Whether you are looking for some inspiration or just need to be reminded of what you already know, these books on self acceptance are my favorites. They all bring something unique to the table and are sure to help you as you move along your path of self-acceptance.
The Absolute Best Books on Self Acceptance
1. The Dark Side of the Light Chasers – Reclaiming your power, creativity, brilliance and dreams by Debbie Ford – Debbie Ford is the creator of The Shadow Process and talks about the stuff people don’t want to talk about like jealousy, judgment, hatred, mistakes and how integrating those parts of yourself is a crucial part of true freedom. This is the true work of self-acceptance and it will open your mind to seeing yourself, and the world at large, in a whole new way. I also recommend her movie – The Shadow Effect and her book The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse.
2. Beautiful You – A Daily Guide to Radical Self Acceptance by Rosie Molinary – The name says it all, really. This is one of those books that I bought on kindle first and then really wanted to dig in so I bought the hard copy, too. It has lovely daily exercises to help you, not just understand but, practice self acceptance in a tangible way (so important!!).
3. The Gifts of Imperfection – Let go of who you think you are supposed to be and be who you are by Brene Brown – Brene Brown is one of the leading experts on shame and this book nails it. If you like this book, you will also love her more recent books Daring Greatly and Rising Strong.
4. Health at Every Size – The Surprising truth about your weight by Linda Bacon, PhD – There are a lot of preconceived notions about the HAES movement but if you read the actual book, you will understand that true health and peace with food and your body includes taking care of it – not complacency and giving up on yourself. If you are drawn to this book, as an intuitive eating counselor myself, I can also highly recommend the book Intuitive Eating.
5. Finding you own North Star – Claiming the life you were meant to live by Martha Beck – Another common problem that arises in self-acceptance is not really know who we are and what we want from life. We’ve used dieting, self-hatred and people pleasing as coping skills and this book will give you the tools to reclaim who you truly are. Her other books, Steering By Starlight and Finding Your Way In A Wild New World continue the conversation. And, if you want to explore this through a fictional lens, her book Diana Herself does just that.
6. The Language of Emotions – This book by Karla McLaren is really about understanding the root cause of your emotions, however, since so many of the women I work with struggle with allowing their emotions, this book is perfect. It teaches you why you feel the way you do and the wisdom of each emotion and that kind of understanding is an essential step in self acceptance. If you are an empath, you will probably also enjoy her book The Art of Empathy.
I encourage you to check out all of these books on self acceptance and put what you learn into practice in your life. It’s worth it.