Book Recommendations


Last Updated • Sep 23, 2024

bistrip-reading-mushroomAs a lifelong learner, I read and implement a book a week. Through wise discernment and lived experience, I recommend these "Top 10" books to free your genius, so it frees the world.

Since many authors are white, male, spousal/financial support, Filter for what resonates and leave the rest. Trust your own Knowing .


Categories   •   GRACE   •   IDENTITY   •   Spiritual Intelligence​   •   CREATIVITY   •   Emotional Intelligence​​​   •   STORYTELLING   •   JOY + Peace   •   PURPOSE + Leadership   •   FREEDOMPRENEURSHIP + Business   •   WEALTH + Money   •   Self-worth   •   VITALITY​​​   •   Trauma​​​   •   HEALING​​​   •   PARTNERSHIP   •   ROMANce​​​   •   MEMOIRS

Top 10 • All Categories

By Rick Rubin

The Creative Act: A Way of Being

By Ryan Holiday

Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Lasts

By Mary-Elaine Jacobsen  

The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius

By Matthew Walker

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

By David R. Hawkins

Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender

By Caroline Myss

Advanced Energy Anatomy: The Science of Co-Creation and Your Power of Choice

By Karen Curry

Understanding Human Design: Discover Who You Really Are

By Dr. Jill Crista

Break the Mold: 5 Tools to Conquer Mold and Take Back Your Health

By Pete Walker

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide and Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma

By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Top 10 • Grace + Surrender

By David R. Hawkins

Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender

By Marianne Williamson

Tears to Triumph: The Spiritual Journey from Suffering to Enlightenment

By Michael Singer

The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection

By Kristen Neff

Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive

By Brené Brown

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

By Kristen Neff

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself

By Caroline Myss

Intimate Conversations with the Divine: Prayer, Guidance, and Grace

By Tara Brach

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha

By Greg McKeown

Effortless: Make it Easier to Do What Matters Most

By Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness

Top 10 • IDENTITY + Neurodiversity

By Caroline Myss

Archetypes: A Beginner's Guide to Your Inner-net

By Mary-Elaine Jacobsen  

The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius

By Karen Curry

Understanding Human Design: Discover Who You Really Are

By Paula Prober

Your Rainforest Mind: A Guide to the Well-Being of Gifted Adults and Youth

By Daneil H. Pink

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
(Six traits: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, Meaning)

By Barbara Sher

Refuse to Choose!: A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything That You Love

By Susan Cain

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

By Elaine Aron

The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You

By Devon Price

Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity

By David Epstein

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

TOP 10 • Spiritual Intelligence

By Caroline Myss

Advanced Energy Anatomy: The Science of Co-Creation and Your Power of Choice

By Amoda Maa Javen

Embodied Enlightenment: Living Your Awakening in Every Moment

By Caroline Myss

Entering the Castle: Exploring Your Mystical Experience of God

By Caroline Myss

Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential

By Eckhart Tolle

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

By Joe Dispenza

Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon


By Deepak Chopra

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams

By Andrew Holecek

Dreams of Light: The Profound Daytime Practice of Lucid Dreaming

By Joanna Martine Woolfold

The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need

By Michael Newton

Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives

TOP 10 • Emotional Intelligence

By Brené Brown

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

By Susan Cain

Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole

By Don Miguel Ruiz

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

By Shirzad Chamine

Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential

By Daniel H. Pink

The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward

By Brené Brown

The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings of Authenticity, Connection, and Courage

By Soraya Chemaly

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger

By Daniel Goleman

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

By Harriet Lerner

The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships

By Charan Ranganath

Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters

TOP 10 • CREATIVITY + Play

By Rick Rubin

The Creative Act: A Way of Being

By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

By Julia Cameron

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

By Elizabeth Gilbert

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

By Susan Magsamen, Ivy Ross

Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us

By Julia Cameron

Walking in This World: The Practical Art of Creativity

By Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

By Adam Grant

Originals: How Non-conformists Move the World

By Stuart Brown, Christopher Vaughan

Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul

By Clarissa Pinkola Estés

The Creative Fire: Myths and Stories on the Cycles of Creativity

TOP 10 • STORYTELLING + Writing

By Natalie Goldberg

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

By Anne Lamott

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

By Natalie Goldberg

Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir

By Linda Sivertsen

Beautiful Writers: A Journey of Big Dreams and Messy Manuscripts–with Tricks of the Trade from Bestselling Authors

By Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream

By Mary Karr

The Art of Memoir

By Sandra Marinella

The Story You Need to Tell: Writing to Heal from Trauma, Illness, or Loss

By Steven Pressfield

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

By Elizabeth Lesser

Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes

TOP 10 • Joy + INNER PEACE

By Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

By Johann Hari

Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention--and How to Think Deeply Again

By Susan Cain

A Quiet Life in 7 Steps: Cut through the noise and tun into yourself

By Matt Kahn

The Universe Always Has a Plan: The 10 Golden Rules of Letting Go

By Marie Kondō

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

By Rick Hanson

Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness

By Thich Nhat Hanh

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

By Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

By Alan Watts

The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety

By Byron Katie, Stephen Mitchell

Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life

TOP 10 • Purpose + Leadership

By Simon Sinek

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

By Brené Brown

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

By Angela Duckworth

GritThe Power of Passion and Perseverance

By Simon Sinek

Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team 

By Brené Brown

Rising Strong: The Reckoning, The Rumble, The Revolution

By Amy Cuddy

Presence: Bringing your Boldest Self to your Biggest Challenges

By Liz Wiseman, Greg McKeown

Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

By Brené Brown

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone

TOP 10 • Freedompreneurship + Business

By Ryan Holiday

Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Lasts

By Jean-Noël Kapferer, Vincent Bastien

The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands

By Daniel Priestley

Oversubscribed: How To Get People Lining Up To Do Business With You

By Denise Duffield-Thomas

Chill and Prosper: The New Way to Grow Your Business, Make Millions, and Change the World

By Adam Grant

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things

By Paul Jarvis

Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

By Greg McKeown

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

By Natalie Sisson

The Suitcase Entrepreneur: Create Freedom in Business and Adventure in Life

By Dale Carnegie & Associates

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age

TOP 10 • WEALTH + Money

By Marianne Williamson

The Law of Divine Compensation: On Work, Money, and Miracles

By Amanda Frances 

Rich As F*ck: More Money Than You Know What to Do With

 

By Rachel Rodgers

We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power

By Bari Tessler

The Art of Money: A Life-Changing GUide to Financial Happiness

By Jen Sincero

You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth Kindle

By Denise Duffield-Thomas

Get Rich, Lucky Bitch!: Release Your Money Blocks and Live a First Class Life

By Geneen Roth

Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations About Food and Money

By T. Harv Eker

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

Top 10 • Self-worth + Womanhood

By Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Women Who Run With the Wolves:  Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

By Maureen Murdock

The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness

By Glennon Doyle

Untamed 

By Marianne Williamson

A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

By Marianne Williamson

A Woman's Worth

By Regena Thomashauer

Pussy: A Reclamation

By Louann Brizendine

The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife and Beyond

By Jules Blaine Davis

The Kitchen Healer: The Journey to Becoming You

By Sue Monk Kidd

The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine

TOP 10 • Vitality + HEALTH

By Matthew Walker

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

By Héctor García, Francesc Miralles

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

By Gabor Maté

When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress

By Judith Orloff

Thriving as an Empath: 365 Days of Self-Care for Sensitive People

By Dr. Jill Crista

Break the Mold: 5 Tools to Conquer Mold and Take Back Your Health

By Ann Louise Gittleman

Radical Longevity: The Powerful Plan to Sharpen Your Brain, Strengthen Your Body, and Reverse the Symptoms of Aging

By Emily Nagoski

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

By David Perlmutter

Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life

By Bruce H. Lipton

The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles

By Andrew Holecek

Dream Yoga: The Tibetan Path of Awakening Through Lucid Dreaming

TOP 10 • Trauma Recovery

By Pete Walker

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide and Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma

By Mari Silva

Chiron in Astrology: The Ultimate Guide to the Wounded Healer (Planets in Astrology Collection)

By Gabor Maté MD, Daniel Maté

The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture

By Melanie Reinhart

Chiron and the Healing Journey

By Peter A. Levine

Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma

By Robert Schwartz

Your Soul's Gift: The Healing Power of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born

By Melody Beattie

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself

By Peter A. Levine

Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Working with Traumatic Memory

By Rachael Maddox

Rebloom: Archetypal Trauma Resolution for Personal & Collective Healing

By Oprah Winfrey + Bruce D. Perry

What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

TOP 10 • Healing + Inner Child

By Kelly McDaniel

Mother Hunger: How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance

By Lindsay C. Gibson

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents

By Alice Miller

The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self

By Susan Forward

Mothers Who Can't Love: A Healing Guide for Daughters

By Amy Elizabeth Olrick, Jeffrey Olrick

The 6 Needs of Every Child: Empowering Parents and Kids Through the Science of Connection

By Brianna Wiest

The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage into Self-Mastery

By Deirdre Fay

Becoming Safely Embodied: A Guide to Organize Your Mind, Body and Heart to Feel Secure in the World

By Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity

TOP 10 • PARTNERSHIP + Attachment

By Amir Levine, Rachel Heller

Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find - And Keep - Love

By Marianne Williamson

The Enchanted Love Workshop: Building the Inner Temple of the Sacred and the Romantic

By Alison Armstrong

In Sync with the Opposite Sex

By Alison Armstrong

Celebrating Partnership

By Esther Perel

Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic & the Domestic

By Katherine Woodward Thomas

Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps to Living Happily Even After

By John Gottman, Julie Schwartz Gottman

Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love

By Marshall Rosenberg

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships

By Bell Hooks

All About Love: New Visions (Love Song to the Nation Book 1)

TOP 10 • Romantic Relationships

By Elaine Aron

The Highly Sensitive Person in Love: Understanding and Managing Relationships When the World Overwhelms You

By Emily Nagoski

Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life

By Katherine Woodward Thomas

Calling in "The One": 7 Weeks to Attract the Love of Your Life

By David Deida

Dear Lover: A Woman's Guide To Men, Sex, And Love's Deepest Bliss

By David Deida

Enlightened Sex

By David Deida

The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire

By Alison Armstrong

The Amazing Development of Men: Every Man's Journey from Knight to Prince to King

By Helen Fisher

Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love

By David Deida

Intimate Communion: Awakening Your Sexual Essence

Top 10 • Memoirs

By Hannah Gadsby

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation

By Trevor Noah

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

By Jenny Lawson

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

By Yeonmi Park

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

By Hayao Miyazaki

Turning Point: 1997-2008

By Tara Westover

Educated: A Memoir

By Michelle Obama

Becoming

By Anita Moorjani

Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing

By Brian Jay Jones

Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination

By Walter Isaacson

Steve Jobs

You've been warned

If you enjoy a dash of truth with a sprinkle of LOL, listen to these podcast episodes before reading the book. It may save you houuuuuurs of time (and potentially your sanity). It's easy to preach "If I can do it, anyone can" when the author or their spouse is already financially wealthy/white/male.

By Timothy Ferriss

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

By Robert Kiyosaki

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

By Rhonda Byrne

The Secret

By John Gray

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex

By Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

By Rachel Hollis

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be

By Rachel Hollis

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals

By Mark Manson

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

By Gary Chapman

The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts

By James Clear

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones