I am passionate about exploring trauma, resilience, and healing because they are deeply intertwined with my personal and professional life. As a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist, I have dedicated my career to understanding and alleviating trauma's impact on the mind. My journey through profound trauma and loss has given me a unique perspective on finding strength and meaning in the darkest moments. The books I recommend resonate with my belief in the resilience of the human spirit and the brain's incredible capacity to heal. These personal stories of courage and recovery inspire and empower others to find hope and growth even in their most challenging times.
I wrote
Keep Breathing: A Psychologist's Intimate Journey Through Loss, Trauma, and Rediscovering Life
Elizabeth Lesser’s book has been a beacon of light in my own journey of healing and personal growth. Her deeply personal stories of heartbreak and renewal invite readers to embrace their struggles as opportunities for profound transformation.
Lesser’s compassionate writing offers comfort and insight for those navigating pain and loss. This book holds personal importance for me because it beautifully illustrates how adversity can lead to deeper self-awareness and a more meaningful life.
Lesser’s work inspired me to view my own experiences of trauma as catalysts for growth and to share that perspective with others. Her insights into resilience and renewal resonate with my belief in the potential for healing through understanding our brain’s response to trauma. This memoir offers hope and practical wisdom, reinforcing the importance of finding strength and opportunity in our darkest moments.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This inspiring guide to healing and growth illuminates the richness and potential of every life, even in the face of loss and adversity—now updated with additional toolbox materials and a new preface by the author
In the more than twenty-five years since she co-founded Omega Institute—now the world’s largest center for spiritual retreat and personal growth—Elizabeth Lesser has been an intimate witness to the ways in which people weather change and transition. In a beautifully crafted blend of moving stories, humorous insights, practical guidance, and personal memoir, she offers tools to help us make the…
This book is an enduring classic that delves into the depths of human suffering and the remarkable capacity for finding meaning amidst despair. Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, draws upon his harrowing experiences in Nazi concentration camps to explore the psychological and spiritual resilience of the human spirit.
His profound insights into the pursuit of purpose, even in the darkest of times, offer timeless wisdom for anyone facing adversity. Frankl's logotherapy, the therapeutic approach he developed, emphasizes the importance of finding meaning as a cornerstone of mental health and well-being.
I first encountered Frankl’s book as a young teenager. The title drew me in because I was searching for meaning amidst my own pain and dark thoughts. This early encounter provided the reassurance I needed that I was not alone, profoundly influencing my formative years.
This memoir is not only a gripping narrative of survival but also a powerful philosophical treatise on the enduring strength of hope. It challenges readers to consider their own sources of meaning and purpose, inspiring a deeper appreciation for life's journey.
One of the outstanding classics to emerge from the Holocaust, Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's story of his struggle for survival in Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. Today, this remarkable tribute to hope offers us an avenue to finding greater meaning and purpose in our own lives.
This book profoundly influenced me by illustrating how to share a deeply personal story through the lenses of both humanity and science. His journey as a neurosurgeon facing terminal cancer and his reflections on the meaning of life and death resonated deeply with me.
Kalanithi’s eloquent integration of his medical expertise with his personal narrative mirrored my approach in Keep Breathing, where I intertwine my scientific expertise with my lived experiences of trauma, loss, and, ultimately, healing. This book is personally significant because it showcases the resilience of the human spirit and the quest for purpose amidst life’s challenges.
Kalanithi’s vulnerability inspired me to be open and honest in my storytelling, highlighting the power of sharing our truths in the healing process. His narrative is a powerful reminder of the preciousness of time and the importance of finding meaning in every moment.
'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful.' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal
What makes life worth living in the face of death?
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live.
When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity - the brain - and…
Jill Bolte Taylor’s book has been an inspiring guide in understanding the brain’s incredible capacity for recovery and transformation. As a brain scientist who experienced a severe stroke, Taylor’s firsthand account of her journey through brain injury and recovery is both riveting and educational.
This book is personally significant because it highlights the resilience of the human spirit alongside the brain and body’s ability to heal–highlighting the power and opportunity of neuroplasticity. Taylor’s vivid descriptions and insights into neuroplasticity align with my dedication to advancing trauma-informed, neuroscience-based care. Her narrative, blending scientific understanding with personal experience, provides a model for how I approach my own writing, making complex neurological concepts accessible and relatable.
Taylor’s story is a testament to the possibilities of recovery and the profound connection between mind, body, and spirit, reinforcing the themes of hope and resilience in my own journey.
"Transformative...[Taylor's] experience...will shatter [your] own perception of the world."-ABC News
The astonishing New York Times bestseller that chronicles how a brain scientist's own stroke led to enlightenment
On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven- year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. As she observed her mind deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life-all within four hours-Taylor alternated between the euphoria of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and…
This has been a deeply influential book in my life, providing both inspiration and understanding of living with mental illness. As both a clinical psychologist and a patient, Jamison offers a unique perspective on bipolar disorder, capturing the intensity of her mood swings and the challenges of treatment. This book is personally significant because it breaks down the stigma surrounding mental health and provides hope to those struggling with similar issues.
Jamison’s bravery in sharing her story inspired me to be open about my own experiences with trauma and mental health. Her narrative underscores the importance of addressing mental health with compassion and understanding. Jamison’s story is a powerful testament to the resilience required to navigate the highs and lows of bipolar disorder and find a path to healing, mirroring my own dedication to promoting mental health awareness and recovery.
An Unquiet Mind is a definitive examination of manic depression from both sides: doctor and patient, the healer and the healed. A classic memoir of enormous candour and courage, it teems with the wit and wisdom of its writer, Dr Kay Redfield Jamison.
With an introduction by Andrew Solomon, writer and lecturer on psychology and culture.
'It stands alone in the literature of manic depression for its bravery, brilliance and beauty.' - Oliver Sacks
I was used to my mind being my best friend. Now, all of a sudden, my mind had turned on me: it mocked me for my…
My book is a deeply personal journey through the darkness that enveloped me following the sudden death of my fiancé just one week before our wedding. This book recounts not only the profound trauma of his loss but also the layers of trauma that predated it. It serves as a neuroscientific exploration of how our brains use past experiences to shape the present.
By blending autobiography with scientific insight, I aim to illuminate the common human experiences of love, loss, joy, and pain. This narrative showcases the resilience of the human spirit and the potential for healing through understanding our brain’s response to trauma. It is a love story about rediscovering oneself and the transformative power of inviting others to walk through the darkness with us.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
