Love Yo’Self: A Self-Help Round-Up

With all these lovey-dovey posts before V-Day (which is totally blowing up my TBR), I want to switch gears to talk about loving yourself. *cue girlish giggles*

The term “self help” kinda makes me want to harm myself or others, but it’s a lot easier to say than 20+ word version I usually tell myself to avoid saying those two words in succession. I blame it on a shiny new decade, but this year I found myself actually making resolutions. So gross. This is a very long way to say: this year I made some personal goals of investing in my wellness/spirit/skills/knowledge/awesomeness/damn self with the written work of others – and I’ve actually been putting effort into it. I know, I am surprised, too.

Here’s a selection of books that didn’t make me want to roll my eyes until I perished. Maybe next year I’ll be able to admit I even liked them 🙂

On being vulnerable…

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
To be fair, I only read this because of work book club (which I helped found) where we read a great many professional titles that are dryyyyy like saltines. This was the first in a long line of books that didn’t make me want to cheat and just look up a summary online. If you want to dip a toe in with Brené, scope out her Netflix special.

On therapy…

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
I vote skip the book, and watch her TED Talk.

On self-help books…

How to Be Fine by Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer
I’m quickly realizing this is becoming a post of me telling people to skip the books, but seriously, skip this one. It’s a compilation of this duo’s podcast By the Book – which is VERY much worth checking out.

On not giving a fuck…

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck by Sarah Knight
I think this will forever hold the record of most f-words in a single book I’ve read. But in terms of a book that actually made me reconsider a behavior and put some changes in place, this one takes the fucking cake.

On being exhausted all the time (and a millenial)…

The Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen
This is a much longer version of the original article on Buzzfeed. And you guessed it, read the article and only go on to the audio if you want more of the interviews that formed this piece.

On banishing doubt…

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Damn straight I am. And so are you. Fin.

On being present…

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
I read this because Oprah talks about it a lot (and it was a daily deal). I think I preferred listening to Oprah and Eckhart chat about its lessons on Super Soul conversations – just a little more personal and practical that way.

On being like Pooh…

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Ok, the Pooh thing is a whole other book, but I’ll never be able to separate Winnie and Taoism, and that’s fine by me. Look for the John Minford translation specifically; it’s got lots of extra poetry and interpretations that dives deeper into each writing.

On philosophy…

Out of Your Mind by Alan Watts
This is what started the whole self-help-athon. Actually, it was this recording that through happenstance came into my life sometime last winter. It shook me down to my bones.

On being fat, feminist and fabulous…

Shrill by Lindy West
This book has some truly polarizing content, aka it earned me at least one unfollow on Goodreads because I liked it. If I learned anything from Lindy and this book, it’s haters gonna hate and I’m too busy crushing it to care. There’s also one mega bonus that comes along with this book, the show! It’s the absolutely BRILLIANT and has 100% more Aidy Bryant than the book. Seriously, stop reading and go watch it.

XOXO