Books like The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat — picked by fans

Those of us who do behavior science are data-driven. In the realm of human services, it is hard to describe to people what you do and why this approach resonates with those of us in the field.

Just as I was coming into behavior science, I picked up this book, one of the few available dealing with autism. It was eye-opening: a mother’s honest, heart-wrenching, determined look as she came to understand behavior science as a gift of compassion, hope, and promise for those with autism and their families.

I remember thinking that this book was validating the career path I was going down, feeling optimistic about where it would take me, and being grateful to learn about the importance of listening to people talk about their struggles.

In the mid-90s, competing and sometimes absurd psychological ideas were everywhere, part of both popular culture and psychology. I was young and in search of answers in a sprawling sea of facts muddled with misinformation. The Myth of Repressed Memory was revelatory for me.

The authors detailed the fashionable but fictitious ideas about repressed memory and the horrifying results of unproven theories guiding therapies. They methodically and authoritatively asserted and separated facts from fiction. It showed me what could happen if therapists were guided and swayed by fantastical but fabricated theories.

It made me more certain I wanted to help; more sure that the better answers were found in science; and more determined that listening can and should be guided by critical thinking.

When I read this book, I knew who I was: a behavior scientist.

Knowing this, of course, didn’t bring me fame or fortune, nor did it solve any personal problems. Reading this book, though, was powerful and lasting.

It helped determine the idea I would pursue a life trying to help improve the human condition using behavior science, something I have done now for over 30 years. It made me realize behavior science is inherently empathic, pragmatic, and optimistic.

I didn’t read it understanding all of the references or all the ideas that I would come to study later, but I understood the listening I would do would provide an understanding of a person’s environment and how, maybe, just maybe, small changes in it could make the person’s world better, one behavior at a time.

As a 19-year-old kid thinking about maybe being a psychologist, I picked this book up after hearing about the idea of unconditional positive regard introduced by Carl Rogers.

This book contained transcriptions from many of the debates Rogers had with prominent psychologists in the 1950s. When I was reading it, much of it escaped me. But then, he had a dialogue with a psychologist that riveted me. When I read the psychologist’s words, I thought, “This is how I think,” and “Yes, this is the way I see things.”

The psychologist was the eminent behaviorist B. F. Skinner, and this book served to strengthen the idea of listening to others without judgment and also began my lifelong curiosity with more science-based approaches to helping others. 

I love Sack’s empathy toward his patients and his commitment to telling a different and highly unique narrative about the human experience. His classic collection of essays is not about intelligence, but each patient he writes about knows and understands the world differently than what is considered normal.

Sacks makes room for the challenges and brilliance of all ways of being in the world.

I found this book engaging and fun to read. It's filled with well-written, informative stories of many women's first dates. Some of the dismal dates remind me of the saying, "You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince."

Sometimes my mouth would drop open in shock while reading about a miserable first date. Other stories had happy endings. Some couples continued dating and married. Others had successful first dates because the people liked each other but decided then, or after a few dates, that they weren't a good fit for a romantic relationship.

First Date Stories makes for a friendly, optimistic companion to women experiencing the ups and downs of dating. It reassures them that they are not alone, worthy, and likely to succeed in reaching their goal if they persevere. The implication is that every first date is successful because of the learning it… show more.

A wonderful and slightly maddening memoir, this (it’s nonfiction, Jim, but not as we know it). Bayley survived her childhood by absorbing books. She evokes the worlds of David Copperfield, Jane Eyre, and everything Agatha Christie ever wrote, by ventriloquising and interweaving the voices of those stories with the story of her own parental neglect, thereby insisting, if dreamily, that the boundaries between her reliable book-land and her unstable real-life-land will remain blurred. It’s only slightly maddening (I did much the same as a child; part of me will always be Katie tumbling out of the swing). The book’s deliberate ambiguities suggest that Bayley is claiming sanctuary, reserving the right not to divulge what is still too unbearable to relate, and why shouldn’t she? It’s an amazingly honest, touching book.

If Cooking Gene is the rallying cry, Food: A Love Story is the marching time music.

Gaffigan expands the food observations and shenanigans from his standup routines and this memoir is just as funny as watching the family man on stage. Gaffigan’s food writing maintains a golden dynamic of being approachable and personal at the same time.

It was full of personality and gave me valuable insight into how to shape my character’s food habits as the focal point of literary scrutiny.

Whenever I’m working with clients who are trying to figure out if polyamory is for them, I always recommend finding a way to connect to real-life polyamorous folks. It’s so important to hear genuine stories from a wide variety of perspectives—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Going to a local meetup group is the best way to do this, but reading this book comes in at a close second. Dr. Eli Sheff, a researcher who has conducted several longitudinal studies on polyamorous families, presents this compilation of personal stories from many different folks in non-monogamous families and networks. These stories span the range from hilarious to heartbreaking. 

Far from being depressing, I found great perverse enjoyment in reading about the disasters that befell others. It is a treasure trove of well-written tales that I found hard to put down. I found the contents to be an absolute treasure-chest of absorbing, beautifully written stories.

If ever I was feeling down, this volume always lifted my spirits, knowing that my day could be a lot worse.