Excited for a new year of reading? We asked our experts to share their favorite books on mental health and well-being. Here are their recommendations to add to your TBR (“to be read”) for 2025.
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
by Sebastian Junger; recommended by Leigh McInnis, LPC, Executive Director
Weaving together history, psychology, and anthropology, Junger explores what we can learn from tribal societies about loyalty, belonging, and the eternal human quest for meaning. Leigh says, “I gave this book away to the guests at my wedding. It reinforces the importance of being accountable to a community and allowing your community to invest in and be accountable to you.”
Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child
by John M. Gottman, PhD; recommended by Samantha Quigneaux, LMFT, National Director of Family Therapy Services
In this classic work, Gottman provides a a five-step emotion coaching process that teaches children to understand and regulate their emotional world. “There are so many elements for parents to consider and balance when raising their children, and this book is a thoughtful reminder that one area to prioritize is their emotional well-being and identity,” Samantha says. “It also provides parents with ways to actively engage with their child in an emotionally safe and intentional way.”
Embodiment and the Treatment of Eating Disorders: The Body as a Resource in Recovery
by Catherine Cook-Cottone, PhD; recommended by Kara Becker, LMFT, CEDS, National Director of Eating Disorder Programs
“People with eating disorders often ignore the body’s cues of hunger and fullness,” Kara says. “This can prove to be an enormous challenge for therapists as they try to help individuals with disordered eating identify a connection between their thoughts and feelings. Embodiment practices can help guide treatment and reconnect these separated parts.”
The Screentime Solution: A Judgment-Free Guide to Becoming a Tech-Intentional Family
by Emiy Cherkin; recommended by Don Grant, PhD, National Advisor of Healthy Device Management
Cherkin offers a guide for parents and clinicians for using screen-based technologies to align with family values while avoiding screen time that interferes with healthy development. “Social media provides teens with abundant opportunities to self-express, but parents need to be the guardrails,” says Dr. Grant.
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
by Jonathan Haidt; recommended by Christian Schnell, Education Supervisor
“Haidt offers vital insights into how social media is shaping our brains, insights that can help teens understand the forces that are affecting their own well-being,” says Christian. “He also gives strategies to build healthier relationships with social media while fostering true connections and emotional resilience.”
The Happiness Trap: Stop Struggling, Start Living
by Russ Harris, MD; recommended by Chad Puffer, DO, Youth Services Medical Director at Newport Healthcare’s PrairieCare division
Known as a groundbreaking guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, this classic provides scientifically proven techniques to reduce stress and worry, handle painful thoughts and feelings more effectively, break self-defeating habits, and more. Dr. Puffer calls it “a great self-help book for anxiety that is useful for both teenagers and adults.”
The Year of Magical Thinking
by Joan Didion; recommended by Leigh McInnis, LPC, Executive Director
One of the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, this memoir relates Didion’s attempts to make sense of her husband’s death and daughter’s life-threatening illnesses, within months of each other. Leigh calls it “the most beautifully poignant description of one person’s experience of grief that I have ever read.”
This Isn’t What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression
by Karen R. Kleiman, MSW, LCSW, and Valerie Davis Raskin, MD; recommended by Sogand Ghassemi, MD, Director of Perinatal Program Services at Newport Healthcare’s PrairieCare division
“In our perinatal Intensive Outpatient Program, we work with individuals facing postpartum depression and anxiety, and this book aligns closely with our mission to provide understanding and support during this vulnerable time,” says Dr. Ghassemi. “With its blend of expert advice and relatable stories, it’s an invaluable tool for mothers, partners, and anyone seeking to navigate the emotional complexities of new parenthood.”
Happier, No Matter What: Cultivating Hope, Resilience, & Purpose in Hard Times
by Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD; recommended by John Lindsey, Clinical Director
One of the foremost proponents of positive psychology, Dr. Ben-Shahar explains why happiness isn’t related to success, and explains the five elements that determine our levels of happiness.