Book Therapy

Here are three more book recommendations for getting through the good days, not-so-good days and every day in between.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

If you’ve ever felt the complicated pull between love and resentment toward your family, Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle will hit close to home. Walls details her upbringing with parents who were both brilliant and wildly neglectful, creating an unstable, often dangerous environment. Her mother’s laissez-faire approach and her father’s reckless dreaming left Jeannette and her siblings to fend for themselves. Walls doesn’t offer easy conclusions or judgment, which is precisely what makes this memoir so powerful. Instead, she demonstrates that healing often means embracing the contradictions of those who hurt us—acknowledging that love and pain can co-exist.

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

It’s easy to think that someone like Bruce Springsteen—who’s achieved so much—would be untouched by the mental health struggles many of us face. But Born to Run is a revealing look at how even legends grapple with inner darkness. Springsteen writes candidly about his battles with depression, the relentless need to prove himself and the price of living under the spotlight. His account is a testament to the idea that success doesn’t protect you from mental health challenges; in fact, it often complicates them. It’s a valuable reminder that no matter where you are in life, it’s okay to ask for help.

Hunger by Roxane Gay

In Hunger, Roxane Gay delves into the ways trauma can shape our relationships with our own bodies. After experiencing sexual violence, Gay turned to food as a means of control, safety and self-preservation. Her words are powerful and at times painfully direct. Gay doesn’t seek to tie up her story with a neat bow—because trauma recovery doesn’t work that way. Instead, she allows readers to witness her vulnerability, frustration and resilience. If you’ve ever struggled with the way you view yourself or felt caught between shame and defiance, Gay’s narrative will speak to you in ways that few others can.

More to come…