12 Life-Changing Books to Read This Year
Looking for a new book that just might change your life? There are so many wonderful books with amazing stories and lessons to learn, it’s often hard to know where to invest your time.
To hopefully guide you in a good direction, I’ve narrowed down 12 books I consistently recommend to clients the most.
Once you’ve finished a book from this list, I recommend reading something for fun so that you’re not overloading your brain with new information. Give yourself time to consolidate and integrate what you’ve read and take the pressure off finding the one book that will “solve everything” for you.
You may also find that pulling together bits and pieces from lots of different sources will likely serve you better than just one source. Here are 12 life-changing books to read this year (and beyond).
1. Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl
I believe this book should be at the top of every person’s reading list.
The autobiographical account of a psychiatrist surviving a concentration camp is captivating, moving, and truly life-changing.
Frankl argues that the search for meaning is a fundamental human drive, and that even in the most challenging circumstances, a person can find meaning in their lives.
Even in the face of suffering, a person has the power to choose their response. You may find this reminder helpful in the face of circumstances outside of your control so that you still retain a sense of empowerment.
In particular, I found his take on grief incredibly insightful and comforting.
2. Self-Compassion by kristin neff
Rather than endlessly trying to raise your self-esteem to feel better about yourself, research shows that it’s far better to learn how to be a good friend to yourself through self-compassion.
Backed by mountains of research, author Kristin Neff provides an easy-to-understand way to be kind to yourself by treating yourself the way you treat others (with kindness and patience).
There are a wide range of exercises and techniques for cultivating self-compassion, including mindfulness exercises and self-compassion breaks.
She also provides guidance on overcoming common obstacles, like worries about being weak or how self-compassion differs from self-pity.
For a deeper dive, check out my blog post about practicing self-compassion.
3. No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz
Based on a type of therapy called Internal Family Systems, this is an excellent primer for anyone interested in getting to know themselves better.
Richard Schwartz, the founder of IFS, makes his somewhat complex concepts easy-to-understand so you can befriend every part of you. This makes it a wonderful companion piece to self-compassion.
This book will help you better understand why you might think or treat yourself a certain way, even if it feels harmful or doesn’t make sense. This allows you to regain a sense of healthy control over your actions, without beating yourself up.
Befriending every part of you helps your internal system work in harmony, rather than getting caught in a tug of war between competing drives.
If you’re hoping to break longstanding patterns that no longer serve you, this is a must-read.
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4. Becoming safely embodied by deirdre fay
This is one of my favorite books! I recommend it to most clients to help them better understand how trauma impacts the nervous system, and how to hold space to promote healing.
While The Body Keeps the Score is fantastic, I found this one a bit easier to understand and implement into daily life. Many clients have reported it’s also less triggering.
Trauma is not just a mental or emotional issue, but a somatic one as well. The author argues that healing must involve the body as well as the mind in order to release stored trauma and restore a sense of safety in your body.
I appreciate her ability to blend Eastern philosophies with brain science, giving you a holistic path for healing. If you have any kind of trauma history, you’ll almost certainly benefit from reading this.
5. A liberated mind by stephen hayes
Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, founder Stephen Hayes provides an immensely helpful roadmap for anyone who’s stuck or overwhelmed and isn’t sure how to find direction in their life.
He does a great job of explaining how the brain works and how to overcome the stranglehold your thoughts and feelings can often have on your daily life.
This book is truly liberating, in that it shows you how to take control of your actions instead of trying to control your thoughts and feelings.
Additionally, he provides foundational tools to live a more meaningful, purposeful life by clarifying what’s important to you and how to live by those values.
6. The confidence gap by russ harris
Another book based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, this time focused on helping you overcome self-doubt so you can build more confidence.
I love the author’s playfulness and ability to make complex concepts easy-to-understand and practical to implement.
Harris argues that the actions of confidence come first, and the feelings of confidence come later. He believes the way to true confidence is through taking action whether or not you feel ready.
You’ll find practical tools to help you tolerate discomfort and uncertainty and find more acceptance to build your self-confidence.
If you enjoy this book, the author has also written about intimate relationships, happiness, and grief in a similar formula.
7. The alchemist by paulo coelho
A thought-provoking and inspiring novel that will encourage you to embrace your dreams and take risks in pursuit of your goals.
This book had some wonderful sentiments regarding reframing setbacks and challenges as learning lessons.
You can take or leave the more religious elements if they don’t fit your views (I personally swapped out the many references to God for “universe”) and still get the helpful underlying lessons.
A quick caveat: you may want to ignore that one of the only female characters is pretty much useless and only exists to serve the main character’s story. It’s a bit frustrating, but I found I was still able to relate to the main character and his “personal journey”.
8. Hardwiring Happiness By Rick Hanson
A practical and accessible book offering strategies for rewiring your brain by harnessing the power of neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections).
You'll learn how to cultivate more happiness and resilience by intentionally focusing on positive experiences, instead of only negative ones. This strengthens the neural pathways that promote well-being and reduces the impact of negative experiences.
Author Rick Hanson always has such thoughtful and compassionate insight about healing that it’s hard not to love all his books.
If you’re interested in learning how to rewire your brain through daily exercises, you’ll enjoy this one. He also has a fantastic podcast called Being Well.
9. the science of stuck by britt frank
An easy-to-read book that explores why people get stuck in negative patterns of behavior and offers strategies to break free.
Being stuck is a normal and necessary part of the human experience, but only becomes problematic when you get stuck in patterns that no longer serve you.
You’ll learn practical tools and exercises to help you identify your own patterns of being stuck and get useful guidance on how to create lasting change.
10. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
A heartfelt and eye-opening memoir from a therapist pursuing therapy to help her through a personal crisis.
Gottlieb shares the emotional journey of several clients while simultaneously figuring out her own personal journey and experience of being a therapist in therapy.
If you've never been to therapy, this will give you a deeper understanding (and a more realistic version than you'll see in a movie or TV show) of how it works and how helpful it can be.
11. The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel
While this book is a must-read for any parent that wants to be brain-savvy, it will also teach you how to effectively communicate with adults.
Siegel does a masterful job of distilling complicated brain science into easy-to-understand concepts that you can implement right away. His helpful acronyms and rhyming names makes it really easy to remember.
Even if you're not a parent and don't plan to become one, you'll still learn how to get your message across without creating conflict.
12. set boundaries, find peace by nedra glover tawwab
If you struggle to set and maintain boundaries, this book will give you the tools to enhance your relationships through firm, yet flexible boundaries that don’t feel impossible to sustain.
You’ll find plenty of self-reflection exercises to help you overcome feelings of guilt or fears of conflict and tips for handling difficult conversations.
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There you have it! I hope there’s at least a few books here that will positively impact your life.
If you’re hoping to create a new reading habit this year, check out my blog post about creating and sticking to habits to ensure you start off the new year on the right track.
Happy reading!
