Here are 100 books that Letting Go! fans have personally recommended if you like
Letting Go!.
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My super-power is making brain science accessible and entertaining for children and adults alike. I am living this out as an author, mental health counselor, and the founder of BraveBrains. In addition to training parents and professionals, I have the joy of sharing my passion and expertise through podcast appearances, blogs, and articles. The lightbulb moments are my favorite, and I'm committed to helping people bring what they learn home in practical ways. I write picture books because the magic of reading and re-reading stories light up the brain in a powerful way. But don’t worry…I always include some goodies for the adults in the back of the book.
This book lays a great foundation to help children understand their feelings (and the feelings of others). The author draws on her experience as a school counselor to expertly walk the reader through some essential social-emotional learning. The bright colors and clever illustrations keep kids engaged, and the activities throughout make this a fabulous title to use at home, school, or in the counseling office.
When a big feeling comes along…you can handle it! Teach kids ages 7 to 10 how to manage their feelings.
Sometimes, emotions like anger or jealousy or excitement can seem too big to keep inside. Me and My Feelings is here to teach kids that it’s okay to have big feelings! They will learn how to calm down those strong emotions so they don’t feel overwhelmed and can continue to take on the world.
This book gives kids the skills to stay in control―by breathing deeply, saying positive things to themselves, talking about their feelings instead of keeping them inside,…
My super-power is making brain science accessible and entertaining for children and adults alike. I am living this out as an author, mental health counselor, and the founder of BraveBrains. In addition to training parents and professionals, I have the joy of sharing my passion and expertise through podcast appearances, blogs, and articles. The lightbulb moments are my favorite, and I'm committed to helping people bring what they learn home in practical ways. I write picture books because the magic of reading and re-reading stories light up the brain in a powerful way. But don’t worry…I always include some goodies for the adults in the back of the book.
In my work in the world of mental health and trauma, anxiety is a common complaint. I love the positive (and scientifically accurate) portrayal of the function of anxiety in this whimsically illustrated book. “Sometimes your brain works so hard to protect you, it hits the panic button by mistake.” With this strengths-based framework woven into every page, Hey Awesome teaches kids how to be the boss of their brilliant and brave brains. A must-read for all children, and a lifeline for those who struggle with anxiety. And remember, “anxiety and courage always happen together.”
My super-power is making brain science accessible and entertaining for children and adults alike. I am living this out as an author, mental health counselor, and the founder of BraveBrains. In addition to training parents and professionals, I have the joy of sharing my passion and expertise through podcast appearances, blogs, and articles. The lightbulb moments are my favorite, and I'm committed to helping people bring what they learn home in practical ways. I write picture books because the magic of reading and re-reading stories light up the brain in a powerful way. But don’t worry…I always include some goodies for the adults in the back of the book.
Anger is so often protecting something tender underneath. When we teach children to dig deeper, to be curious about their angry feelings, we offer them a path to emotional health and better relationships. While many anger management programs (for kids and adults) neglect the nuances of anger’s protective function, this book delivers insightful lessons and activities to help children dig deep. The colorful layout and bright illustrations capture children’s interest even as they learn about this difficult topic. A great resource for turning on the calm and curious part of the brain that we are all working hard to help children develop.
Show anger who’s boss with this book of 50 fun activities about anger management for kids ages 6 to 11.
Anger is a normal emotion just like joy, sadness, and fear, but it can be difficult to know how to express those feelings in a good way. The Anger Management Workbook for Kids is filled with 50 playful exercises to help kids handle powerful emotions. Teach kids to stay calm and make better choices when they feel angry. Other workbooks about anger management wish they could be this fun!
This workbook about managing anger for kids includes:
My super-power is making brain science accessible and entertaining for children and adults alike. I am living this out as an author, mental health counselor, and the founder of BraveBrains. In addition to training parents and professionals, I have the joy of sharing my passion and expertise through podcast appearances, blogs, and articles. The lightbulb moments are my favorite, and I'm committed to helping people bring what they learn home in practical ways. I write picture books because the magic of reading and re-reading stories light up the brain in a powerful way. But don’t worry…I always include some goodies for the adults in the back of the book.
Mental health does not mean that we will feel happy all the time. This book helps children embrace a range of emotions, even some of those uncomfortable ones, like frustration and jealousy. The playful illustrations engage young readers about the abstract topic of emotions. It would be easy to get creative, helping children draw an image of their “happy” or “angry” feelings. Great conversation starter for elementary school students on managing a range of emotions.
Help Kids Understand and Value Their Emotions and Feelings
What do you do with all your feelings?
In Marcy's Having All the Feels, counselor and therapist Allison Edwards explores how sometimes feeling so many feelings doesn't feel so good at all.
Marcy wanted to be happy. Happy is all she wanted to be. But all her other feelings kept showing up and at the worst times! There was Frustrated and Angry, Sad and Embarrassed, and even Worried and Jealous. Her feelings were there as soon as she opened her eyes each morning, and they followed her around throughout the day.…
My name is Jess, and I'm a writer, designer, and illustrator based in South Yorkshire, UK. I have always found navigating my feelings and emotions tricky, even from a very young age. Labeled as 'too sensitive,' I would often find that I felt and reacted to things more deeply than others did. In my mid 20s I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and began going to therapy, this is where I leant a wealth of things about myself and began to find ways to cope and better deal with how I travelled through life.
Becoming a Mum was one of the biggest changes and challenges I have ever faced. The constant mixture of emotions, the worries, the guilt, it can feel incredibly overwhelming, and it all makes its mark.
This book is a gentle antidote to all those feelings. It offers helpful insight and advice to a wide and varied list of emotions, and it’s helpfully categorized so you can find the one you need quickly. A book that has offered me a lot of comfort (and still does) in amongst the parenting fog.
'A beautiful and informative companion of a book... Her compassion and guidance for a mother's mental health is invaluable' Giovanna Fletcher
'An essential read for new mums' Fearne Cotton ____________________________
The Little Book of Calm for New Mums will share advice and support on issues that new mothers face, from A for Anger, to I for Insomnia, providing an empowering pep talk for those days when new mothers need it most.
Psychotherapist and mother of three, Anna Mathur, will support readers through the rollercoaster of feelings that come with being a new mum and provide expert advice based on her…
I am an archaeologist dealing with prehistoric societies for the last 30 years. For many hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors worldwide practiced shamanism and altered states of consciousness. I think this is what makes us human and what allows the persistence and success of our genus. The more I learn about these two subjects, the more I understand their importance and relevance to us today. There is a lesson sent to us by past societies: Pay respect to the world. Respectful behavior is assisted by shamanism and altered states of consciousness. We can be better, feel better, and do better, and the books I recommended are the beginning of this wonderful way.
Harner knows very well what shamanism is, as he experienced it himself many times in the Amazonian forestay and is one of the first academic anthropologists to experience altered states of consciousness and shamanism firsthand himself, and he recommended it to the world!
I am familiar with very few professors who are so bold, straightforward, and devoid of bullsh*t. He admires shamanism, and this is clear from the book. He also gives some practical examples of how to practice shamanism, which can be very useful.
This classic on shamanism pioneered the modern shamanic renaissance. It is the foremost resource and reference on shamanism. Now, with a new introduction and a guide to current resources, anthropologist Michael Harner provides the definitive handbook on practical shamanism – what it is, where it came from, how you can participate.
"Wonderful, fascinating… Harner really knows what he's talking about." CARLOS CASTANEDA
"An intimate and practical guide to the art of shamanic healing and the technology of the sacred. Michael Harner is not just an anthropologist who has studied shamanism; he is an authentic white shaman." STANILAV GROF, author of…
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.
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.
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.…
I was born an anxious person and spent the first 18 years of my life trying to ignore panic attacks and anything to do with mental health. When I finally hit rock-bottom, I joined the CBT group Recovery International and discovered how freeing it was to be in control of my mental health. I now passionately talk and write about mental health, lead a weekly Recovery meeting, and teach CBT techniques to teens. Stigmatized portrayals of mental health in books - hospitalizations, suicide attempts, violent insanity, or being a pathetic burden - kept me from pursuing help, so I wrote my own novel with a positive, realistic take on anxiety and depression.
I’ve read this book about a dozen times in the past fifteen years, and I find new nuggets of wisdom with each visit. I was first convinced that I could overcome anxiety by reading Dr. Low’s strong conviction that there are no hopeless cases. He breaks down the root causes of mental health issues and describes cognitive-behavioral techniques for overcoming anger, negative judgments against oneself, fears, interpersonal conflicts, and many other ailments. His pithy sayings are easy to remember and have become the backbone of the self-help program Recovery International. Written in the 1950s, the examples and language can be somewhat dated – such as streetcars, elevator operators, and clotheslines – but his great love for his patients and his understanding of the human mind are timeless.
The Recovery Method was developed by Dr. Abraham Low to prevent relapses and alleviate chronic conditions in people suffering from mental illness or emotional problems. This self-help technique provides cognitive behavioral tools that have helped millions of people manage their symptoms for more than 80 years. Hundreds of peer leaders operate support groups throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Ireland. For more information, visit www.recoveryinternational.org
I write romance novels that are as much about the characters learning to love themselves as they are about people falling in love with each other. While most of my books are romantic comedies, that doesn’t stop my characters from facing some of the darkest parts of themselves and coming out on the other side feeling sure of their own worth. I often explore mental health topics, and I love to see other romance authors de-stigmatizing things like therapy, medication, and reaching out for support. The romance novels I’ve included below cover a wide range of subjects, but they all handle mental health with care, respect, and hope.
No other author captures the joy, longing, confusion, love, and heartbreak of the first few years of adulthood the way Kandi Steiner does. They don’t call her the Queen of Angst for nothing, and in Weightless, she showcases some of her best new adult romance skills to craft a story about stumbling your way into being a grown-up while learning to love yourself as you fall in love with someone else. The heroine of Weightless also struggles with body image issues, and Kandi Steiner doesn’t shy away from exploring the harsh realities of the way society and even the people we trust can reinforce our deepest insecurities. This was one of the first romance novels I read, and it led me to an enduring love for and appreciation of Kandi Steiner’s work.
I remember I wanted to photograph them, the way the red and blue splashed across his cold, emotionless face. But I knew even if my feet could move from the place where they had cemented themselves to the ground and I could run for my camera, I wouldn’t be able to capture that moment.
I had trusted him, I had loved him, and even though my body had changed that summer, he’d made sure to help me hold on to who I was inside, regardless of how the exterior altered.
Black women's mental wellness is important to me because my racial identity was interrupted by racial assimilation. There was a period of time where I thought passing for white would lead me to the success I sought. I learned that adopting white norms and values as my own was psychologically harmful, and these books led to racial restoration and mental well-being. I am an associate professor of clinical mental health, and I teach my students to assess, identify, and promote healthy racial identity development. I hope readers who are on their journeys will find these books helpful.
This book explains a lot of my automatic behaviors—things I knew were a thing but didn’t know why they were there. For example, I change the way I speak around white people or step onto the shoulder when a white person is walking toward me on the sidewalk.
Since reading about the origins of these ingrained behaviors, I practice not doing them. It’s crazy how hard they are to overcome.
In the 16th century, the beginning of African enslavement in the Americas until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment and emancipation in 1865, Africans were hunted like animals, captured, sold, tortured, and raped. They experienced the worst kind of physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual abuse. Given such history, isn't it likely that many of the enslaved were severely traumatized? And did the trauma and the effects of such horrific abuse end with the abolition of slavery?
Emancipation was followed by one hundred more years of institutionalized subjugation through the enactment of Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, peonage, convict leasing,…
