Books Your Therapist Wants You to Read in 2021
The most common question we receive at Woven Together Trauma Therapy is: what books do you recommend that I read? We are avid readers here at Woven, so an exhaustive list would be impossibly long. But every year, we put together our best list of books that are a good mix of psychological theory, memoir, and fiction. Each of the books that made the Books Your Therapist Wants You to Read in 2021 list are moving autobiographical or fictional accounts of the human experience. Humans are complex, varied, flawed, and incredibly resilient. Here are a few books your therapist definitely wants you to read in 2021:
Non-Fiction and Memoirs
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Doyle has written other autobiographies but this one captures her sexuality, her new marriage and the continual moves she makes to better understand herself within the complex and difficult uncertainties of being human. She writes plainly about the things she struggles with and helps us all feel a little less alone in our journeys.
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker
Walker is a clinician who specializes in the treatment of complex PTSD, or childhood neglect and trauma. He is also a trauma survivor and uses his personal experiences to weave in his own discoveries, suggestions, and perspectives into the book. This is an excellent resource for anyone struggling to understand the impact of a painful childhood, and who is currently trying to understand the difficult and complex relationships they continue to have with their parents. Walker is specific in his suggestions, which makes this book one of the first resources I offer to my clients in treatment.
The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment by Babette Rothschild
You know we are trauma therapists, right? So most of our extra reading is centered around the theme of trauma, its impact and how we can help our people move forward in their lives with a more integrated understanding of their bodies and experiences. This book is helpful in understanding the signals your body is sending after trauma and how you can better navigate your healing by listening to your body.
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson
This book is an incredibly helpful resource that outlines how our early relationships impact our self-esteem, codependency patterns, and boundaries in adulthood. Graham identifies four different types of emotionally immature parents and weaves them into an understanding of our own emotional styles. She gives a succinct and helpful guideline to managing the frustrating and confusing interactions with our emotionally immature parents. If you are searching for different ways of relating to your family of origin, this will be a great read for you.
So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
This is a helpful primer on race in America. If you find yourself stuck when trying to engage conversations about race recently, Oluo walks you through the facets that might be contributing to your feeling stuck, confused, or frustrated. 2020 has taught us a lot about racial injustice in America (some of us already knew and some of us are learning), we can all do our part to continue learning and advocating. One great way to contribute your energy is by reading as much as possible about the subjects that can be overwhelming or confusing.
Trump in a Post-Truth World by Ken Wilber
I’m ending the non-fiction section with a small book that has a big impact. This is a philosophical outline of a well-researched and documented theory of human development: spiral dynamics. In this book, professor, Ken Wilber, walks you through some significant cognitive and emotional development moments in our history that led to the Trump presidency and the expanding political divide in America. This is a fantastic place to start if you want to understand a bit of history around human development and the current stage of development we are currently occupying.
Fiction
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
We read this book for our staff book club and were all incredibly moved by the complex trauma history that unfolded in its pages. This is the harrowing story of trauma, immigration, cultural practices, and the mental health issues that can emerge suddenly or slowly over time. This is a real life depiction of how trauma plays out in an intergenerational way with a behind-the-curtain peak at someone’s emotional experience.
Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet
I read this book this year in my social book club and we all had such different and profound experiences with the story. This is a novel that captures a particular experience of race, poverty, abuse, transsexuality, and resilience. It is an intricate story of survival and one of my favorite books of the year; so it is a definite read in 2021.
The Seas by Samantha Hunt
My experience with this novel can be summed up in one word: haunting. The Seas is a haunting portrayal of mental illness and follows the egocentric perspective that a young woman has on her own experience. Hunt jolts you into different parts of the main character’s narrative and gives you a sobering understanding of how she struggles to make sense of her world. This novel will take you as close as you can get to a first-hand experience of what it’s like to be in the mind of someone struggling to make sense of their reality and their relationships.
There There by Tommy Orange
It was my goal in 2020 to familiarize myself with cultures that were different from my own. I found There There - a powerful portrayal of Native Americans and their generational suffering. This is a novel that captures the differing stories of five characters who each offer us a unique perspective of the struggle to keep their culture alive while also actively experiencing the assault of colonization even in the current century.
Luster by Raven Leilani
I finished this novel just as 2020 came to an end. The book portrays a Black woman navigating her professional and romantic life in New York City. She finds herself interested in a much older man who is in an open marriage. Her story unravels and the reader follows her attempt to put together the pieces again. This, all while managing the intersectionality of her sexuality, race, and gender. This book is a powerful picture of the messiness of human experience.
** Affiliate links included in this post.
Tell us what books you read this year, and what is on your list for 2021!
If you need a mental health professional to help you better understand your relationships, sign up for a free 15-minute consultation with one of our trauma therapists (California residents only). We provide online therapy and have therapists who are trained in emdr therapy. We also offer many different types of trauma therapy groups. All of our therapists specialize in trauma informed care, and informed trauma therapy.
All therapists at Woven Together Trauma Therapy are trauma-informed and specialize in treating all forms of trauma. We also offer EMDR, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, and Brainspotting which has shown to be extremely effective in treating and healing trauma. Want to read more about our unique therapy options?
These blogs talk more about the basics of EMDR:
You can read more about Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy here:
If you would like to learn more about Brainspotting, check out our blog: What is Brainspotting?
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