Fans pick 100 books like When I Say No, I Feel Guilty

This book has been extremely influential and helpful to my journey as a creative photographer. This is a short book and covers material that is often not easy because it gets at some of the deep-seated reasons that many of us find it hard to consistently create art.

The underlying issue is “resistance”: a force that is the antithesis of creativity and serves to stymie us all to a greater or lesser degree. I have found the succinct discussion of resistance in the book, along with tools and techniques for overcoming resistance, one of the most valuable discussions I have encountered in my journey as a photographer and artist.

Groundbreaking in the mid-90s, this down-to-earth study of emotional sensitivity provided education about my empathetic gifts and strong emotions in general. Before reading this book and others, I, like many empaths, had viewed it as something of a curse. Instead, I understand now that empathy is biological, social, and directly linked to the evolution of species. This no-frills book helped me gain this wisdom for life!

This book isn’t written specifically for empaths, which is something I actually appreciate. Besides, it was written before “empath” became a mainstream term. This book is actually where we get the term HSP: Highly Sensitive Person. One of my biggest takeaways from this book was learning that not every emotionally sensitive person is an empath! That was a shocker, but it entirely makes sense. Although perhaps not as “warm” as the other books on my list, the information presented here is pertinent, relevant, and… show more.

I read Being Peace about 30 years ago. It’s the first of many books by this Zen Buddhist monk that I’ve read since then.

In one short volume, it captures the essence of what he teaches in his writings, retreats, and videos. Each short segment has layers of meaning and emotion that, over time, settle into the soul.

Despite years of therapy and meditation, my periods of inner peace were few and far between. This book planted a seed that led to more books, a new meditation practice, and eventually to my going to a large retreat, joining a community of Buddhist practitioners, and becoming a therapist myself.

I’ve passed on many of Thich Nhat Hanh’s wise insights and observations to my own clients.

In the late 1960s, Eugene Gendlin teamed up with pioneer psychologist Carl Rogers to try to figure out why some people got better with therapy while others did not.

After screening for all the factors that might explain this phenomenon, they identified the most important one, and it was something people either came into therapy already doing (and they got better) or didn’t do (and they didn’t improve). Gendlin created Focusing to teach us all this simple, powerful technique. It’s the best self-help tool I know.

Along with meditation, Focusing is at the heart of my personal and professional life.

I read this book when I was a teenager and it set me on a path of assertiveness and self-determination.

He had memorable content, such as “A clerk is a jerk,” that helped me put life in a different perspective. After reading the book, I was empowered and free to do as I felt was right in the world. The book taught me not to put up with other people’s BS.

Raise your hand if you’re a people-pleaser who hates letting others down but often feels overstretched and resentful. Raise your other hand if you’re a curious sort who loves getting involved in all sorts of projects but the juggling act is becoming impossible to sustain. Yeah, me too.

In The Power of Saying No Vanessa Patrick enlightens us as to why we say yes when we want to say no and teaches us the skill of empowered refusal. With tools for making rules, not decisions, using values as a guide, and managing pushback, this book will cure you of being a ’yes person’ and put you back in charge of how you are choosing to spend your precious time.   

As someone who has been silenced at various times in my career, I was immediately drawn to this book. I expected it to be about how to find our voices, but it was so much deeper and more nuanced than that. I loved how Elaine talked about how there are times when silence serves us well, and I especially appreciated her exploration of how we silence others, often unconsciously.

I appreciated the way Elaine shared her own journey of unlearning silence, as well as many stories and case studies throughout the book—it stayed out of the theoretical and felt grounded in real life. I also loved the optimistic and inspiring invitation in the conclusion. Count me in!

When I first saw Brené Brown’s viral TED talk on vulnerability in the early 2010s, it challenged my understanding of the term and opened a whole new world for me, as it did for millions of others. At the time, I was a senior editor at Business Insider, and Brown’s work became a model that helped me navigate life inside a demanding, fast-paced media startup—and the complex human challenges of being a new manager. In Daring Greatly, she redefines vulnerability as a strength, upending traditional beliefs and reshaping how leadership is understood.

Brown argues that vulnerability is a critical skill for leaders in today’s evolving world of work, where workers crave authenticity, and emotional intelligence and empathy are more effective than outdated command-and-control methods—especially in increasingly dynamic organizations. Her research-backed tools have guided many on personal journeys to greater emotional freedom, just as they did for me.

Years later, I… show more.

This subtle and tender book is a moving look at life continuing in small moments after a bereavement. I love the marriage of words and images, where each part tells a different piece of the story and the relationship between the boy and his father. The boy asks questions, about the birds, the trees, the fox, and his mother, looking for reassurance. When the father repeats "everything is going to be alright," we are all reassured and comforted, and held safe in arms like a boat.

This book is part science, part memoir. The author shares how she applied the research she has done around resilience as she grappled with grief when her child died.

When we are grieving without the false promises of an afterlife, learning how to support ourselves as we put one foot in front of another and continue to move forward can take everything we have. By exploring concepts of resilience and well-being, Dr. Hone provides practical tools to help us cope a bit better.