Recommended Reading List

At Holistically Divine Counseling (HDC), we believe in the transformative power of knowledge and self-discovery.

This curated selection of books reflects our commitment to supporting you on your journey toward personal growth, healing, and overall well-being. Whether you’re seeking practical techniques to navigate life’s challenges, a deeper understanding of psychological principles, or inspirational stories of resilience, this collection offers diverse resources to meet your needs. Each book has been chosen with care, aiming to provide you with insights, comfort, and the tools necessary to embark on a path of self-improvement and emotional empowerment. We may earn a commission when you purchase a book using the links below.

1-18 of 52 books
  • Just as I Am
    • Empowerment & Leadership
    Just as I Am

    By: Cicely Tyson

    “Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. In these pages, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and a mother, a sister and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by his hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say.” –Cicely Tyson

  • Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
    • Anxiety & Depression
    Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

    By: James Clear

    No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

  • The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children
    • Parenting & Family
    The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children

    By: Dr. Shefali Tsabary

    Instead of being merely the receiver of the parents’ psychological and spiritual legacy, children function as ushers of the parents’ development. Parents unwittingly pass on an inheritance of psychological pain and emotional shallowness. To handle the behavior that results, traditional books on parenting abound with clever techniques for control and quick fixes for dysfunction. In Dr. Shefali Tsabary’s conscious approach to parenting, however, children serve as mirrors of their parents’ forgotten self. Those willing to look in the mirror have an opportunity to establish a relationship with their own inner state of wholeness.

  • Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
    • Empowerment & Leadership
    Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

    By: Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton

    Getting to Yes offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict. Thoroughly updated and revised, it offers readers a straight- forward, universally applicable method for negotiating personal and professional disputes without getting angry-or getting taken.

  • The Gifts of Imperfection
    • Empowerment & Leadership
    The Gifts of Imperfection

    By: Brené Brown

    What transforms this book from words on a page to effective daily practices are the ten guideposts to wholehearted living. The guideposts not only help us understand the practices that will allow us to change our lives and families, they also walk us through the unattainable and sabotaging expectations that get in the way.

  • Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness
    • Empowerment & Leadership
    Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness

    By: Vex King

    How can you learn to truly love yourself? How can you transform negative emotions into positive ones? Is it possible to find lasting happiness? In this book, Instagram guru Vex King answers all of these questions and more.

  • Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You
    • Mindfulness & Emotional Intelligence
    Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You

    By: Henry Cloud

    Many of us struggle with anxiety, loneliness, and feelings of inadequacy. We know that God created us in his image, but how can we be loving when we feel burned out? How can we be free when we struggle with addiction? Will we ever enjoy the complete healing God promises? Combining his professional expertise and personal experience, renowned psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud guides us through four basic ways to become joy-filled, mature followers of Christ.

  • Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids
    • Parenting & Family
    Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids

    By: Hunter Clarke-Fields MSAE, Carla Naumburg PhD

    With this book, you’ll find powerful mindfulness skills for calming your own stress response when difficult emotions arise. You’ll also discover strategies for cultivating respectful communication, effective conflict resolution, and reflective listening. In the process, you’ll learn to examine your own unhelpful patterns and ingrained reactions that reflect the generational habits shaped by your parents, so you can break the cycle and respond to your children in more skillful ways.

  • Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help YouFind - and Keep - Love
    • Anxiety & Depression
    Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help YouFind – and Keep – Love

    By: Amir Levine, Rachel Heller

    We already rely on science to tell us what to eat, when to exercise, and how long to sleep. Why not use science to help us improve our relationships? In this revolutionary book, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Amir Levine and Rachel Heller scientifically explain why why some people seem to navigate relationships effortlessly, while others struggle.

  • Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry
    • Anxiety & Depression
    Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry

    By: Catherine M. Pittman PhD, Elizabeth M. Karle MLIS

    Do you ever wonder what is happening inside your brain when you feel anxious, panicked, and worried? In Rewire Your Anxious Brain, psychologist Catherine Pittman and author Elizabeth Karle offer a unique, evidence-based solution to overcoming anxiety based in cutting-edge neuroscience and research.

  • Help Me, I'm Stuck: Six Proven Methods to Shift Your Mindset From Self-Sabotage to Self-Improvement
    • Anxiety & Depression
    Help Me, I’m Stuck: Six Proven Methods to Shift Your Mindset From Self-Sabotage to Self-Improvement

    By: Vaughn Carter

    Are you dispirited and unfocused? Do you catch yourself being too harsh of a critic on your own actions? Do you want to change how you think about yourself but feel lost? If you found the above questions relatable, then there’s a good chance you’re stuck in a self-sabotaging mindset – one that revolves around negative thoughts that limit you from growing.

  • Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body
    • Mindfulness & Emotional Intelligence
    Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body

    By: Jivana Heyman

    Jivana Heyman, founder of Accessible Yoga, views yoga as a basic human right—saying we all deserve to practice it in whatever state we find our body or mind. Accessible Yoga offers a simple, clear, and wonderfully adaptable practice for all people regardless of ability, health, and body type.

  • For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts: A Love Letter to Women of Color
    • Empowerment & Leadership
    For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts: A Love Letter to Women of Color

    By: Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez

    For generations, Brown girls have had to push against powerful forces of sexism, racism, and classism, often feeling alone in the struggle. By founding Latina Rebels, Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez has created a community to help women fight together. In For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts, she offers wisdom and a liberating path forward for all women of color.

  • The Awakened Family: How to Raise Empowered, Resilient, and Conscious Children
    • Parenting & Family
    The Awakened Family: How to Raise Empowered, Resilient, and Conscious Children

    By: Shefali Tsabary Ph.D.

    We all have the capacity to raise children who are highly resilient and emotionally connected. However, many of us are unable to because we are blinded by modern misconceptions of parenting and our own inner limitations. In The Awakened Family, I show you how you can cultivate a relationship with your children so they can thrive; moreover, you can be transformed to a state of greater calm, compassion and wisdom as well.

  • The Highly Sensitive Person's Guide to Stop People-Pleasing: Finally, Put Yourself First, Set Boundaries with Confidence, and Release the Negativity in Saying NO!
    • Empowerment & Leadership
    The Highly Sensitive Person’s Guide to Stop People-Pleasing: Finally, Put Yourself First, Set Boundaries with Confidence, and Release the Negativity in Saying NO!

    By: C. Jeffrey

    If you struggle to say “no” to others, usually at the expense of your own needs, know that there’s a way out. This guide was specially written for highly sensitive people like you, whose empathetic nature can sometimes be used against them. You’ll see that it’s possible to utilize the power of your heightened sensitivity while overcoming your people-pleasing and self-defeating tendencies at the same time.

  • Positive Affirmations for Black Women
    • Empowerment & Leadership
    Positive Affirmations for Black Women: Attract Love, Success, Happiness, Wealth and Abundance, Increase Confidence & Self-Love, Improve Your Mindset

    By: Limitless Abundance

    The words we say to ourselves have immense power and impact over our lives. What you think, you become. Affirmations restructure the dynamic of our brains so that we truly begin to think nothing is impossible. This book contains a collection of affirmations written specifically for Black women. Positive affirmations are a great way to combat subconscious thoughts, by allowing you to focus your energy on encouraging positive changes in your life.

  • The Highly Sensitive Person's Guide to Dealing with Toxic People: How to Reclaim Your Power from Narcissists and Other Manipulators
    • Empowerment & Leadership
    The Highly Sensitive Person’s Guide to Dealing with Toxic People: How to Reclaim Your Power from Narcissists and Other Manipulators

    By: Shahida Arabi MA

    If you’re a highly sensitive person, or identify as an “empath,” you may feel easily overwhelmed by the world around you, suffer from “people-pleasing,” experience extreme anxiety or stress in times of conflict, or even take on the emotions of others. Due to your naturally giving nature, you may also be a target for narcissists and self-centered individuals who seek to exploit others for their own gain. So, how can you protect yourself?

  • The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind
    • Parenting & Family
    The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind

    By: Daniel J. J. Siegel, Tina Payne Bryson

    In this pioneering, practical book, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist and author of the bestselling Mindsight, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson offer a revolutionary approach to child rearing with twelve key strategies that foster healthy brain development, leading to calmer, happier children. The authors explain—and make accessible—the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain.