Here are 100 books that Breakwater fans have personally recommended if you like
Breakwater.
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I grew up in a talkative family in an extroverted culture near NYC. I discovered I also liked the quiet and found a man to marry who was very introverted. After the “opposites attract” phase we needed to learn ways to make our differences work and we've been doing that for almost 50 years. I took this knowledge to the workplace where, as a career coach and learning and development professional, I became a champion for introverts. I've written 4 books on harnessing the talents of both introverts and extroverts at work and speak about this topic around the world. I believe we are all better off when we work through our differences to achieve magic.
The author is well versed in the Myers-Briggs and uses her knowledge of that instrument and years of consulting in this practical and funny book.
The author focuses on thinking types and feeling types and describes how they can clash and achieve sweet harmony. Thinkers lead with their heads and Feelers lead with their hearts.
This is helpful for me as a “feeler.” I have a roadmap to guide me in the land of thinkers. The “CakFlake” instrument (this gives you a sense of the author’s sense of humor) is a great way to determine when I might fall into a trap like expecting everyone to process information like I do. It is a quick and fun read and you will leave with some actions to take right away.
This hilarious and profound workplace guide proves the rigorously rational and the supremely sympathetic can meet in the middle and merge their strengths. Readers will discover how blending with their opposite opens the pathway to being their truest selves.
Carl Jung's personality typology introduced the distinction that Feelers (who lead with their hearts) put more weight on personal concerns and the people involved, and Thinkers (who lead with their heads) are guided by objective principles and impartial facts. This book calls them Cacti and Snowflakes—each singularly transcendent. But can people with such fundamentally different ways of making sense of and…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I’m a teacher with passion for history and writing realistic fiction. I published my two books when I was a teenager, and I currently work as a 6th-grade educator teaching writing. I love teaching and working with kids; it keeps me young. When I’m not teaching writing, I love to read realistic fiction, listen to or watch documentaries or horror podcasts, and write short stories.
I absolutely love this book. The main characters, two teenage girls, who are total opposites, develop a friendship based on peer counseling together. They learn from each other and give each other comfort, advice, and more help on how to resolve their problems. It’s a great insight into what goes on in young adults’ lives.
Overachiever Antonia is eager to participate in the new peer counselling programme at school - until she learns the person she's supposed to counsel is Jasmine Luther. Jazz is anything but Antonia's peer. She's a punk, a druggie, a gang hanger. But as their peer counselling sessions progress, Antonia and Jazz discover that they have more in common than they could ever have imagined. When Antonia's life begins to unravel, she finds Jazz may be her only aid. A poignant, darkly comic novel that challenges readers' definitions of what is 'normal'.
My super-power is making brain science accessible and entertaining for children and adults alike. I am living this out as an author, mental health counselor, and the founder of BraveBrains. In addition to training parents and professionals, I have the joy of sharing my passion and expertise through podcast appearances, blogs, and articles. The lightbulb moments are my favorite, and I'm committed to helping people bring what they learn home in practical ways. I write picture books because the magic of reading and re-reading stories light up the brain in a powerful way. But don’t worry…I always include some goodies for the adults in the back of the book.
Grief, unfortunately, is a part of life. Western culture has a habit of ignoring and minimizing grief in detrimental ways. When we gently turn toward the difficult stuff in life, we can “feel and deal” in ways that benefit mental health. There are many books about grieving the death of a loved one (a list for another day, perhaps), but few acknowledge the other intense and life-altering kinds of loss and change that children are grieving. Dr. Coombes’ book is much more inclusive–plus, it delivers a treasure trove of activities to help children (and adults) navigate this challenging part of being human. The delightful doodles will appeal to upper elementary and quite a few tweens and teens.
These writing, craft, and doodling activities are designed to offer children support through experiences of loss, change, disappointment, and grief by using creativity to combat negative feelings and help them work through difficult times.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
Back in 1977 the experiences and concerns of police families were invisible. Police officers were regarded as super-humans, unaffected by their day-to-day exposure to tragedy, cruelty, and stress. In my counseling job, I heard very different stories from their spouses. Ever since, it has been my mission to support police families and find ways to keep the job from damaging family life. It has taken more than two decades, but I am pleased and proud to say police families are no longer invisible. The books I picked are proof that the family behind the badge matters as much as the person wearing it.
I’m married to a remodeling contractor, not a cop. I often need to explain this to people. If you’re looking for a tell-all memoir written by a police spouse, you have several to choose from.
Cyndi Doyle’s book is unique. She is both a counselor and a police spouse. Her book and her podcasts, Code 4 Couples, meld her personal and clinical experiences with up-to-date studies on behavior. She covers the field from sleep to sex using humor and candid examples from her own decade plus law enforcement marriage. I like her honesty and appreciate her telling it-like-it-is.
She was frustrated! Feeling second to the department again had begun to breed indifference and contempt in her relationship. As a mental health and couple's counselor, she knew those were bad omens. Despite her training, she could not figure out what was happening with them. Then, a speaker at a professional conference, gave insight that ignited a passion to understand her law enforcement husband and empower them as a couple to protect their relationship. Learn the research, psychology, and personal experiences when combined created an "ah-ha" moment that led to improved communication, connection, and ultimately resilience as individuals and together.…
I write romance novels that are as much about the characters learning to love themselves as they are about people falling in love with each other. While most of my books are romantic comedies, that doesn’t stop my characters from facing some of the darkest parts of themselves and coming out on the other side feeling sure of their own worth. I often explore mental health topics, and I love to see other romance authors de-stigmatizing things like therapy, medication, and reaching out for support. The romance novels I’ve included below cover a wide range of subjects, but they all handle mental health with care, respect, and hope.
No other author captures the joy, longing, confusion, love, and heartbreak of the first few years of adulthood the way Kandi Steiner does. They don’t call her the Queen of Angst for nothing, and in Weightless, she showcases some of her best new adult romance skills to craft a story about stumbling your way into being a grown-up while learning to love yourself as you fall in love with someone else. The heroine of Weightless also struggles with body image issues, and Kandi Steiner doesn’t shy away from exploring the harsh realities of the way society and even the people we trust can reinforce our deepest insecurities. This was one of the first romance novels I read, and it led me to an enduring love for and appreciation of Kandi Steiner’s work.
I remember I wanted to photograph them, the way the red and blue splashed across his cold, emotionless face. But I knew even if my feet could move from the place where they had cemented themselves to the ground and I could run for my camera, I wouldn’t be able to capture that moment.
I had trusted him, I had loved him, and even though my body had changed that summer, he’d made sure to help me hold on to who I was inside, regardless of how the exterior altered.
I grew up undiagnosed autistic. I got excellent grades and never caused much trouble, so no one could tell what was going on inside. But sensory overload and confusion over social dynamics kept me in a bewildering muddle. Books and stories are what helped me through! But there were no stories featuring neurodivergent kids like me, so, as an adult, I resolved to write some. I want to bust stigmas and write honest, fun, heartfelt stories for kids who might be going through their own ‘bewildering muddles.’ Now, I'm an award-winning author of several children's novels and a picture book. I'm also co-founder/editor of A Novel Mind, a web resource on mental health and neurodiversity in children's literature.
M. is an autistic teen girl who desperately wants to be just like everyone else. Who longs to know the proper things to say and do.
And this was me. I was an undiagnosed autistic girl who longed to know the “right” ways to be/talk/act/feel, who never could quite de-code social situations or feel like I fit in.
Written collaboratively with the autistic girls who attend the Limpsfield-Grange School and their teacher, Vicky Martin, this book captured something special about the tricky social dilemmas of young teendom, something that resonated so deeply in me – I loved its truth-telling, and how funny and sad it was in turns – that’s how I write, too.
M. That's what I'd like you to call me please. I'll tell you why later.
Welcome to M's world. It's tipsy-turvy, sweet and sour, and the beast of anxiety lurks outside classrooms ready to pounce. M just wants to be like other teenagers her age who always know what to say and what to do. So why does it feel like she lives on a different plane of existence to everyone else?
Written by the students of Limpsfield Grange, a school for girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder with communication and interaction difficulties, M is for Autism draws on real life…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
This is a topic that is very passionate for me since growing up in Toronto, and I never had any role models that look like me to look up to. I wanted to showcase powerful Asian women authors to show others what is possible and that we can also dismantle the negative stereotypes we still face. I want to be able to create better representation for Asian women in the media, and highlighting these amazing authors is a great way to showcase that.
This book has helped me learn to say that it's okay not to be okay and also be okay to ask for help when needed.
In Asian culture, when a problem arises we are told to never share our troubles and because of that we suffer in silence. There is no shame in seeking help or talking to a licensed mental health therapist. Help comes in many different forms and this book has helped me learn to be okay with talking about mental health.
A is for Authentic shines a spotlight on the mental health stigma in the Asian community. This book outlines the identity journey of a second-generation Korean American who is emboldened to share her perspective through a mental health lens as a practicing clinician. Her memoir is about bringing healing and instilling hope as a catalyst for impactful change in normalizing mental health and mental illness in the Asian community. The author embraces cultural confidence™ to bravely express the thoughts and emotions she uncovered over the years.
I write romance novels that are as much about the characters learning to love themselves as they are about people falling in love with each other. While most of my books are romantic comedies, that doesn’t stop my characters from facing some of the darkest parts of themselves and coming out on the other side feeling sure of their own worth. I often explore mental health topics, and I love to see other romance authors de-stigmatizing things like therapy, medication, and reaching out for support. The romance novels I’ve included below cover a wide range of subjects, but they all handle mental health with care, respect, and hope.
While the conversation around mental health still has a long way to go to be totally free of stigma, men’s mental health is especially in need of being more openly discussed without shame. When I read Some Sort of Happy, I was thrilled and grateful to find it features a hero struggling with anxiety and an OCD diagnosis. There is a lot of room for the romance genre to step up and show that the stereotypical view of what a ‘strong’ man looks like doesn’t line up with reality and that there are so many ways to be valid and worthy of love. Melanie Harlow does an amazing job at that in Some Sort of Happy, and she instantly became one of my favourite authors after I read this book.
I almost didn’t believe it was him. In high school, Sebastian Pryce had been an aloof outsider who kept to himself. But now, ten years, later he’s back and unusually attractive. With muscle in all the right places and hands that know exactly what they’re doing, Sebastian is everything I didn’t know I needed. And while he isn’t exactly friendly, he has a magnetism that draws me in. He pulls away, afraid he’ll break me. Until the night I demanded more—and he gave it. (Hard and deep. Twice.) Were we just two lost, lonely people seeking solace? Or could a…
Mothering a child with special needs was a journey I didn’t expect to be taking and one that has been immensely challenging. I am always seeking ways to become my best self and the best mother I can be, helping my children be their best selves. I want my children to feel supported, loved, and like they can be their truest, fullest selves. These books helped me connect with my children in the ways that were the most helpful, impactful, and loving. They guided me in running a Son-Rise Program, which was by far the most influential thing I ever did to help my daughter with autism and developmental delays.
I don’t know what could be more inspiring than hearing from someone who experienced the Son-Rise Program as the recipient of the program. I knew that Raun had changed immensely thanks to the program his parents ran for him, but I loved reading Raun’s perspective on his own journey as the original Son-Rise son.
I loved the straightforward way he explains the Son-Rise Program because I can always use reminders for how to best meet my daughter where she is. Reading this book felt like a refresher course from my training at the Autism Treatment Center of America and helped me be more of the mom I want to be.
As a boy, Raun Kaufman was diagnosed by multiple experts as severely autistic, with an IQ below 30, and destined to spend his life in an institution. Years later, Raun graduated with a degree in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University and has become a passionate and articulate spokesperson for the autism community. So what happened? Thanks to Son-Rise, an incredible program his parents created, Raun experienced a full recovery from autism. In Autism Breakthrough, Kaufman presents the ground-breaking principles behind the program that helped him, and so many other families with special children. Kaufman explains that autism is frequently misunderstood…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
According to my mother, my first words were, “what’s that?” and I believe that’s indicative of the level of curiosity with which I try to approach life. That curiosity led me to write books about how we can better love ourselves and each other when depression is gumming up the works. Talking about mental illness is hard, and I aim to make it easier. I’m not a doctor or therapist. I am best described as a “sex writer with a theatre degree” and I like to say my work focuses on sex, mental health, and how none of us are broken.
We've reached the only actual “how to do mental illness” book on this list and it’s an all time favorite of mine.
Skoczen is not a doctor or a therapist and isn’t afraid to drop a couple of f-bombs when talking about mental health… so, yeah, he’s a lot like me, which may be part of why I love this book so much.
Engaging, reassuring, and full of concrete strategies for navigating depression both as someone with it and as someone who loves someone with it, I have recommended this book for years.
"Probably the best self-help book on depression I’ve ever read." — Joe Rhinewine, Director and Psychologist, Portland Mindfulness Therapy
Funny, insightful, and relentlessly honest, The No-Bullshit Guide to Depression is the manual for life with depression that everyone should have been given. It's the toolbox you need to build a life you love.
The No-Bullshit Guide to Depression covers day-to-day truths like how food, sleep, and sex get weird and practical insights like how to handle social relationships. It delves into the deep dark places and talks about how to survive the suicidal thoughts that can come with the worst…
