through anxiety.  

The Coddling of the American Mind (2019) Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt. An interesting exploration of some recent changes around speech in America.

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (2018) Dr. Robin DiAngelo. A very good read to help one better understand and gain perspective on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know (2019). Malcolm Gladwell. This book does a good job at breaking down how communication errors can occur in our world.

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (2016) Jon Ronson. If you are going to live in the online space at all this book is a must-read.

Resources Video

The Social Dilemma (2020) An interesting look at how social media impacts how we see and interact with the world.

Peaceful Warrior (2006) covering: mindfulness, emotional flexibility, values and moving to what matters

Meet the Robinsons (2007) covering: defusion, acceptance, committed action, values and family

Love is Evol (2009) covering: defusion, committed action, values and divorce issues

The Angry Pursuit of Happiness (2014) covering: mindfulness, acceptance, values and committed action 

Inside Out (2015) covering: self-as-context, defusion, acceptance, emotional flexibility, values and developing identity.  A great film to watch with your child to explain how to talk about emotions!

Tuesdays with Morrie (1999) covering: acceptance, values and end of life issues

Click (2006) values and committed action

The Pursuit of HappYness (2006) covering: values, committed action, mindfulness, acceptance, defusion, and moving through difficult times to get to what matters.

What the #$*! Do We Know? (2004) covering: how we perceive the world and how our emotions impact how we interact with the world

Happy (2011) covering: what is happiness and who is happy?