You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay

I call this book “My Spirituality Bible.” If you are only going to read one personal development/self-help book in your lifetime, this is the one I recommend!

I have gifted it to my mom, my closest friends and I recommend it to every coaching client. For me it was life changing.

Louise Hay is the queen of positive affirmations. This empowering book is easy to read and has been a major influence on my way of thinking, living and speaking to myself.

I know you’ll love it too.

The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein

In her latest book, The Universe Has Your Back, New York Times best-selling author Gabrielle Bernstein teaches listeners how to transform their fear into faith in order to live a divinely guided life. Each story and lesson in the book guides listeners to release the blocks to what they most long for: happiness, security, and clear direction. The lessons help listeners relinquish the need to control so they can relax into a sense of certainty and freedom.

Listeners will learn to stop chasing life and truly live. Making the shift from fear to faith will give listeners a sense of power in a world that all too often makes them feel utterly powerless. When the tragedies of the world seem overwhelming, this book will help guide them back to their true power.

(Description from Amazon.com)

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Want to start exercising, learn an instrument or quit doom scrolling? Say no more.

This is a practical instruction manual on how to form new helpful habits and break unhelpful ones. And let’s be real… our habits dictate the type of person we are. Motivation is fleeting, habits are forever.

I love the author’s perspective that habits are not boring but rather help us by making room in our minds for more important decision making. It’s incredible how many things we already do on autopilot, and the author explains how we can use this to our advantage by “habit-stacking.”

You’ll love this book if you are serious about becoming 1% better each day.

BONUS: Here’s a blog post I wrote that was inspired by this book, about how to use habits to change your relationship with alcohol

The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

What if the key to happiness, success, and love was as simple as two words?

In her latest groundbreaking book, The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins—New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's most respected experts on motivation, confidence, and mindset—teaches you how to stop wasting energy on what you can't control and start focusing on what truly matters: YOU. Your happiness. Your goals. Your life.

(Description from Amazon)

How to Be Single and Happy by Jennifer L. Taitz

I discovered this book on Amazon right during a bad breakup. It became the supportive bestie I desperately needed at the time!

Super helpful and full of relatable examples from the author’s therapy clients, this book changed my whole outlook on what it means to live single. It’s full of lovely insight on how to structure a full and meaningful life for yourself—with or without a romantic partner.

My favorite takeaway was that the two biggest factors in people’s overall happiness are job satisfaction and quality of friendships… not our love life.

The author also includes great advice on how to date intentionally and what to look for (and run from!) on early dates.

Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol by Karolina Rzadkowolska

Karolina Rzadkowolska is an alcohol-free thought leader, coach, author, and podcaster… and she is also my mentor for coaching!

I am honored to know her since her work has been a guiding light in my own journey to alcohol-freedom. She’s also just a really lovely and warm person, whose positive energy is infectious.

Karolina’s best-selling book, Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You was the final piece to the puzzle for me in making the decision to stop trying to moderate alcohol and instead release it from my life for good. It’s my favorite of all the “quit lit” books I’ve read, and I’ve read practically all of them.

This book helped me grasp the limitless possibilities of what my life could look like if I stopped letting alcohol hold me back from my full potential.

Radical Self-Love by Gala Darling

When you love yourself, life is limitless. You can do anything you want. It’s time to throw off the shackles of expectation and judgment, and start living from your heart. It’s time to astound yourself with how beautiful your life can be. It’s time to treat every single day like a celebration!

Description from Amazon

Your Brain is Always Listening by Dr. Daniel G. Amen, MD

A few years back I became obsessed with the concept of neuroplasticity. This refers to the brain's ability to modify, change, and adapt both structure and function throughout life and in response to experience.

You can literally change your own brain—not just your thoughts, but your actual gray matter… if you give it the right messages, eat the right foods, avoid harmful substances and head injuries.

Doctor Amen gets into all things brain-related, from automatic negative thoughts, to habits, to ADHD, addiction and a whole lot more. Read this book if you want to fall in love with your brain, and invest in taking care of it now so it will be healthy and serve you for the rest of your life.

This book isn’t quit lit, but I love it for anyone who is working on changing their relationship with alcohol.

I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi

I’m a wellness girlie through and through, and part of wellness is figuring out ways to reduce stress. Having your money in order is one of the best ways to do that. Money in and of itself won’t make you happy, but not having enough money can make you seriously miserable.

This is the only finance book I’ve read, but so far it has proven to be the only one I needed. Yes It’s that good!

The Author, Ramit Sethi is HILARIOUS! This book is so witty, I found myself cracking up on the Subway. He breaks things down in a way that’s easy to understand, and gets you excited about making, spending, saving, and investing money... even for someone as clueless about finance as I used to be.

Thanks to the author’s helpful techniques, I no longer feel guilty about spending lavishly on the things I love, because I also know now when to be frugal, all my accounts are automated so I do literally nothing and my bills and credit cards get paid on time. Plus, I’m investing every single month for my future.

Plus it’s approved by my Dad, who really knows his sh!t when it comes to money.

Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning Codependency by Terri Cole

This book is so interesting and helpful. I found it on Amazon while in the process of healing myself, post-breakup from my ex—a covert narcissist (oops—live & learn!)

Finding myself single again at 37, and wondering how I ended up with someone who was so wrong for me on so many levels, I began to question how I got so attached, and whether I have some codependent tendencies in my romantic relationships to examine and work on.

This book explains “High-Functioning Codependency,” a term the author uses to describe people (like myself) who have a tendency to take on too much, to overcommit, and to bend over backwards to unnecessarily to make sure everything is done perfectly and everyone else’s needs are met… at the expense of their own mental health and well-being.

Does this sound like you? If so, you must read this book. It helped me identify areas of my life in which I was acting like a HFC, and it gave me great insight on how to make adjustments, set healthy boundaries and start putting myself first.

Description from Amazon