Books like Trust in the Goodness of God

I can’t recommend books about storytelling without including this masterwork. Anyone who works in storytelling will face times when their creative well is dry, and this book is the solution. I’ve run into quite a few moments in my life when tragedy and trauma prevented me from being my most creative self.

Whether I was dealing with personal or professional struggles, this book has always been able to bring me back to my authentic, creative self. I’ve done this “program of artist recovery” both alone and with a group (which Cameron calls a “creative cluster”), and it’s been just as successful each time. I even force my MFA writing students to do the “Artist Dates” explained in this book, and they always thank me later. 

Welcome to the Holy Grail of spirituality provided by the late Louise Hay, our queen of positive affirmations. This book absolutely changed the way I viewed my health. Before Louise came into my life, I thought my health was out of my control and that disease happened by chance. This book taught me about the connection between my thoughts, emotions, and health. I had no idea that my emotions were powerful enough to create good and bad health, but once I learned the connection, I used Louise’s methods to release negative emotions. 

You will learn the true meaning of forgiveness and how to forgive people who have wronged you, including yourself. You will learn about the diseases that are associated with negative emotions. For instance, arthritis might result from feeling unloved or from long-held criticism and resentment. A new thought pattern is provided for each physical ailment, and if the… show more.

This book is a “granddaddy” of the New Thought movement. Murphy writes clearly and concisely, with principles in easy-to-follow steps for many issues. Examples: self-healing, fulfilling one’s desires, and happy marriage. I love this book and return to it repeatedly because of its clarity and many pertinent examples with “regular” people Murphy helped. The anecdotes help encourage the reader to do the steps Murphy recommends. The book teaches me that often the simplest prayer or affirmation is enough and the immense value of constancy. Most recently, this book helped me strengthen my prayer practice in healing a leg injury and gave me renewed confidence in spiritual healing. 

This book was special to me because it redefined what intention meant compared to how we usually describe it. Expressing intention as energy and creation rather than success and work shows how beautiful and all-encompassing it can be.

I could tune into my inner belief systems and see how I could manifest and affirm more positive goals for myself and invest more authentically into my relationships with others. Intention is such a powerful word, and Dyer gives practical ways of conceptualizing and applying it daily.

A book I strongly recommend on your success journey is As A Man Thinketh. This 60-page book is short, sweet, and to the point. Your thoughts are things, and you are where you are in life because of how you think. Understanding that profound statement can enable you to weave happiness and prosperity into your life. Also, As A Man Thinketh will show you how to always stay positive and keep successful thoughts flowing in your mind so you can live a prosperous life. 

I actually read this book after writing my book, and I was struck by how many parallels there were between Geneen Roth's work and my own journey.

What I love most is that she keeps digging deeper. Deeper than the next diet. Deeper than the next weight-loss goal. Deeper than binge eating or food itself. 

She invites the reader to look at the deeper void we are often trying to fill through changing our bodies, achieving a certain weight, or searching for the next solution. I found that perspective both thought-provoking and illuminating.

This is an oldie but a classic in the self-help arena and a book that I’ve re-read many times. There are some real nuggets of gold in the book, including the author’s advice to live in "Day-tight compartments," and I absolutely love the 32 true-life examples that are included in the back.

It just goes to show that the simplest ideas are timeless—this book was originally published in 1948!

DeSanctis is a witty and lyrical writer, and she observes the world with astonishing acuity and insight.

I read this at a moment of feeling unbearably stuck emotionally and I was transported to a worldly sense of fresh possibilities and rich adventures. Restlessness can be a superpower and finally I got validation for being a restless psychotherapist (a profession that prides itself on patience).

This book made me come alive and it bolstered me psychologically in a way that felt incidental and not forced the way self-help books might. It sparked my appreciation for oddities and eccentricities and I urge anyone looking for mischief to start reading this immediately. 

Oh the joys of Saul Steinberg’s drawings! More psychologically attuned than most therapy books or self-help, Steinberg’s illustrations are brilliant illuminations of what goes on in the inner lives of human beings.

I want to play and celebrate and express and engage with nature when I look at this book, and seeing my internal angst depicted visually consoles me. As a psychotherapist, I cherish words but I also see the limitations of language. It’s liberating to see what can’t always be described.

As for the labyrinth theme, it’s universal and shockingly apt as a metaphor for what goes on in our emotional lives – we are so often seduced by labyrinths – we get drawn into situations and patterns that feel impossible to resolve and yet somehow too hard to leave.

Our inner conflicts are full of mazes we feel we can’t exit but also can’t sort out – should… show more.

This might seem like an odd choice if you’re searching for a book to cure your heartbreak—but hear me out.

I think sometimes we stay in relationships that aren’t a great fit for us entirely too long because we’re striving to have a picture-perfect life. Dr. Schafler doesn’t directly take on relationships, but she does teach you how to use your perfectionist tendencies for good, in ways that serve your life and your ambitions, instead of running your life or having you out here making terrible choices (like drunk dialing ol’dude…).