BOOKS I LOVE
Books that actually stuck with me
I love reading, and if I had to narrow it down, these three have a way of showing up in my head long after I've put them down — and I think about them often in my work. Different topics, same thread: they're all about understanding yourself and the people around you a little better.
The Tools
by Phil Stutz & Barry Michels
Self-development, Psychology Practical, NY Times Bestseller
Most self-help books ask you to think differently. The Tools asks you to do something differently — right now, today. That distinction is kind of the whole point (and also why I LOVE solution-focused therapy).
Phil Stutz is a psychiatrist who got frustrated with traditional therapy's pace. He and his collaborator Barry Michels developed five concrete techniques — they call them "tools" — that you can actually use in the moment when you're stuck, scared, avoiding something, or stuck in a mental loop. To be candid, it played a big role in my going back to school to pursue my master's.
What I love about it is that it doesn't ask you to resolve your past before you can move forward. It says: here's your anxiety, your resistance, your fear — now here's how to work with it instead of around it. It treats pain as something you can use rather than something to avoid.
"The obstacle is the path" isn't just a poster — this book turns it into something you can actually practice.
YOU'D PROBABLY LOVE THIS IF YOU'RE SOMEONE WHO...
Feels stuck despite understanding why
Wants therapy-adjacent tools without a long runway
Struggles with avoidance or procrastination
Set Boundaries, Find Peace
by Nedra Glover Tawwab
Relationships, Mental health, CBT-rooted NY Times Bestseller
Everyone talks about boundaries. Very few people actually know how to set them — or why they can't seem to make them stick. Nedra Tawwab, a licensed therapist with a massive Instagram following and close to 20 years in practice, wrote the clearest guide I've come across on what boundaries actually are and how to use them.
The thing that makes this book feel different from the usual "just say no more" advice is that Tawwab gets into the why — why setting boundaries feels so uncomfortable, why we abandon them under pressure, and how the absence of boundaries shows up as anxiety, burnout, resentment, and disconnection in relationships we care about. She breaks them down into six types: physical, emotional, intellectual, material, time, and sexual — and gives real, practical language for each one.
It's the kind of book that has you underlining sentences and texting them to people. Warm and direct at the same time, which isn't easy to pull off.
Boundaries aren't walls. They're the thing that makes it safe enough to actually show up.
YOU'D PROBABLY LOVE THIS IF YOU'RE SOMEONE WHO...
Is a people-pleaser who struggles to say no without guilt
Often feels resentful or depleted after interactions
Has complicated family or relationship dynamics
Keeps promising yourself you'll do better at "work-life balance"
How to Find a Four-Leaf Clover
by Jodi Rodgers
Neurodiversity, Connection, Heartwarming, Love on the Spectrum
If you've watched Love on the Spectrum on Netflix, you already know Jodi Rodgers — she's the warm, deeply present counselor who seems to understand everyone she meets without ever making them feel studied. Jodi draws on over 30 years of working as a teacher and counselor with autistic people to share stories about connection, communication, and what it means to truly understand another person. The title comes from something simple and beautiful: the idea that finding a four-leaf clover requires you to really look, really slow down, really pay attention — and that the neurodivergent people in her life have taught her to do exactly that.
What surprised me about this book is how much it ends up being about all of us. It's not just a guide for people who work with autistic individuals — it's an invitation to rethink how you listen, how you connect, and how much you might be missing when you assume you already understand someone. Funny, tender, and genuinely moving, I often turn to this book when I need a pick-me-up.
Different doesn't mean less than. This book makes that feel true in a way a thousand conversations haven't.
YOU'D PROBABLY LOVE THIS IF YOU'RE SOMEONE WHO...
Loves Love on the Spectrum and wants more Jodi
Has a neurodivergent person in their life
Wants to be a better communicator and listener
Is drawn to books told through real human stories
One Common Thread
Looking back at these three, they all share something — they trust you to do the work. None of them talk down to you or offer empty shortcuts. They hand you something real and let you sit with how you can incorporate the lessons into your own life. That's the kind of book that actually earns a permanent spot on the shelf.