The most recommended healing books

Who picked these books? Meet our 24 experts.

24 authors created a book list connected to healing, and here are their favorite healing books.
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Book cover of The Elusive Obvious: The Convergence of Movement, Neuroplasticity, and Health

Sue Knight Author Of NLP at Work: The Difference that Makes the Difference

From my list on supporting you in growing old (dis)gracefully.

Why am I passionate about this?

NLP at Work has led me to many different countries and experiences and, most of all, an ability to choose how I live my life. NLP; Neuro Linguistic Programming is a way of studying how we do what we do, especially when we do things that are outstanding. The difference that makes the difference is the strapline, and that difference is invariably some unconscious, intuitive act – often rooted in how we think and what we believe. I have sought to present both the tools to study in this kind of way and some of the results of that – the techniques that can be discovered with NLP.

Sue's book list on supporting you in growing old (dis)gracefully

Sue Knight Why did Sue love this book?

The opening paragraph contains these words, "Do you feel you have made the best of your genetic endowment?" Most people, in my experience, say ‘no’ to that. What a waste and what a price to pay as you age if you are not taking care of yourself in a way that lets you move and live in a state of freedom. I have studied Feldenkrais for many years and the awareness I have gained allows me to recognise what I am doing to myself both good and bad. The answers to this freedom are simple yet elusive as the title suggests. As Moshe Feldenkrais says, "If you know what you are doing, you can do what you want." This book is a powerful foundation for the practice of Feldenkrais and learning how to overcome difficulties, pain, and anxiety to move and live with grace and freedom in the way you…

By Moshe Feldenkrais,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Elusive Obvious as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Scientist, martial artist, and founder of the method that bears his name, Moshe Feldenkrais wrote several influential books on the relationship between movement, learning, and health. In The Elusive Obvious he presents ideas that are more relevant today than when the book was first published, as current research strongly supports many of the insights on which the Feldenkrais Method is based. This beautiful new edition is ready to be treasured by an emerging generation of somatic practitioners, movement teachers, performing artists, and anyone interested in self-improvement and healing. The two main strands of the Feldenkrais Method—Awareness Through Movement and Functional…


Book cover of The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times

Margaret Paul Author Of The Inner Bonding Workbook: Six Steps to Healing Yourself and Connecting with Your Divine Guidance

From my list on healing and connecting with your Divine guidance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve known since I was 5 years old that my passion in life was helping people be all they came to this planet to be. I have been working with individuals, couples, businesses, and groups, and teaching courses for 54 years. Having had many years of my own psychotherapy, and 17 years into practicing traditional psychotherapy, I was not happy with the results, so I prayed for a teacher or a process that would really work. 38 years ago, I met Dr. Erika Chopich and we co-created the powerful Inner Bonding process, brought to us by our higher guidance, that rapidly heals on a very deep level, far beyond traditional psychotherapy. 

Margaret's book list on healing and connecting with your Divine guidance

Margaret Paul Why did Margaret love this book?

Anita is a brilliant teacher of inclusion and diversity, and a fellow member of the Transformational Leadership Council. I couldn’t put her book down as she took me on her journey to claiming her personal power. The world needs this book now! Anita’s understanding of these four gifts and how important they currently are to our planet will deeply inspire you.  

By Anita L. Sanchez,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Four Sacred Gifts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Heal your past, discover your true purpose, and become a powerful source of inspiration and leadership with The Four Sacred Gifts, a collection of Aztec and global indigenous wisdom for modern life.

Given the ongoing changes in our economic, social, political, and physical environment, we are often left gulping for air as we ride the powerful waves of change. Modern life overloads us with information yet lacks the true wisdom we seek. In this book, a group of global indigenous elders pass down their four most essential, agreed upon tools to help you fulfill your truest desire for meaning, wisdom,…


Book cover of Who Switched Off My Brain?: Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions

Roxane Lapa Author Of How I Overcame Panic Disorder Without Drugs

From my list on overcoming anxiety.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve experienced crippling anxiety personally, to the point of nervous breakdown. I’ve researched this topic extensively and have been panic-free for over a decade due to the knowledge and coping skills accrued.

Roxane's book list on overcoming anxiety

Roxane Lapa Why did Roxane love this book?

Caroline Leaf is a brain scientist who has specialized in the science of thoughts for decades. She is also a Christian. In this book, she explains scientifically (though in layman's terms) how our thoughts affect our bodies, and even our genes (epigenetics). She shows how to utilize this knowledge to better our mental and physical health. I really believe this is an important book that should be read by almost everyone at some point in their lives. I see that she has a new book called 101 Ways to Be Less Stressed: Simple Self-Care Strategies to Boost Your Mind, Mood, and Mental Health which may be even more pertinent to the subject, though I haven’t yet read it.

By Caroline Leaf,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Who Switched Off My Brain? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We're living in an epidemic of toxic emotions.

Research shows that as much as 87% to 95% of mental and physical illnesses are a direct result of toxic thinking-proof that our thoughts affect us physically and emotionally.

In this best-selling book, Dr. Caroline Leaf clearly communicates 13 ways to detox your thought life and live a life of physical, mental, and emotional wholeness.


Lap Baby

By Amy Q. Barker,

Book cover of Lap Baby

Amy Q. Barker Author Of Lap Baby

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Avid reader Nature lover Park ranger wanna be Best Nana ever

Amy's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

A story you'll never forget about survival, forgiveness, healing, and love.

Twenty years ago. A plane crash. Three women survivors are inexorably connected by fate, destiny, and a cause. 

Julie Geiger, a flight attendant, told five sets of parents to place their babies on the floor of the plane when it was going down. Now, she must live with the consequences. Will changing the emergency rules bring her healing and forgiveness? And where does love fit into her life now?

Marie Stanley lost her baby boy on that flight. And she knows exactly who to blame. Julie. The problem is that vindictiveness festers. And eats into your soul. How will Marie learn to move past her hate and save her marriage in the process?

Paige Montgomery, the lap baby who survived the flight, would love to forget it ever happened. After all, she’s happy. And she’s on the cusp of a new relationship. How will she learn to forge her own path, one that integrates all the elements of her past, including the crash, the loss of her parents, and her subsequent adoption?

Lap Baby

By Amy Q. Barker,

What is this book about?

Twenty years ago. A plane crash. Three women survivors inexorably connected by fate, destiny, and a cause.

Did you know that lap babies (children under the age of two) are instructed to be placed on the floor of a plane during an emergency? Sounds crazy, but it’s true.

Julie Geiger, a flight attendant, told five sets of parents to do just that. Now she must live with the consequences. Will changing the rules bring her healing and forgiveness? And where does love fit into her life now?

Marie Stanley lost her baby boy on that flight. And she knows exactly…


Book cover of Radical Remission

Lisa Manyon Author Of Spiritual Sugar: The Divine Ingredients to Heal Yourself With Love

From my list on healing and spirituality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a seeker and fascinated by spirituality. Books were among some of my best friends growing up and I’ve been reading and writing for as long as I can remember. I started my business Write On Creative in 2003 and have helped mission-driven business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders craft their messages, create marketing messages with integrity, and develop strategies to get their work out into the world. I firmly believe that business is personal so it makes sense that my first book released via the Write On Creative Publishing imprint is my story of healing with love. I live in magical, Ashland, Oregon and love spending time in nature. 

Lisa's book list on healing and spirituality

Lisa Manyon Why did Lisa love this book?

Radical Remission was my go-to healing guide when faced with cancer.

What impressed me most about Dr. Kelly Turner is her ability to connect the dots and realize that spontaneous remission wasn’t actually spontaneous. She did extensive research to determine the 9 key factors that help people heal from cancer (and they are not what you might think).

This is a must-have for all resource libraries. I’m also deeply honored that my book was included in The Radical Remission Projects newsletter as recommended reading. 

By Kelly A. Turner,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Radical Remission as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In her New York Times bestseller, Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds, Dr. Kelly A. Turner, founder of the Radical Remission Project, uncovers nine factors that can lead to a spontaneous remission from cancer—even after conventional medicine has failed.

While getting her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkley, Dr. Turner, a researcher, lecturer, and counselor in integrative oncology, was shocked to discover that no one was studying episodes of radical (or unexpected) remission—when people recover against all odds without the help of conventional medicine, or after conventional medicine has failed.  She was so fascinated by this kind of…


Book cover of Ancestral Tarot: Uncover Your Past and Chart Your Future

Tania Pryputniewicz Author Of Heart's Compass Tarot

From my list on tarot improvisation for writers and artists.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a poet, tarot muse, and artist whose childhood experiences with vivid night-time dreams and a handful of years on a commune in the cornfields ignited my passion for exploring inner imagery. I read voraciously from science fiction to fairytales to channelings. I discovered tarot in my twenties, using it to read for others, mend my broken heart, and get squared away enough to apply to graduate school for poetry in the heartland at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Ever since, tarot is my favorite mirror for self-reflection. Author of two poetry collections, I wrote a workbook to help others apply the tarot in joyful, healing ways through writing and art.

Tania's book list on tarot improvisation for writers and artists

Tania Pryputniewicz Why did Tania love this book?

Because I love understanding the roots of my present by looking at my past, I loved using Nancy Hendrickson’s Ancestral Tarot exercises to begin a relationship with my own ancestors. Hendrickson defines types of ancestors (blood, place, and time) and suggests practical ways to connect. Journaling prompts encourage you to create a paper trail of your journey. Hendrickson gives us layouts and delves into tools (sigils, moon energy, pendulums runes, oracles). You can dive deep to look at patterns surrounding addiction, generational incarnations, DNA, and more. As soon as I brought this book into my home (while preparing to teach a class with it) I had a powerful and moving dream that connected me to a loving ancestor.

By Nancy Hendrickson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ancestral Tarot as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A practical, hands-on guide for using tarot to connect with your ancestors and gain access to their insights for healing, self-protection, and personal powers.

With a tarot deck in hand, readers will learn how to identify and access ancestral gifts, messages, powers, protectors, and healers.

Tarot expert Nancy Hendrickson guides readers through the basics of finding recent ancestors, and navigating the confusing maze of DNA and ethnic heritage. As a longtime tarot enthusiast, she shows readers how to incorporate a metaphysical tool into a world of tradition.

Ancestral Tarot spreads are included in relevant chapters. Each chapter includes three journal…


Book cover of Different After You: Rediscovering Yourself and Healing After Grief and Trauma

Rachel Blythe Kodanaz Author Of Finding Peace, One Piece at a Time: What to Do with Your and a Loved One's Personal Possessions

From my list on embracing life’s challenges.

Why am I passionate about this?

Rachel is a heart-minded professional specializing in current and relevant approaches in support of individuals and workplaces following a loss or trauma. She is a best-selling author, seasoned keynote speaker, and business consultant. She began her career serving in management of Fortune 500 companies, overcoming her own adversity following the sudden death of her husband while raising a 2-year-old. She was immediately confronted with the see-saw created when personal and professional trajectories collide, giving her the opportunity to provide invaluable insights about loss. Her books include best-selling Living with Loss One Day at a Time, Finding Peace, and Grief in the Workplace: A Comprehensive Guide for Being Prepared.

Rachel's book list on embracing life’s challenges

Rachel Blythe Kodanaz Why did Rachel love this book?

This is an inspiring book of hope after loss. Michele provides readers with current and relevant ideas on how to integrate the love of your past with the pain of the present to find joy in the future.  She shares her personal journey with great vulnerability, emphasizing the self-doubt that occurs while navigating the endless decisions that arise following the loss of a partner. As you read Michele's candid personal stories you will find her words relatable, sharing tears with her as well as great laughter. It is uplifting, practical, and written in a very caring way. 

By Michele Neff Hernandez,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Different After You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Life-Affirming Process That Provides Transformative Support

No one who lives and loves will be immune from grief and trauma. While this suffering is universal, living through a devastating event often leaves people feeling alone and even alienated. Michele Neff Hernandez experienced this when her thirty-nine-year-old husband died after being hit by a car while riding his bicycle. Her most transformative realization was that grief changes us. There is no going back or bucking up. Life is now different.

In Different after You, Michele presents easy-to-digest steps based on her work with thousands of widowed people and her innovative grief…


Book cover of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less

Shannon Hayes Author Of Redefining Rich: Achieving True Wealth with Small Business, Side Hustles, and Smart Living

From my list on minimalism, materialism, and getting by with less.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an entrepreneur, chef, homeschooler, and third-generation farmer living in the northern Catskill mountains. With that many passions, I had to remove all other distractions from my life so that I could put my attention on what mattered most. My writing has been featured in The New York Times, National Public Radio, and national television. During the growing season, I broadcast The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow podcast, chronicles and lessons from a life tied to family, community, and the land. You can also taste my cooking by coming to my restaurant, Sap Bush Cafe, on Saturdays, 9-2 (I’m too busy living the good life to be open the other days).

Shannon's book list on minimalism, materialism, and getting by with less

Shannon Hayes Why did Shannon love this book?

The objective of a minimalist, anti-materialist, simple life is to open ourselves up to whatever “something greater” the universe has in store for us. Drawing on rigorous science and historical evidence, Alex Pang helps us understand how the act of slowing down helps bring us closer to that something greater. As a farm kid, I was raised in a culture that embraced overwork and shunned slowing down. So learning to have a simpler life meant I had to buck that culture and develop an understanding of how rest benefited my brain and well-being. 

This book helped me move my business to a place where all owners and employees enjoyed more freedom and lower stress, and where greater fun and creativity unfolded.

By Alex Soojung-Kim Pang,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Take a break and read Rest: you'll make smarter decisions, have better relationships, and be happier and more creative" James Wallman, author of Stuffocation

Do you regularly find yourself too tired after a long day at your desk to do anything other than binge TV, or scroll mindlessly through social media? Do you go on holiday and still compulsively check your email? Do you work through your lunch-break, often not even leaving your desk to get some fresh air?

For most of us, overwork is the new norm, and we never truly take the time to rest and recharge. But…


Book cover of A to Z Healing Toolbox: A Practical Guide for Navigating Grief and Trauma with Intention

Rachel Blythe Kodanaz Author Of Finding Peace, One Piece at a Time: What to Do with Your and a Loved One's Personal Possessions

From my list on embracing life’s challenges.

Why am I passionate about this?

Rachel is a heart-minded professional specializing in current and relevant approaches in support of individuals and workplaces following a loss or trauma. She is a best-selling author, seasoned keynote speaker, and business consultant. She began her career serving in management of Fortune 500 companies, overcoming her own adversity following the sudden death of her husband while raising a 2-year-old. She was immediately confronted with the see-saw created when personal and professional trajectories collide, giving her the opportunity to provide invaluable insights about loss. Her books include best-selling Living with Loss One Day at a Time, Finding Peace, and Grief in the Workplace: A Comprehensive Guide for Being Prepared.

Rachel's book list on embracing life’s challenges

Rachel Blythe Kodanaz Why did Rachel love this book?

The book is a great collection of healing methods, with practical application ideas. Each of the healing techniques described has been used by the author and others who share how it worked for them. I encourage anyone needing help to find a way through their grief journey to use this book.

By Susan Hannifin-Macnab,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A to Z Healing Toolbox as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When grief and trauma come barreling into life, how does one restore, renew, and rebuild a new sense of self? What does one do after hopes, dreams, assumptions, and core beliefs have been shattered? Social worker and educator Susan Hannifin-MacNab tackled these difficult questions after her husband was killed suddenly, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her young family's life. She eventually realized that grief and trauma healing do not occur by waiting for time to pass. Action and intention are the pillars needed to lay a foundation for rebirth and build a powerful roadmap for healing mind,…


Book cover of Spontaneous Healing: How to Discover and Enhance Your Body's Natural Ability to Maintain and Heal Itself

Brandon LaGreca Author Of Cancer, Stress & Mindset: Focusing the Mind to Empower Healing and Resilience

From my list on to read after a cancer diagnosis.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was 32 when diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. As a clinician, and now cancer survivor, I’ve become increasingly focused on empowering cancer patients through and beyond remission. Nearly two decades of clinical practice have taught me that an informed and committed patient makes better decisions about their care, harmoniously interfaces with their healthcare team, and stays focused on living a healthy lifestyle. I’ve read countless books about cancer, but this list outlines the essentials that I recommend to patients beginning their healing journey.

Brandon's book list on to read after a cancer diagnosis

Brandon LaGreca Why did Brandon love this book?

The perennial classic on a healing mindset, legendary integrative medical doctor Andrew Weil, shares stories of natural healing with case studies covering many disparate health challenges, including a chapter dedicated to cancer. Dr. Weil reviews his eight-week program for optimal healing and how to avoid obstacles to wellness, such as medical pessimism and environmental toxins. Spontaneous Healing leaves little doubt that the body’s natural ability to heal can be enhanced when the power of the mind and spirit are properly leveraged.

By Andrew Weil,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Spontaneous Healing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this work Dr Andrew Weil aims to show how the the concept of spontaneous healing can change all our lives for the better. Examining the mechanisms and processes of the body's own healing system he describes the operation of this system and explains its interactions with the mind, its biological organization and its methods of self-diagnosis, self-repair and regeneration. Numerous case histories provide evidence of the success of spontaneous healing in dealing with serious medical conditions, ranging from arthritis to heart disease to cancer. Calling on his traditional training as a medical doctor, and his knowledge of alternative treatments,…


Book cover of Insights Into the Consciousness of Snake Remedies

Dawn Baumann Brunke Author Of Awakening the Ancient Power of Snake: Transformation, Healing, and Enlightenment

From my list on the history, mystery, and healing power of snakes.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an animal communicator and author of many books about our deeper connections with the animal world. A powerful dream featuring an archetypal Snake ignited my curiosity about snakes and inspired me to learn more. I immersed myself into the history, biology, and incredible diversity of snakes as well as their role in art, myth, medicine, and dreams. I also lived with two rescue snakes: a shy ball python named Carl and lively corn snake named Chloe. What I found was not only fascinating but life-changing. This book celebrates the mystery of Snake and the undeniable wisdom and healing that it offers our world.  

Dawn's book list on the history, mystery, and healing power of snakes

Dawn Baumann Brunke Why did Dawn love this book?

Homeopath Sadhana Thakkar helps to dispel the negative image of snakes by revealing how profoundly snake remedies can help humans heal and awaken.

The author offers an introduction to the physiology, temperament, lifestyle, and survival strategies of many snakes, and reveals how homeopaths match these patterns to effective venom-based remedies.

Homeopathy itself is a fascinating study, and Thakkar does an excellent job of deepening our understanding of how and why it works through her many stories of humans successfully treated with snake remedies. I found this book super informative and fascinating to read!