The best books about grief and family written by women

Book cover of Notes on Grief Book cover of Men We Reaped: A Memoir Book cover of Lost & Found: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness Book cover of Mosaic Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking

The best books to remind you that you’re a baddie by yourself

Book cover of Eat Pray Love Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of The Wild Truth Book cover of A Room Of One's Own Book cover of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

The best books to read when you need inspiration to deal with life’s challenges

Book cover of Comfort Book cover of The Kissing Bug Book cover of The Two Kinds of Decay Book cover of Heavy: An American Memoir Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking

The best books to transform your mental and spiritual health

Book cover of The Book Thief Book cover of To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings Book cover of The Power of Myth Book cover of The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking

The best creative nonfiction books to gift your grieving friend

Book cover of Inciting Joy: Essays Book cover of Litany for the Long Moment Book cover of Stay True: A Memoir Book cover of When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking

The best books on grief to normalize mourning and confirm you are not going crazy

Book cover of A Grief Observed Book cover of Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of Obit Book cover of The Tenth Good Thing about Barney

The best books for feeling validated in your grief

Book cover of Competitive Grieving Book cover of Notes on Grief Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of Crying in H Mart Book cover of I'm Glad My Mom Died

The best books that give an insider’s view of the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly in medicine

Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer Book cover of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America Book cover of When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error Book cover of Tornado of Life: A Doctor's Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the ER

The best memoirs by badass women with grit

Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Book cover of A Three Dog Life Book cover of The Glass Castle Book cover of The Liars' Club

The best books to get to grips with grief

Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death, and Surviving Book cover of The Madness of Grief: A Memoir of Love and Loss Book cover of You Will Be Okay: Find Strength, Stay Hopeful and Get to Grips with Grief Book cover of A Grief Observed

The best books by and about kick-ass, strong-willed, independent women

Book cover of Writers & Lovers Book cover of Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of Olive Kitteridge Book cover of The Loft Generation: From the de Koonings to Twombly: Portraits and Sketches, 1942-2011

The best memoirs and books on the politics of memory

Book cover of The Stages of Memory: Reflections on Memorial Art, Loss, and the Spaces Between Book cover of Prosthetic Memory: The Transformation of American Remembrance in the Age of Mass Culture Book cover of The Argonauts Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

The best books about trying to live life after the sudden death of a loved one

Book cover of A Man Called Ove Book cover of The Odd Sea Book cover of Grief Book cover of A Grief Observed Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking

The best books for when you’re grieving and need more than platitudes

Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of Orbiting Jupiter Book cover of Song for Sarah: A Mother's Journey Through Grief and Beyond Book cover of Getting Near to Baby Book cover of The Carry Home: Lessons from the American Wilderness

The best novels that reveal the interior thoughts of its characters as they navigate the fragility of life and relationships

Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of Trompe L’oeil Book cover of Light Years Book cover of Ladder of Years Book cover of Nora Webster

The best books for a cleansing sob fest

Book cover of Wuthering Heights Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of The Velveteen Rabbit Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Where the Crawdads Sing

The best books on horrible years

Book cover of One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway — And Its Aftermath Book cover of Darkness at Noon Book cover of My Year of Rest and Relaxation Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of A Journal of the Plague Year

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Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Year of Magical Thinking.

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in grief, Turkey, and presidential biography?

Grief 100 books
Turkey 103 books
Presidential Biography 20 books