Erica’s 5 Favorite Books (and a bonus podcast or two)

I thought for this week’s blog, it might be interesting to share about the books that I find myself coming back to again and again, both for my professional life and to help support my clients, but also because I find them to be really useful in my life!

1. Daring Greatly and Rising Strong – Brené Brown
These are my two absolute favorite BrenéBrown books, and as many of you know I am a huge BrenéBrown fan. Well, groupee perhaps but that’s besides the point. These books are wonderful guides and resources in living a more authentic life, particularly if you identify as a perfectionist.

2. The Whole Brain Child – Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
This book is an excellent guide to understanding your child’s emotional and brain development, and how they influence each other. It gives a ton of simple interventions to use with your kid too!

3. Option B – Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
This is a great book about overcoming adversity and building resilience. I really appreciated the way that Sheryl shared about her own personal tragedy but used it to also help others understand how to overcome challenges in their lives. It’s well worth a read!

4. Bringing up Bebe – Pamela Druckerman
As a new mom and someone who lived in France for a period in my younger days, I really appreciated this book. I often reflect on American Parenting and our challenges and found many things in this book helpful in my own parenting journey.

5. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** – Mark Manson
No, this book is not about how you should not care about anything! It discusses how we need to choose what we care about and make sure those things line up with our values. This is very much so in line with my beliefs as a therapist and advice I give often. Definitely a great resource!

6. The first bonus podcast – “Where Do We Begin” by Esther Perell
I am pretty much obsessed with this podcast. She meets with couples for one session and edits it somewhat before posting it as a podcast. She is an absolutely amazing couples therapist and I love hearing her perspective on the challenges couples are facing. I learn more about therapy and relationships every time I listen.

7. The second bonus podcast – “Conversations with People Who Hate Me” by Dylan Marron
This podcast is newer to me but I have to say, I love it! Dylan interviews and talks with people who have sent him hateful messages online in response to his social justice videos and online presence. He does such a great job of trying to understand where the other person is coming from and facilitating a dialogue about issues, while still explaining his stance and reasons behind it. As a therapist, I am very impressed with how he communicates!

I hope you find this list helpful! All of these books, authors, and therapists have such amazing messages and ways of communicating that I come back to them again and again. Hopefully you will too!