Books like Women Food and God — picked by fans

This book literally changed my life and my relationships with myself and others forever. Before this book, I was living my life through the filters of my stories of right and wrong, how things ‘should’ be done, and doing my best to trust my instincts and intuition. I underestimated the power of words, including my words. I made assumptions about people and situations, and autopilot guided my path through the best and worst of challenges and opportunities.

This book, along with the Fifth Agreement, opened my mind to the human condition of subconscious programming. I read the book, listened to the book, and listened to the book while reading the book to deeply embrace the truths presented.

Thanks to all books published by the Ruiz family, which share the Toltec traditions with the world, I have found grace and compassion for the weight and impact of my own stories,… show more.

What I loved about this book is how practical and hopeful it is.

It was a powerful reminder that lasting change does not come from dramatic transformations, but from small, consistent actions repeated over time. The book reinforced the idea that meaningful results are often built through simple daily habits that may seem insignificant in the moment but create powerful change over the long run.

This perspective deeply resonated with me and reinforced my belief that sustainable transformation begins with small steps rather than perfection.

Nearly every line of this memoir stopped me in my tracks.

I read most of it at a local café, teacup in hand, blinking back tears more times than I care to admit. Gilbert's precision and beauty on the page are simply breathtaking. She doesn't describe the world so much as conjure it, and she pulled me in until her cobbled Roman streets and dusty Indian pathways felt like my own. I tasted that whole pizza with her, felt the sun’s warmth on her shoulders, and ached through each layered heartbreak as though it were mine.

She doesn't merely tell her story. She throws open the door to her innermost self and refuses to let you look away. I wept. I laughed. And when the last page came, I sat quietly for a long moment, reluctant to leave her and her world behind.

What touched me most about this book is the understanding that our experiences shape us differently depending on when they happen in our lives. Wounds that occur at different ages can create very different patterns in how we think, react, and move through the world.

The book also invites a deeper level of compassion—not only for ourselves, but for others. Instead of asking, "What's wrong with you?" it encourages us to ask, "What happened to you?" That simple shift can completely change how we view another person's behavior and reminds us that everyone is carrying a story we may not see.

I resisted the enneagram, thinking that it wasn’t scientific enough, but now that I understand it, I haven’t looked back.

Knowing how understanding yourself is an essential part of avoiding burnout, I was looking for a personality typology that didn’t just put me in a box but gave me a path to growth and development. This book does just that for me, with tailored development areas for each personality type.

I can’t overstate how much I learned from this book. I used to avoid anger at all costs. I was suffering from “nice lady syndrome.” Now I have come to see anger as a terrific little alarm system, letting me know a boundary of mine has been crossed. Like all emotions, as well as being temporary and tolerable it is a guide. I can listen to it and learn from it. I recommend The Dance of Anger to clients who experience discomfort with anger in general, marital problems, stressful in-law situations… the list goes on. If anger has been a trigger for your addiction, or you wonder how to deal with anger in recovery, this book is for you. 

What I loved about this book is the freedom in its message.

People may change, and people may never change. Either way, they do not have to change for me to find peace. I am not responsible for someone else's emotional well-being, nor do I need to shape myself to fit into their expectations, wounds, or emotional voids.

The title itself says it all: let them. There is a great deal of freedom in that.

What I loved about this book is its reminder that growth happens through experience, reflection, and adjustment.

One of the most valuable lessons I took from it is that mistakes are not failures—they are opportunities to learn. The book helped me see that every experience contains valuable information if we are willing to pause, reflect, and ask what it has to teach us. I also appreciated that Kolb provides a clear framework for what to do with a setback rather than simply viewing it as a disappointment. 

His model helped me understand that growth is rarely a linear process. We experience, reflect, learn, adjust, and try again. I applied this framework throughout my book, and it continues to shape how I approach challenges in my own life and how I help my clients turn setbacks into opportunities for growth.

As the title suggests, this book is a manual for the human experience.

Dr. Soph breaks her knowledge and experience out of the therapy room and tackles the themes of how you got here, what’s keeping you here, and how you can move forward. This book just makes so much sense, and gives you the tools to understand and help yourself, and explains concepts like how our brains use shortcuts to make sense of the world; and how this can then show up and influence us.

What I love about this book is that it helps you to question, and to think about what works for you, what doesn’t, and what you want to do about it. 

This book is a series of short essays, each of which can be a prayer or affirmation itself. They read like perfect affirmations: “Let the Goodness of God Take Over,” “God’s Abundance Is Yours Now!” “Choose to Believe the Best,” “There Is Nothing to Fear!” Several months ago, I was feeling extremely lonely. At random, I opened to Kupferle’s essay “God’s Abundance is Yours Now!” and read, “God is the infinite source of your supply.” I kept repeating this affirmation. Two weeks later in the gym, another woman greeted me, reminding me that we’d met in the gym many months earlier. We quickly discovered much in common, as well as a wonderful mutual admiration. Since then, we’ve gotten together many times and continue to enjoy and help each other. Kuperfle works!