40 Self-Help Books About Codependency and Healthy Relationships

What’s the best self-help book for codependency recovery? What books do you recommend for learning about healthy relationships or overcoming trauma? I surveyed my blog readers and here are their suggestions.

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Summer is upon us — and if you’re lucky, your schedule will lighten up a bit and allow you to enjoy a few long weekends away from work or some quiet evenings on the porch relaxing with a good book. Summer is always a great time to catch up on some reading.

I’m a self-help book junkie, but I can’t keep up with all the great personal development titles. So, I once again surveyed my Facebook fans for their best self-help book suggestions (you can find last year’s suggested reading list here). This list will be particularly relevant to those of you struggling with or wanting to learn more about codependency, adult child of alcoholic issues, trauma recovery, perfectionism, boundaries, self-worth, and healthy relationships.

40 Self-Help Books Recommended by my Readers

Dysfunctional Families

1. Another Chance: Hope and Health for the Alcoholic Family by Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse
2. The Emotionally Absent Mother by Jasmin Lee Cori
3. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay Gibson

Relationships

3. Running on Empty No More by Jonice Webb
4. How We Love: Discover Your Love Style, Enhance Your Marriage by Milan and Kay Yerkovich
5. Loving Him without Losing You: How to Stop Disappearing and Start Being Yourself by Beverly Engel
6. How to Break Your Addiction to a Person: When and Why Love Doesn’t Work by Howard Halpern
7. Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up In Order to Move Forward by Henry Cloud
8. After the Affair: Healing the Pain and Rebuilding Trust When a Partner Has Been Unfaithful by Janis Abrahms Spring
9. Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix

Codependency and Boundaries

11. Emotional Blackmail: When the People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation, and Guilt to Manipulate You by Susan Forward
12. The Human Magnet Syndrome: The Codependent Narcissist Trap by Ross Rosenberg
13. Love is a Choice: The Definitive Book on Letting Go of Unhealthy Relationships by Robert Hemfelt, Frank Minirth, and Paul Meier
14. The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations for Codependents by Melody Beattie
15. Out of the Fog: Moving from Confusion to Clarity After Narcissistic Abuse by Dana Morningstar

Self-Help Books for Women

16. Wild Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
17. Perfect Daughters: Adult Daughters of Alcoholics by Robert Ackerman
18. Will I Ever Be Good Enough?: Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers by Karyl McBride

Self-Help Books for Men

19. I Don’t Want to Talk about It by Terrence Real
20. Silent Sons by Robert Ackerman

Trauma and Healing

21. Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker
22. Recovery of Your Inner Child by Lucia Capacchione
23. Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw

Spirituality and Personal Growth

24. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
25. Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Life by Shauna Niequist
26. When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
27. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
28. Peace Within: Clear Your Mind, Open Your Heart, Embrace Your Soul and Heal Your Life by Michael Brant DeMaria
29. Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home by Toko-pa Turner

Self-worth/Other

30. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David Burns
31. Constructive Wallowing: How to Beat Bad Feelings by Letting Yourself Have Them by Tina Gilbertson
32. On Becoming a Person by Carl Rogers
33. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
34. It’s Not Always Depression: Working the Change Triangle to Listen to the Body, Discover Core Emotions, and Connect to Your Authentic Self by Hilary Jacobs Hendel
35. The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine Aron
36. Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness by Rick Hanson
37. Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics by Dan Harris
38. The Mindful Day: Practical Ways to Find Focus, Calm, and Joy From Morning to Evening by Laurie Cameron
39. Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing by Anita Moorjani
40. The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living by Russ Harris

Do you have a favorite self-help book for codependency and building self-esteem? Perhaps you’ve read something recently that was instrumental to your personal growth and recovery. If you’d like to add a suggestion, please put it in the comments below.

You can also find last year’s list of self-help book recommendations here. And you can print a PDF copy of the entire list (80 self-help books) here.

I hope you have a wonderful summer with lots of time for reading and self-care!

©2018 Sharon Martin, LCSW. All rights reserved.
Photos courtesy of Unsplash.com

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Dr. Sharon Martin

Sharon Martin, DSW, LCSW is a psychotherapist and writer specializing in codependency recovery. For the past 25 years, she’s been helping perfectionists and people-pleasers overcome self-doubt and shame, embrace their imperfections, and learn to set boundaries. Dr. Martin writes the popular blog Conquering Codependency for Psychology Today and is the author of The CBT Workbook for Perfectionism and The Better Boundaries Workbook.