Repose Library
A Curated Selection of our Therapists’ Recommended Reading to Enrich Your Journey
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Essentialism is more than a time-management strategy or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter.
By forcing us to apply more selective criteria for what is Essential, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices about where to spend our precious time and energy—instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us. Essentialism is not one more thing—it’s a whole new way of doing everything. It’s about doing less, but better, in every area of our lives. Essentialism is a movement whose time has come.
Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith
In Eastern Body, Western Mind, chakra authority Anodea Judith brought a fresh approach to the yoga-based Eastern chakra system, adapting it to the Western framework of Jungian psychology, somatic therapy, childhood developmental theory, and metaphysics and applying the chakra system to important modern social realities and issues such as addiction, codependence, family dynamics, sexuality, and personal empowerment.
Beyond Religion by David N. Elkies Ph.D.
Let David Elkins, psychologist and former minister, show you how to find authentic, soul-nurturing spirituality outside church or temple walls. Discover your personal path to the sacred and explore new ways to bring nonreligious spirituality into your life.
All Joy And No Fun by Jennifer Senior
In All Joy and No Fun, award-winning journalist Jennifer Senior analyzes the many ways children reshape their parents' lives, whether it's their marriages, their jobs, their habits, their hobbies, their friendships, or their internal senses of self. She argues that changes in the last half century have radically altered the roles of today's mothers and fathers, making their mandates at once more complex and far less clear. Recruiting from a wide variety of sources—in history, sociology, economics, psychology, philosophy, and anthropology—she dissects both the timeless strains of parenting and the ones that are brand new, and then brings her research to life in the homes of ordinary parents around the country. The result is an unforgettable series of family portraits, starting with parents of young children and progressing in later chapters to parents of teens. Through lively and accessible storytelling, Senior follows these mothers and fathers as they wrestle with some of parenthood's deepest vexations—and luxuriate in some of its finest rewards.
Wherever You Go There You Are By Jon Kabat-Zinn
When Wherever You Go, There You Are was first published in 1994, no one could have predicted that the book would launch itself onto bestseller lists nationwide and sell over 750,000 copies to date. Ten years later, the book continues to change lives. In honor of the book's 10th anniversary, Hyperion is proud to be releasing the book with a new afterword by the author, and to share this wonderful book with an even larger audience.
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
What you need to know to have the best birth experience for you. Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, the nation’s leading midwife, shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth by showing women how to trust in the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience. Based on the female-centered Midwifery Model of Care, Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on everything from the all-important mind-body connection to how to give birth without technological intervention.
Grace Like Scarlett: Grieving with Hope after Miscarriage and Loss by Adriel Booker
Though one in four pregnancies ends in loss, miscarriage is shrouded in such secrecy and stigma that the woman who experiences it often feels deeply isolated, unsure how to process her grief. Her body seems to have betrayed her. Her confidence in the goodness of God is rattled. Her loved ones don't know what to say. Her heart is broken. She may feel guilty, ashamed, angry, depressed, confused, or alone.
With vulnerability and tenderness, Adriel Booker shares intimate stories about her experiences with early and mid-term miscarriages to help you navigate your own grief and know you aren't alone. She tackles complex questions about faith, suffering, and God's will with sensitivity and clarity, devoid of religious clichés or pat answers. Ultimately, Adriel invites you to a wide-open place of grace, honesty, and genuine hope as you discover a redemption story unfolding in the shadows of your loss. She also includes practical resources for ways to help guide children through grief, advice on pregnancy after loss, and special sections for dads and loved ones.
I had a Miscarriage: A Memoir, a Movement by Jessica Zucker
Sixteen weeks into her second pregnancy, psychologist Jessica Zucker miscarried at home, alone. Suddenly, her career, spent specializing in reproductive and maternal mental health, was rendered corporeal, no longer just theoretical. She now had a changed perspective on her life’s work, her patients’ pain, and the crucial need for a zeitgeist shift. Navigating this nascent transition amid her own grief became a catalyst for Jessica to bring voice to this ubiquitous experience. She embarked on a mission to upend the strident trifecta of silence, shame, and stigma that surrounds reproductive loss—and the result is her striking memoir meets manifesto.
This Isn't What I Expected - Overcoming Postpartum Depression by Karen Kleinman
If you or someone you love is among the one in seven women stricken by PPD, you know how hard it is to get real help. This proven self-help program, which can be used alone or with a support group or therapist, will help you monitor each phase of illness, recognize when you need professional help, cope with daily life, and recover with new strength and confidence. Learn how to:
Identify the symptoms of PPD and distinguish it from "baby blues"
Deal with panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive urges, and stress overload
Break the cycle of shame and negative thoughts
Mobilize support from your husband or partner, family, and friends
Seek and evaluate treatment options
Cope with the disappointment and loss of self-esteem
Conceivability: What I Learned Exploring the Frontiers of Fertility by Elizabeth Katkin
In Conceivability, Elizabeth Katkin, now a mother of two, exposes eye-opening information about the medical, financial, legal, scientific, emotional, and ethical issues at stake. “A well-researched, informative, and positive account of a very long journey to motherhood” (Kirkus Reviews), Conceivability sheds light on the often murky and baffling world of conception science. Her book is an invaluable and inspiring text that will be a boon to others navigating the deep and “choppy waters” of fertility treatment (Publishers Weekly), and her chronicle of one of the most difficult, painful, rewarding, and loving journeys a woman can take is as informative as it is poignant.
The Miscarriage Map: What to Expect When you are No Longer Expecting by Dr. Sunita Osborn
Informed by her clinical expertise and her own personal experience with miscarriage, the Miscarriage Map offers women, their partners, and loved ones with the nitty gritty realities of a miscarriage, the accompanying emotional roller coaster, and specific steps to take to help them get through this loss.
Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts by Karen Kleinman and Amy Wenzel
What if I drop my baby when I go down the steps? What if I burn the baby in the bathtub?
Thoughts like these can be frightening to new mothers, but are a common symptom pregnant and postpartum women can experience. Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts addresses the nature of these intrusive, negative and unwanted thoughts. Kleiman and Wenzel offer answers to the women who seek information, clarification, and validation in this useful resource for healthcare professionals working with these mothers. Written by two clinicians who have established themselves as leading experts and authors in this specialized field, this book maintains a compassionate tone that will be a voice familiar to many women in the postpartum community. Whether you must confront these negative notions personally or in your practice, this book will explain what these thoughts are, why they are there, and what can be done about them.
A Mother's Loss Workbook by Diane Hambrook
To tell you how to use this workbook would be like giving you instructions on how to grieve. Impossible. The only thing we know for sure is that no two people will approach this work in the same way. If there is one thing you should remember as you begin this process, it is this: You are not alone. With that knowledge, you have already begun to heal.
Motherless Mothers by Hope Edelman
In Motherless Mothers, Edelman uses her own story as a prism to reveal the unique anxieties and desires that these women experience as they raise their children without the help of a living maternal guide. In an impeccably researched, luminously written book enriched by the voices of the mothers themselves—and filled with practical insight and advice from experienced professionals—she examines their parenting choices, their triumphs, and their fears, and offers motherless mothers the guidance and support they want and need.
Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts by Karen Kleinman, MSW
This uber-digestible illustrated book is a lighthearted yet serious window into the postpartum period serving compassion, validation, hope, and expertise.
The Heroine's Journey by Maureen Murdock
This book describes contemporary woman's search for wholeness in a society in which she has been defined according to masculine values. Drawing upon cultural myths and fairy tales, ancient symbols and goddesses, and the dreams of contemporary women, Murdock illustrates the need for—and the reality of—feminine values in Western culture today.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.