Curated Collection
Books that have shaped my practice and supported countless clients in their journey home to themselves.
These aren't just books I've read. They're companions I return to, resources I've witnessed transform lives, and wisdom I trust enough to share with the people who sit across from me. Each recommendation comes with my personal perspective on why it matters and who might find it most helpful.
Resources to deepen intimacy, navigate conflict, and understand the attachment bonds that shape us.
John Gottman, PhD
Leanne's Take
This is the book I recommend to nearly every couple who walks through my door. Gottman's research is the gold standard in couples therapy, and the exercises in Chapter 7 have helped my clients move from resentment to repair faster than almost anything else I've seen. If you only read one relationship book, make it this one.
Dr. Gary Chapman
Leanne's Take
I've watched so many couples have breakthrough moments when they finally understand they've been speaking different love languages. This book gives you a shared vocabulary that makes it easier to ask for what you need without feeling selfish or misunderstood.
Dr. Harville Hendrix & Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt
Leanne's Take
When clients tell me they keep choosing the same type of partner, this is the book I reach for. Hendrix and Hunt explain why we're drawn to certain people and how to break unconscious patterns. The Imago dialogue exercises have transformed communication for so many of my couples.
Esther Perel
Leanne's Take
Esther Perel asks the questions most couples are afraid to voice. If you've ever wondered why passion fades in long-term relationships or felt guilty for wanting both security and excitement, this book will feel like permission to be honest about desire.
Terrence Real
Leanne's Take
Terry Real has a way of cutting through the noise and getting to the heart of what makes relationships work. This book is direct, compassionate, and full of practical wisdom. I find myself quoting it in sessions regularly. If you want to move from 'you vs. me' to 'us,' this is your guide.
Tools to reclaim your nervous system, complete the stress cycle, and find peace in a frantic world.
Catherine Pittman, PhD & Elizabeth Karle
Leanne's Take
What I love about this book is how it demystifies anxiety. Once my clients understand that their amygdala and cortex create different kinds of anxiety requiring different solutions, they stop feeling broken and start feeling empowered. The neuroscience is accessible and the techniques actually work.
Dr. Claire Weekes
Leanne's Take
Written decades ago, yet nothing has surpassed Dr. Weekes' gentle, reassuring wisdom. When anxiety feels overwhelming, her four-step approach (face, accept, float, let time pass) is something my clients return to again and again. This book feels like a calm, wise friend sitting beside you.
Judson Brewer, MD, PhD
Leanne's Take
Dr. Brewer reveals something crucial: anxiety often drives our habits without us realizing it. His approach of using curiosity to interrupt anxiety loops has been transformative for clients who've felt stuck in overthinking. The app that accompanies the book makes the practices even more accessible.
Barry McDonagh
Leanne's Take
The DARE technique is one of the most practical, immediately usable approaches I've found for panic attacks. Barry's method of running toward anxiety rather than away from it goes against every instinct, but it works. I recommend this to anyone who's been avoiding situations because of fear.
Russell Kennedy, MD
Leanne's Take
Dr. Kennedy brings something different to the conversation: anxiety isn't just in your head, it's in your body. His personal story of healing from decades of anxiety combined with his medical background makes this book both relatable and credible. His techniques for calming the 'alarm' in the body have helped many of my clients find relief.
Foundational texts and practical guides for understanding how trauma impacts the body and how to heal.
Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Leanne's Take
This is the book that changed how I practice therapy. Van der Kolk explains why talking about trauma isn't always enough and why the body must be part of healing. If you've ever felt like your body remembers things your mind has forgotten, this book will help you understand why.
Peter A. Levine, PhD
Leanne's Take
Peter Levine's work on somatic experiencing has deeply influenced my approach. This book is gentler and less clinical than some trauma texts, making it a safer starting point. His insight that trauma lives in the nervous system, not just memories, opens new pathways for healing.
Pete Walker
Leanne's Take
Pete Walker writes as both a therapist and survivor, and that dual perspective makes this book extraordinarily compassionate. His work on the four F responses (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) helps my clients finally understand patterns they've carried for years. This is essential reading for childhood trauma survivors.
Gabor Maté, MD
Leanne's Take
Dr. Maté challenges everything we think we know about health and normalcy. This book helped me understand how our culture itself can be traumatizing and why so many people feel broken when they're actually having a normal response to an abnormal world. Validating and perspective-shifting.
Stephanie Foo
Leanne's Take
Stephanie Foo's memoir does something remarkable: it shows what the healing journey actually looks like, with all its messiness and setbacks. Her honesty about trying different therapies, firing therapists, and slowly finding her way has helped my clients feel less alone. This book is both deeply personal and thoroughly researched.
Compassionate companions for the heaviest parts of the human experience.
John W. James & Russell Friedman
Leanne's Take
This book offers something rare: concrete action steps for grief. While grief can't be rushed, it also doesn't have to be passive. I recommend this to clients who feel stuck or who want to actively participate in their healing rather than just waiting for time to pass.
Francis Weller
Leanne's Take
This is the most beautiful book on grief I've ever read. Francis Weller approaches sorrow as sacred, not as something to fix or overcome. His concept of the five gates of grief has helped my clients honor losses they didn't even know they were carrying. Poetry for the grieving soul.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross & David Kessler
Leanne's Take
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross gave us the language of the five stages, but this book goes deeper. What I appreciate most is how it validates that grief isn't linear. My clients find comfort knowing their experience, however messy, is normal and shared by countless others.
Megan Devine
Leanne's Take
Megan Devine wrote this after losing her partner suddenly, and her honesty is breathtaking. She gives voice to the rage and isolation that often accompany grief. I recommend this to clients who are tired of being told they should be 'over it' or that everything happens for a reason.
David Kessler
Leanne's Take
David Kessler co-wrote the classic grief book with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and here he adds something essential: meaning as the sixth stage. After losing his own son, he discovered that meaning doesn't make the loss okay, but it can make it bearable. This book has given hope to clients who wondered if they'd ever feel anything but pain.
These books have been companions to me and countless clients. I hope they offer you the same comfort and insight they've given us.