At LifeWorks, we often recommend books to our clients to help them with the work they’re doing with us. 
While we can’t endorse every single word in each and every one of these books, they’re client-tested and therapist-approved. There’s lots of good stuff here. Dig in.
Have a suggestion for our reading room? Send us an e-mail at staff@wefixbrains.com
Abuse and Trauma
The Wounded Heart: Help for Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Dan Allendar
The Emotionally Abused Woman: Overcoming Destructive Patterns and Reclaiming Yourself by Beverly Engel
Controlling People: How to Recognize, Understand, and Deal With People Who Try to Control You by Patricia Evans
Emotional Blackmail: When the People In Your Life Use Fear, Obligation, and Guilt to Manipulate You by Susan Foward
On the Threshold of Hope: Opening the Door to Hope and Healing for Survivors of Sexual Abuse by Diane Mandt Langberg
The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals the Protect us From Violence by Gavin DeBecker
ADD and ADHD
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness by Daniel G. Amen
Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 6 Types of ADD by Daniel G. Amen
Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood by Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey
Adolescence
Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (Ballantine Reader’s Circle) by Mary Pipher
Odd Girl Out, Revised and Updates: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons
Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman (Author)
Lost Boys : Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them by James Garbarino
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson
Alcoholism, addiction, and compulsive behaviors
Alcoholics Anonymous
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions by Alcoholics Anonymous
Paths to Recovery: Al-Anon’s Steps, Traditions and Concepts by Al-Anon Family Group Head Inc
Craving for Ecstasy: How Our Passions Become Addictions and What We Can Do About Them by Harvey Milkman, Stanley Sunderwirth
Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction by Patrick J. Carnes
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness by Daniel G. Amen
Healing the Addicted Brain By Hal Urschel
Anxiety, Depression, and other tough stuff
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness by Daniel G. Amen
Healing Anxiety and Depression: The Revolutionary Brain-Based Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 7 Types of Anxiety and Depression by Daniel G. Amen, Lisa C. Routh
Darkness Visible : A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay R. Jamison
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon
Blended Families
Stepcoupling: Creating and Sustaining a Strong Marriage in Todays Blended Family by Susan Wisdom & Jennifer Green
Blended Families: Creating Harmony As You Build A New Home Life by Maxine Marsolini
God Breathes on Blended Families by Moe Becnel, Paige Becnel
7 Keys To a Healthy Blended Family by Jim Smoke
Dealing with difficult people
Stop Walking on Eggshells; Coping When Someone You Care about Has Borderline Personality Disorder by Paul T. Mason, Randi Kreger
Emotional Blackmail: When the People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation, and Guilt to Manipulate You by Susan Forward, Donna Frazier
Search For The Real Self : Unmasking The Personality Disorders Of Our Age by James F. Masterson
Boundaries by Henry Cloud, John Townsend
Paths to Recovery: Al-Anon’s Steps, Traditions and Concepts by Al-Anon Family Group Head Inc
Why Is It Always About You? : The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism by Sandy Hotchkiss
Divorce Recovery
The Courage to Love Again: Creating Happy, Healthy Relationships After Divorce by Sheila Ellison
Rebuilding: When Your Relationship Ends by Bruce Fisher, Robert E. Alberti, Foreword by Virginia M. Satir
How to Fall out of Love: How to Free Yourself of Love That Hurts and Find the Love That Heals by Debora Phillips, Robert Judd
Healing the Divorced Heart by Rose Sweet
Happy Tails: How Pets Can Help You Survive Divorce by Julie Rogers
Eating Disorders
Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (Ballantine Reader’s Circle) by Mary Pipher
The Secret Language of Eating Disorders : The Revolutionary New Approach to Understanding and Curing Anorexia and Bulimia by Peggy Claude-Pierre
Wasted : A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Marya Hornbacher
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness by Daniel G. Amen
Elder Care
Coping With Your Difficult Older Parent: A Guide for Stressed Out Children by Grace Lebow, Barbara Kane
The 36 Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illness, and Memory Loss in Later Life by Nancy Mace, Peter Rabins
Caring for Yourself While Caring for Your Aging Parents: How to Survive by Claire Berman
How to Care for Aging Parents by Virginia Morris, Robert Butler
Equine Assisted Therapy
Horses Don’t Lie: What Horses Teach Us About Our Natural Capacity for Awareness, Confidence, Courage and Trust by Chris Irwin, Bob Weber
It’s Not About the Horse: It’s About Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt by Wyatt Webb
Body Language by Julius Fast
Leadership and Business
The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Financial, and Personal Targets with Absolute Certainty, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Les Hewitt
Principle Centered Leadership by Stephen R. Covey
Self-Promotion for the Creative Person: Get the Word Out About Who You Are and What You Do, by Lee Silber
Smart Negotiating: How to Make Good Deals in the Real World, by James C. Freund
Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales, by Bob Burg
Million Dollar Consutling: The Professionals Guide To a Growing Practice, by Alan Weiss
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lecioni
Organizational Consulting: How to Be an Effective Internal Change Agent by Alan Weiss
Marriage, intimacy, and sex
Boundaries by Henry Cloud, John Townsend
Boundaries in Marriage by Henry Cloud, John Townsend
Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples by Harville Hendrix
Keeping The Love You Find by Harville Hendrix
The Dance of Intimacy: A Woman’s Guide to Courageous Acts of Change in Key Relationships by Harriet Lerner
Passionate Marriage: Love, Sex, and Intimacy in Emotionally Committed Relationships by David Schnarch
The Sex-Starved Marriage : Boosting Your Marriage Libido: A Couple’s Guide by Michele Weiner Davis
Hot Monogamy: Essential Steps to More Passionate, Intimate Lovemaking by Patricia Love, Jo Robinson
On Behavior Change
Changing for Good by Dr. James Prochaska
Parenting and Family Life
Raising Children You Can Live With: A Guide for Frustrated Parents by Jamie B. Raser, Jamie Raser
Traits of a Healthy Family: Fifteen Traits Commonly Found in Healthy Families by Those Who Work With Them (Epiphany) by Dolores Curran
Boundaries with Kids by Henry Cloud, John Townsend
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families: Building a Beautiful Family Culture in a Turbulent World by Stephen R. Covey
Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 6 Types of ADD by Daniel G. Amen
Relational Parenting by Ross Campbell
Positive Discipline by Jane Nelson
Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay
Personality and the development of self
Search For The Real Self : Unmasking The Personality Disorders Of Our Age by James F. Masterson
Stop Walking on Eggshells; Coping When Someone You Care about Has Borderline Personality Disorder by Paul T. Mason, Randi Kreger
I Hate You, Don’t Leave Me : Understanding the Borderline Personality by Jerold J. Kreisman, Hal Straus
The Resilient Self: How Survivors of Troubled Families Rise Above Adversity by Steven J. Wolin, Sybil Wolin
Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life by Susan Forward
Why Is It Always About You? : The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism by Sandy Hotchkiss The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout
Play
Post-Partum Depression
Beyond the Blues by Shoshana S. Bennett, Ph.D., and Pex Indman, Ed.D., MFT
The Postpartum Husband by Karen Kleiman, MSW
This Isn’t What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression by Karen Kleiman, MSW and Valerie Raskin, MD
Post-Traumatic Church Disorder
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse by David Johnson, Jeff Vanvonderen
Healing Spiritual Abuse: How to Break Free From Bad Church Experiences by Ken Blue
Exposing Spiritual Abuse: How to Rediscover Gods Love When the Church Has Let You Down by Mike Fehlauer
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller
Relaxation and Stress Management
The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson, Miriam Klipper
Instant Calm: Over 100 Easy-To-Use Techniques for Relaxing Mind and Body by Paul Wilson
Stress Management for Dummies by Allen Elkin
Stress Relief & Relaxation Techniques by Judith Lazarus
Spouses of Addicts (Codependents)
Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes From, and How It Sabotages Our Lives by Pia Mellody
Codependent No More: How To Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring For Yourself by Melody Beattie
Get Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening by Robert Meyers, Brenda Wolfe
Love First: A New Approach to Intervention to Alcohol and Drug Addiction by Jeff Jay, Debra Jay
Please call or email LifeWorks for more information, or to make an appointment.
