76 books like Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement

By Kevin M Gilmartin,

Here are 76 books that Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement fans have personally recommended if you like Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Dance of Intimacy: A Woman's Guide to Courageous Acts of Change in Key Relationships

Ellen Kirschman Author Of I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know

From my list on reads if you are married to a cop or love one.

Why am I passionate about this?

Back in 1977 the experiences and concerns of police families were invisible. Police officers were regarded as super-humans, unaffected by their day-to-day exposure to tragedy, cruelty, and stress. In my counseling job, I heard very different stories from their spouses. Ever since, it has been my mission to support police families and find ways to keep the job from damaging family life. It has taken more than two decades, but I am pleased and proud to say police families are no longer invisible. The books I picked are proof that the family behind the badge matters as much as the person wearing it.

Ellen's book list on reads if you are married to a cop or love one

Ellen Kirschman Why did Ellen love this book?

It is not easy to write a self-help book without sounding pompous or unrealistic. This is why The Dance of Intimacy became a model for my own self-help books.

Lerner’s writing is straightforward, personal, and practical. She is, as am I, an unabashed feminist who understands that strengthening and/or healing relationships require the participation of both partners. First published in 2009 I have recommended this wise book to hundreds of clients. 

By Harriet Lerner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dance of Intimacy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In The Dance of Intimacy, the bestselling author of The Dance of Anger outlines the steps to take so that good relationships can be strengthened and difficult ones can be healed. Taking a careful look at those relationships where intimacy is most challenged--by distance, intensity, or pain--she teaches us about the specific changes we can make to achieve a more solid sense of self and a more intimate connectedness with others. Combining clear advice with vivid case examples, Dr. Lerner offers us the most solid, helpful book on intimate relationships that both women and men may ever encounter.


Book cover of Hold the Line: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Law Enforcement Relationship

Ellen Kirschman Author Of I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know

From my list on reads if you are married to a cop or love one.

Why am I passionate about this?

Back in 1977 the experiences and concerns of police families were invisible. Police officers were regarded as super-humans, unaffected by their day-to-day exposure to tragedy, cruelty, and stress. In my counseling job, I heard very different stories from their spouses. Ever since, it has been my mission to support police families and find ways to keep the job from damaging family life. It has taken more than two decades, but I am pleased and proud to say police families are no longer invisible. The books I picked are proof that the family behind the badge matters as much as the person wearing it.

Ellen's book list on reads if you are married to a cop or love one

Ellen Kirschman Why did Ellen love this book?

I’m married to a remodeling contractor, not a cop. I often need to explain this to people. If you’re looking for a tell-all memoir written by a police spouse, you have several to choose from.

Cyndi Doyle’s book is unique. She is both a counselor and a police spouse. Her book and her podcasts, Code 4 Couples, meld her personal and clinical experiences with up-to-date studies on behavior. She covers the field from sleep to sex using humor and candid examples from her own decade plus law enforcement marriage. I like her honesty and appreciate her telling it-like-it-is.  

By Cyndi Doyle,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hold the Line as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

She was frustrated! Feeling second to the department again had begun to breed indifference and contempt in her relationship. As a mental health and couple's counselor, she knew those were bad omens. Despite her training, she could not figure out what was happening with them. Then, a speaker at a professional conference, gave insight that ignited a passion to understand her law enforcement husband and empower them as a couple to protect their relationship. Learn the research, psychology, and personal experiences when combined created an "ah-ha" moment that led to improved communication, connection, and ultimately resilience as individuals and together.…


Book cover of In Harm's Way: Help for the Wives of Military Men, Police, EMTs, and Firefighters

Ellen Kirschman Author Of I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know

From my list on reads if you are married to a cop or love one.

Why am I passionate about this?

Back in 1977 the experiences and concerns of police families were invisible. Police officers were regarded as super-humans, unaffected by their day-to-day exposure to tragedy, cruelty, and stress. In my counseling job, I heard very different stories from their spouses. Ever since, it has been my mission to support police families and find ways to keep the job from damaging family life. It has taken more than two decades, but I am pleased and proud to say police families are no longer invisible. The books I picked are proof that the family behind the badge matters as much as the person wearing it.

Ellen's book list on reads if you are married to a cop or love one

Ellen Kirschman Why did Ellen love this book?

I forgave Dr. Matsakis for the sexist title of her book written in 2005, nearly twenty years ago. While the title is hopelessly out of date, the range and scope of the information she provides is timeless.

She addresses topics other authors avoid such as sexual jealousy, loneliness, homecoming, and readjustment issues. Every chapter includes tips or exercises to help you tackle uncomfortable emotions and have difficult conversations with yourself and your loved one. She does a particularly good job writing about how children are affected by their parents’ job-related trauma.

By Aphrodite Matsakis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In Harm's Way as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Millions of American women live each day with a troubling question in the backs of their minds: Will my partner come home today? It's a fact of life when the individual with whom they share their lives is in the military, the police or fire department, or any other dangerous profession. Of course, these women carry on normal day-to-day lives, pursuing their own careers and raising their families. But the constant knowledge that the worst could happen at any time can cause them considerable emotional pain and certainly raises significant practical concerns about how to think about and plan for…


Book cover of Increasing Resilience in Police and Emergency Personnel: Strengthening Your Mental Armor

Ellen Kirschman Author Of I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know

From my list on reads if you are married to a cop or love one.

Why am I passionate about this?

Back in 1977 the experiences and concerns of police families were invisible. Police officers were regarded as super-humans, unaffected by their day-to-day exposure to tragedy, cruelty, and stress. In my counseling job, I heard very different stories from their spouses. Ever since, it has been my mission to support police families and find ways to keep the job from damaging family life. It has taken more than two decades, but I am pleased and proud to say police families are no longer invisible. The books I picked are proof that the family behind the badge matters as much as the person wearing it.

Ellen's book list on reads if you are married to a cop or love one

Ellen Kirschman Why did Ellen love this book?

Stephanie Conn had “cred.” She is a cop turned psychologist, and the daughter and wife of law enforcement officers.

Her book is both well researched and easy to read. What sets it apart from other books is that in every chapter she has separate sections specifically addressing the concerns and options for family members, civilian employees, and police administrators.

Written in the first person, I felt as though I was having a leisurely conversation with a wise, experienced woman who knows the police culture and is more than generous with her suggestions about navigating the ups and downs of a law enforcement career.

By Stephanie M. Conn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Increasing Resilience in Police and Emergency Personnel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Increasing Resilience in Police and Emergency Personnel illuminates the psychological, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual impact of police work on police officers, administrators, emergency communicators, and their families. Author Stephanie Conn, a clinician and researcher as well as a former police officer and dispatcher, debunks myths about weakness and offers practical strategies in plain language for police employees and their families struggling with traumatic stress and burnout. Sections of each chapter also offer guidance for frequently overlooked roles such as police administrators and civilian police employees. Using real-world anecdotes and exercises, this book provides strengths-based guidance to help navigate the many…


Book cover of Appaloosa

Stan R. Mitchell Author Of Little Man, and the Dixon County War

From my list on the Wild West.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by the Wild West since I was a little boy, playing Cowboy vs Indian with a plastic six-shooter and bow-and-arrow set. I grew up watching movies and reading books about the Wild West, and probably that sense of adventure and necessary courage required in such settings helped build the foundation that led me to join the Marines. It took guts to move out West. (Or desperation.) But either way, the settling of the Wild West is one of our core American stories. To me, the stories of the West are even more enthralling today than they were even fifty years ago.

Stan's book list on the Wild West

Stan R. Mitchell Why did Stan love this book?

This book is the perfect example of a great Western. A stern, courageous lawman, tougher than forged steel. A young sidekick by his side. A beautiful woman in town that everyone wants.

Put those elements onto the page and then throw into it a cruel, evil rancher, who’s already killed the city marshal and one of his deputies. What do you end up with? A kick-ass Western.

By Robert B. Parker,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Appaloosa as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch arrive in Appaloosa, they find a town suffering at the hands of a renegade rancher who's already left the city marshal and one of his deputies dead. Cole and Hitch are used to cleaning up after scavengers, but this one raises the stakes by playing not with the rules-but with emotion.

Watch a QuickTime trailer for this book.


Book cover of Epitaph

Venetia Hobson Lewis Author Of Changing Woman: A Novel of the Camp Grant Massacre

From my list on the old west with in-depth characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an amalgam of all of my varied interests and varied employments from actress and singer to corporate paralegal at a movie studio. Since my teenage years, I’ve loved to research. That joy leads into writing factually-accurate historical fiction set in the West. Delving into the private lives of both the fictional and the real people gives the reader a better understanding of the characters’ designated paths leading to the events upon which my novel is based. My recommendations for the best books set in the West with in-depth characters have qualities I’ve employed in my novel. Some of these books also delve into characters from differing races, reflecting most towns in the Old West.

Venetia's book list on the old west with in-depth characters

Venetia Hobson Lewis Why did Venetia love this book?

Perhaps Arizona’s most widely recognized event, the thirty seconds of gunfight at O.K. Corral in Tombstone isn’t the main emphasis in Epitaph. That belongs to Russell’s engrossing depictions of the intensely personal relationships between the Earp brothers, their girlfriends and wives, their routines, and addictions.

As I found out in researching for my novel, if you get the accurate facts about the personalities and actions of the good and the bad people, who actually lived in the Old West, you’re well on the way to writing a novel.  

John Philip Clum started the newspaper in Tombstone and called it Epitaph, because “No tombstone is complete without its epitaph.” To complete your reading about the Old West, include Epitaph.

By Mary Doria Russell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Epitaph as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mary Doria Russell, the bestselling, award-winning author of The Sparrow, returns with Epitaph. An American Iliad, this richly detailed and meticulously researched historical novel continues the story she began in Doc, following Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday to Tombstone, Arizona, and to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

A deeply divided nation. Vicious politics. A shamelessly partisan media. A president loathed by half the populace. Smuggling and gang warfare along the Mexican border. Armed citizens willing to stand their ground and take law into their own hands. . . . 

That was America in 1881.

All those forces came to…


Book cover of Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City

Luke Hunt Author Of Police Deception and Dishonesty: The Logic of Lying

From my list on the cluster-f*ck we call policing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an Associate Professor in the University of Alabama’s Department of Philosophy. I worked as an FBI Special Agent before making the natural transition to academic philosophy. Being a professor was always a close second to Quantico, but that scene in Point Break in which Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze fight Anthony Kiedis on the beach made it seem like the FBI would be more fun than academia. In my current position as a professor at the University of Alabama, I teach in my department’s Jurisprudence Specialization. My primary research interests are at the intersection of philosophy of law, political philosophy, and criminal justice. I’ve written three books on policing.

Luke's book list on the cluster-f*ck we call policing

Luke Hunt Why did Luke love this book?

This book is so unique because Brooks recounts her experience applying to be a sworn, armed reserve police officer with the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department.

The book thus provides a window into the typically closed-off life within the police institution. It’s a compelling account—based on first-hand experience—of how we can better understand and improve the police institution. Also, the book is simply chock-full of good storytelling.

By Rosa Brooks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tangled Up in Blue as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named one of the best nonfiction books of the year by The Washington Post

“Tangled Up in Blue is a wonderfully insightful book that provides a lens to critically analyze urban policing and a road map for how our most dispossessed citizens may better relate to those sworn to protect and serve.” —The Washington Post
 
“Remarkable . . . Brooks has produced an engaging page-turner that also outlines many broadly applicable lessons and sensible policy reforms.” —Foreign Affairs

Journalist and law professor Rosa Brooks goes beyond the "blue wall of silence" in this radical inside examination of American policing

In…


Book cover of A Wyatt Earp Anthology: Long May His Story Be Told

Mark Warren Author Of The Long Road to Legend: Wyatt Earp, an American Odyssey Book One

From my list on Wyatt Earp by the top researchers in the field.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a teacher of primitive survival skills. As a young boy, I was fascinated with the concept of courage. At seven, I read the pseudo-biography of Wyatt Earp, a wonderfully written account of a courageous man. This book began my lifelong interest in Mr. Earp. Eventually, I met many of the giants in Western history research and accompanied them into the field. After 65 years of collecting the facts, I wanted to use my novelistic skills to portray the life and times of Wyatt Earp as best as the record shows.

Mark's book list on Wyatt Earp by the top researchers in the field

Mark Warren Why did Mark love this book?

Within these pages lie the latest gems of research that expands our knowledge of Wyatt Earp’s life events and character.

Each of these contributions by a variety of authors is considered a revelation in the field of Earpiana. Readers cannot know the whole story of Earp without these long-lost chapters of Western history.

By Roy B. Young, Gary L. Roberts, Casey Tefertiller

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Wyatt Earp Anthology as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Wyatt Earp is one of the most legendary figures of the nineteenth-century American West, notable for his role in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. He was a product of his time, often walking both sides of the street, sometimes on the side of law and order and sometimes as the law-breaker. Some see him as the "Lion of Tombstone," a hero lawman of the Wild West, whereas others see him as yet another outlaw, a pimp, and failed lawman.

Roy B. Young, Gary L. Roberts, and Casey Tefertiller, all notable experts on Earp and the Wild…


Book cover of The Profession: A Memoir of Community, Race, and the Arc of Policing in America

Efrem Sigel Author Of Juror Number 2: The Story of a Murder, the Agony of a Neighborhood

From my list on how to make cities safer and help poor children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the author of two published novels and dozens of short stories, essays, and memoirs. I write about education, crime, and public safety, and I work to improve educational and career opportunities for young people in New York and other cities.

Efrem's book list on how to make cities safer and help poor children

Efrem Sigel Why did Efrem love this book?

Bratton became New York City police commissioner in the early 1990s when there were more than 2,000 homicides a year. His reforms, including the widely copied CompStat program for pinpointing where crimes were occurring, and then concentrating policing to prevent those crimes, helped bring about a huge decline in crime. This often self-congratulatory memoir is nevertheless full of insights into how to improve policing and make cities safer and more livable.

By Bill Bratton, Peter Knobler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Profession as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Engaging. . . a remarkably candid account. . . Succeeding as a centrist in public life these days can be an almost impossible task. But centrism in law enforcement may be the most delicate challenge of all. Bratton's ability to practice it was a startling phenomenon." -New York Times Book Review

The epic, transformative career of Bill Bratton, legendary police commissioner and police reformer, in Boston, Los Angeles, and New York

When Bill Bratton became a Boston street cop after his return from serving in Vietnam, he was dismayed by the corrupt old guard, and it is fair to say…


Book cover of The Privatization of Policing: Two Views

Brian Forst Author Of Errors of Justice: Nature, Sources and Remedies

From my list on the economics of crime and justice.

Why am I passionate about this?

Throughout my academic career, my chief scholarly interest has been to assess public policy using coherent theory and rigorous empirical method. The economics of crime and justice offers a powerful framework for achieving these ends.

Brian's book list on the economics of crime and justice

Brian Forst Why did Brian love this book?

This book presents contrasting views on the privatization of policing: whether it is mostly a good thing, its downsides, and which aspects of policing lend themselves to privatization. 

Forst argues that a blend of public and private policing can provide a more equitable and efficient delivery of policing services than can public police alone.  

Manning, unfriendly to economics and management efficiency, takes a dramaturgical perspective, concluding that those paradigms are fundamentally at odds with the traditional policing mandate, which confers on the government a monopoly on the use of coercion. 

By Brian Forst, Peter K. Manning,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Privatization of Policing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The increasing reliance on private security services raises questions about the effects of privatization on the quality of public police forces, particularly in high-crime, low-income areas. In an effective pro-and-con format, two experts on policing offer two strikingly different perspectives on this trend towards privatization. In the process, they provide an unusually thoughtful discussion of the origins of both the public police and the private security sectors, the forces behind the recent growth of private security operations, and the risks to public safety posed by privatization. In his critique of privatization, Peter K. Manning focuses on issues of free market…


Book cover of The Dance of Intimacy: A Woman's Guide to Courageous Acts of Change in Key Relationships
Book cover of Hold the Line: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Law Enforcement Relationship
Book cover of In Harm's Way: Help for the Wives of Military Men, Police, EMTs, and Firefighters

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