Here are 100 books that The 10-Minute Refresh for Moms fans have personally recommended if you like The 10-Minute Refresh for Moms. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Life as a mother: From the Diamonds to the Dirt of Motherhood

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Author Of The Path to Perfection: Parenting without a roadmap: tales from a (non) perfect parent

From my list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started this book in 2007. It was a compilation of stories from my experience as a parent; there was no structure to it at all. When my second husband passed in 2017, an ad appeared in Facebook for Author Academy Elite (AAE). I knew it was my late husband giving me that one final push to get the book done. As a (non) perfect parent of three children, I felt my experience could benefit others as I am continuing my journey along my Path to Perfection. As a person who has struggled with depression for her entire life, I can honestly say that parenting is hard. We are all doing the best we can with what we have. And that’s why I think you’ll enjoy these books!

Dawn's book list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Why Dawn loves this book

Motherhood is a gift. But sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. Chantelle, the author, touches on the less pleasant parts of motherhood. I cried 11 pages in because I empathized with a lot of what Chantelle was saying. I think I related to the author’s story so much because she struggled with her own mental health issues throughout her time as a mother. The book touches on postpartum depression (for moms and dads). Yes, dads can have postpartum too!

The book is raw, emotional, and the absolute truth.

By Chantelle Lambert ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Life as a mother as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Life as a Mother is not your ordinary How to Guide.

Do you want to read real experiences from a real mother’s perspective that you can actually relate to? Or are you a mother-to-be and you want to know what it’s really like? We get the unrealistic perspective of motherhood everywhere, and we find ourselves going in blind. We see motherhood as being full of smiles and happiness, but it is so much more than that. It’s also full of tears, fears, anger, boredom, and loneliness—not to mention depression and anxiety on top of everything else.

Being a mother is…


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Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of Parenting With Depression Made Easier: how to defeat depression and mental illness with power, love and family.

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Author Of The Path to Perfection: Parenting without a roadmap: tales from a (non) perfect parent

From my list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started this book in 2007. It was a compilation of stories from my experience as a parent; there was no structure to it at all. When my second husband passed in 2017, an ad appeared in Facebook for Author Academy Elite (AAE). I knew it was my late husband giving me that one final push to get the book done. As a (non) perfect parent of three children, I felt my experience could benefit others as I am continuing my journey along my Path to Perfection. As a person who has struggled with depression for her entire life, I can honestly say that parenting is hard. We are all doing the best we can with what we have. And that’s why I think you’ll enjoy these books!

Dawn's book list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Why Dawn loves this book

This book, again, tackles mental health issues. And yes, I cried reading it. It defines depression and explains the different types of mental illness. In the second chapter, it debunks 10 myths around depression. The author encourages you to address your mental illness and gives you various methods to do so.


By Evan Richards ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Parenting With Depression Made Easier as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If you are a parent with depression, anxiety or mental illness please seek out help before it’s too late.

Parenting With Depression: Made Easier is for parents with depression or mental illness, written and advised by parents with depression and mental illness. In this book I give you vital information, tips and skills gained from my experiences as a dad as well as other mothers and fathers and licensed therapists. I take a loving warm approach, like you are my own family, and translate this information into a language that is easier for you to understand. This is the self-help…


Book cover of The Smiling Mask: Truths about Postpartum Depression and Parenthood

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Author Of The Path to Perfection: Parenting without a roadmap: tales from a (non) perfect parent

From my list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started this book in 2007. It was a compilation of stories from my experience as a parent; there was no structure to it at all. When my second husband passed in 2017, an ad appeared in Facebook for Author Academy Elite (AAE). I knew it was my late husband giving me that one final push to get the book done. As a (non) perfect parent of three children, I felt my experience could benefit others as I am continuing my journey along my Path to Perfection. As a person who has struggled with depression for her entire life, I can honestly say that parenting is hard. We are all doing the best we can with what we have. And that’s why I think you’ll enjoy these books!

Dawn's book list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Why Dawn loves this book

This book focused on three stories from women who experienced postpartum depression in varying degrees. Through the stories, it raises awareness about various degrees of postpartum depression and the spectrum of symptoms. The stories are raw and emotional. And yes, I cried through many parts of the story.

The title refers to how we try to hide from the realities of parenting by wearing smiling masks even when we are depressed. A must-read for ANY parent – any gender, any experience level.

By Carla Joan O'Reilly , Peggy Collins , Tania Bird , Elita Paterson

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Smiling Mask as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Truths about Postpartum Depression and Parenthood


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Book cover of Coyote Weather

Coyote Weather by Amanda Cockrell,

Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.

Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…

Book cover of Diapers to Dorms: Raising Kids You Actually Like, Who Others Like, and Who Like Themselves

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Author Of The Path to Perfection: Parenting without a roadmap: tales from a (non) perfect parent

From my list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started this book in 2007. It was a compilation of stories from my experience as a parent; there was no structure to it at all. When my second husband passed in 2017, an ad appeared in Facebook for Author Academy Elite (AAE). I knew it was my late husband giving me that one final push to get the book done. As a (non) perfect parent of three children, I felt my experience could benefit others as I am continuing my journey along my Path to Perfection. As a person who has struggled with depression for her entire life, I can honestly say that parenting is hard. We are all doing the best we can with what we have. And that’s why I think you’ll enjoy these books!

Dawn's book list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Why Dawn loves this book

This unique book is from a father's perspective, which you don't see very much these days. The lessons in this book are told through humorous stories, which we can all relate to. It tackles topics like building your confidence as a parent, recognizing the fact your children are different and identifying what’s important during each stage of a child’s life. The book is more of a “how-to” manual. It is rooted in Christianity.

By Randy Pardue ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Diapers to Dorms as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

YOU NEED A PLAN BECAUSE THERE ARE NO DO-OVERS IN PARENTING!Let’s be honest, raising kids is hard. At any given stage of parenting, we find ourselves frustrated at not being confident about what we should be doing. We wonder if we are too hard or too soft on our toddler. We’re not sure we are teaching our grade schoolers everything they need to succeed, and we feel like we’re losing control of our high schooler. We ask ourselves questions like, “Am I good enough?” “Am I doing the right things?” “Do my kids love me?”We all intend to raise good…


Book cover of Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child

Justin Coulson Author Of Miss-connection: Why Your Teenage Daughter 'Hates' You, Expects the World and Needs to Talk

From my list on parenting like a pro.

Why am I passionate about this?

In the early 2000s I was a dad of 2 daughters with no idea what I was doing. After some major parenting blunders I quit a successful radio career and returned to university to learn how to become a better dad. And 8 ½ years later I graduated with an honours degree in psychology and a PhD! A short time later my wife and I had our 6th daughter. The books on this list have paved the way for us to flourish as a family. Today I have Australia’s no. 1 podcast for parenting, my own TV show (Parental Guidance), and a family I love like crazy. 

Justin's book list on parenting like a pro

Justin Coulson Why Justin loves this book

Gottman is widely considered the ultimate relationships guru, worldwide. When he turned his attention to parenting to write this book, he provided parents with a blueprint for understanding and dealing with children's emotions that is unsurpassed. I have used this book as a reference for nearly 20 years and still find gems that inspire better interactions between my kids and I. One of the best parenting books on the planet.

By John Gottman , Joan Declaire ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is John Gottman’s groundbreaking guide to teaching children to understand and regulate their emotional world.

Intelligence That Comes from the Heart

Every parent knows the importance of equipping children with the intellectual skills they need to succeed in school and life. But children also need to master their emotions. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is a guide to teaching children to understand and regulate their emotional world. And as acclaimed psychologist and researcher John Gottman shows, once they master this important life skill, emotionally intelligent children will enjoy increased self-confidence, greater physical health, better…


Book cover of Anger: The Struggle for Emotional Control in America's History

Barbara H. Rosenwein Author Of Love: A History in Five Fantasies

From my list on the history of emotions.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer, teacher, and researcher who has always been interested in my own emotions and those of others. But I decided to write about the emotions of the past only after I became a historian of the Middle Ages. My discoveries began with the early medieval period. Now I enjoy looking at the full sweep of Western history. I have come to realize that at no time did we all share the same feelings nor evaluate them the same way. Instead, we live and have always lived in “emotional communities” with others who share our feelings—and alongside still others who do not. I hope my booklist will pique your interest in this new and exciting field.

Barbara's book list on the history of emotions

Barbara H. Rosenwein Why Barbara loves this book

Many historians before the Stearnses thought it would be good to study the emotions of the past, but this book on anger was the first to offer a rigorous and satisfying technique for doing so. By carefully researching the advice books offered to middle-class Americans in the nineteenth through twentieth centuries, the authors show how standards for emotional expression changed over time. Emotional standards are in fact key to understanding how different groups at different times evaluate their emotions, understand their uses, and feel their mental and physical impact.

By Carol Zisowitz Stearns , Peter N. Stearns ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this groundbreaking social history, Carol and Peter Stearns trace the two hundred-year development of anger, beginning with premodern colonial America. Drawing on diaries and popular advice literature of key periods, Anger deals with the everyday experiences of the family and workplace in its examination of our attempts to control our domestic lives and lessen social tensions by harnessing emotion. Offering an entirely new approach to the study of emotion, the authors inaugurate a new field of study termed "emotionology," which distinguishes collective emotional standards from the experience of emotion itself.


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Book cover of Temple of Dreams: A Novel of Now and Then

Temple of Dreams by Carolyn Mathews,

Homeless following the death of his adoptive parents in a car crash and the subsequent loss of their farm tenancy, Seb decides to enrol as a residential student at the Asklepios Foundation, a College of Natural Medicine, boasting a sanctuary modelled on an ancient Greek healing temple. Spending a night…

Book cover of A Little SPOT of Anger: A Story About Managing BIG Emotions

Kim T.S. Author Of Feeling All My Feelings Book

From my list on kids with big feelings.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m just a normal parent who has gone through the ups and downs of helping her little boy with his exceptionally big feelings. Anger is the main emotion we continue to struggle with, but we’ve come such a long way! The smallest things used to set him off, and he could go from annoyance to rage in minutes. Sometimes it would take us up to an hour to completely calm down. I tried my best to stay patient, help him work through his feelings, and redirect his anger towards non-harmful modes of expression. When he was calm, then we would talk about what happened, and think of ways we can both do better next time.

Kim's book list on kids with big feelings

Kim T.S. Why Kim loves this book

“Count the spots from one to four. TAP, TAP, TAP, and TAP once more. Now fill your lungs with peaceful air, and coat your spots with love and care.”

I love the simple concept of how to calm down the anger spot. We tried the tapping technique and it helped us be more mindful of our body and breathing. It only worked for a short while for my son, but that’s how it goes! We just need to keep finding new techniques, because every child is different. Try to check if it will suit your child, because the Little Spot is a teacher who explains a lot of important concepts, and it may be hard to hold some kids’ attention if they are looking for a story.

By Diane Alber ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Little SPOT of Anger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It can be really hard to handle BIG Emotions, especially when your ANGRY SPOT shows up! Whether it's when someone takes your toy or you feel like you can't do something, you have the power to turn your BIG ANGRY SPOT into a calm PEACEFUL SPOT!

By associating emotions with something a child can visual (bright red spot), they are able to see when a small feeling of frustration can easily turn into into a big ANGRY emotion. They will realize they can manage their spots of emotions with fun counting and breathing techniques by watching a fun illustrated ANGRY…


Book cover of Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day

Gail Reichlin Author Of The Pocket Parent

From my list on motivate kids to manage their own behaviors and feelings.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an internationally respected discipline expert, I guide parents in how to get more compliance than defiance from their little ones. I coined the phrase “The Dance of Non-Compliance” between parent and child. In order to change the dance, the parent will usually have to change his/her dance step first. It is often impossible during the heat of the moment, to teach ‘the lesson’ to the child due to the agitated emotional state of both parent and child. A well-executed picture book, appropriately written and illustrated for young children's developmental thinking ability, can open the door for a meaningful discussion regarding their misbehavior and feelings.

Gail's book list on motivate kids to manage their own behaviors and feelings

Gail Reichlin Why Gail loves this book

This book shows that everyone has moods that can change each day, or within the same day...from silly to angry to sad, etc. The zany, touching verse and the fun mood-wheel that lets the children change a character’s facial expressions will help a parent and child identify and discuss both good and bad feelings and how to manage them. A wonderful book to start a discussion of revisiting misbehavior and deciding what s/he could do next time in a similar situation.

By Jamie Lee Curtis , Laura Cornell (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the #1 New York Times bestselling team of Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell, authors of I’m Gonna Like Me and Where Do Balloons Go?, Today I Feel Silly helps children understand and appreciate their shifting moods.

Jamie Lee Curtis's zany and touching verse, paired with Laura Cornell's whimsical and original illustrations, helps kids explore, identify, and, even have fun with their ever-changing moods.

Silly, cranky, excited, or sad—everyone has moods that can change each day. And that’s okay! Follow the boisterous, bouncing protagonist as she explores her moods and how they change from day to day.

 


Book cover of The Navigation of Feeling: A Framework for the History of Emotions

Rob Boddice Author Of The History of Emotions

From my list on what your emotions are and where they come from.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a historian of emotions, science, and medicine, with more than a decade of experience in meddling in other scientific affairs, especially in the worlds of psychology and neuroscience. I’m fascinated by human emotions in part, at least, because I feel we’re living in a crude emotional age. I’ve worked in five different countries since gaining my PhD in 2005. In that time I’ve written or edited 14 books of historical non-fiction, as well as dozens of articles and reviews. You can freely read my work in Aeon or History Today. I live between Canada (my adopted country) and Finland, where I frequently lament the loss of my European citizenship.

Rob's book list on what your emotions are and where they come from

Rob Boddice Why Rob loves this book

This was my entry point to emotion research, as it is for many others. Reddy’s work is of seismic importance to me and for most of the people I know. It is largely responsible for making the field in which I now work, or at least for making other people take it seriously.

Up until this book came out, there was nothing that could compare in terms of its theoretical sophistication and its careful application. I go back to this book again and again, for support, clarity, and direction. It is, probably, the most thumbed thing I own.

By William M. Reddy ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Navigation of Feeling as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In The Navigation of Feeling: A Framework for the History of Emotions, William M. Reddy offers a theory of emotions which both critiques and expands upon recent research in the fields of anthropology and psychology. Exploring the links between emotion and cognition, between culture and emotional expression, Reddy applies this theory of emotions to the processes of history. He demonstrates how emotions change over time, how emotions have a very important impact on the course of events, and how different social orders either facilitate or constrain emotional life. In an investigation of Revolutionary France, where sentimentalism in literature and philosophy…


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Book cover of Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS

Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS by Amy Carney,

When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…

Book cover of Gloomy Baboony: It's okay to feel sad

Jess Rachel Sharp Author Of Every Day Matters 2025 Pocket Diary: A Year of Inspiration for the Mind, Body and Spirit

From my list on help you understand and validate your emotions.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Jess, and I'm a writer, designer, and illustrator based in South Yorkshire, UK. I have always found navigating my feelings and emotions tricky, even from a very young age. Labeled as 'too sensitive,' I would often find that I felt and reacted to things more deeply than others did. In my mid 20s I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and began going to therapy, this is where I leant a wealth of things about myself and began to find ways to cope and better deal with how I travelled through life. 

Jess' book list on help you understand and validate your emotions

Jess Rachel Sharp Why Jess loves this book

Another book that tackles the issues of feeling sad but makes it accessible for 2-5 year olds. I have read this countless times with my 3-year-old daughter, and she absolutely loves it. A wonderful book with superb illustrations that opens a door to conversations around emotions with little ones and allows them to understand that sometimes we do and will feel sad—and that’s okay!

We love this book so much that now, when my daughter is feeling sad, we say she’s a gloomy baboony and it helps her feel validated and safe while sitting in her sadness.

By Lizzie Simpson ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Gloomy Baboony as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Life as a mother: From the Diamonds to the Dirt of Motherhood
Book cover of Parenting With Depression Made Easier: how to defeat depression and mental illness with power, love and family.
Book cover of The Smiling Mask: Truths about Postpartum Depression and Parenthood

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in emotions, self care, and parenting?

Emotions 182 books
Self Care 13 books
Parenting 409 books