Okay, ladies, let’s get real for a sec. Between doomscrolling and pretending to adult, sometimes the only therapy we can afford is a paperback and a tub of cookie dough. 🍪 But not all books hit the same. Some? Total snoozefest. Others? They rearrange your DNA. Today, I’m spilling the tea on the ones that made me sob in public (yes, that café incident) and actually changed how I show up in this chaotic world.
1. The “Oh, So That’s Why I Do That” Section
Let’s start with Glennon Doyle’s Untamed. Picture this: me, 2 AM, highlighting entire chapters like a maniac. This book isn’t about “finding yourself”—it’s about realizing you’ve been performing a one-woman Broadway show called What Everyone Else Wants: The Musical. 🎭 Doyle’s rant about societal cages (brutal first-date material, btw) made me audit every “should” I’d swallowed. Pro tip: Read this before family holidays. You’ll finally understand why Aunt Karen’s casserole comments make you want to yeet the gravy boat.
Then there’s The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Imagine your life as a Netflix menu of alternate realities. The catch? You’ve gotta stop obsessing over the “what-ifs” and actually live in your current season. I read this after ghosting a job offer (toxic workplace vibes ✨) and realized: Regret is just FOMO for past versions of yourself. Mind. Blown.
2. The “Shut Up and Take My Money” Shelf
Confession: I used to think “financial literacy” meant remembering to cancel free trials. Then I devoured Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office (Lois P. Frankel). Newsflash: Saying “sorry” 17 times in meetings isn’t “being polite”—it’s career self-sabotage. Frankel’s chapter on “apology inflation” had me cringing at my own Slack messages. Changed my negotiation game forever.
For my fellow side-hustle queens, Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass at Making Money is like a hypewoman in book form. Her story about manifesting $10k (while eating gas station nachos, no less) taught me this: Abundance isn’t about grinding harder. It’s about dumping the poverty mindset your middle school piano teacher accidentally gave you. 🎹
3. The “Complex Women™️” Chronicles
Madeline Miller’s Circe wrecked me. Here’s this goddess exiled for being “too much”—too curious, too passionate, too witchy (literally). Watching her transform rage into self-creation? That’s the energy I bring to group chats now. 🔥 PS: If a man ever calls you “intimidating,” send him this book with a Post-it saying “Read it and weep.”
Then there’s Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. It’s part memoir, part therapy session, ALL about how our “villain origin stories” shape us. Gottlieb (a therapist seeing her own therapist!) taught me that healing isn’t linear—it’s more like interpretive dance in the dark. Which, honestly? Valid.
4. The “Sisterhood Survival Kit” Pile
Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman should be required reading before any Bumble BFF date. Their decade-long friendship survived cross-country moves and multiple passive-aggressive group texts. The takeaway? Real sisterhood isn’t matching PJs—it’s showing up with Gatorade after someone’s third breakup this year.
And The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah? Historical fiction about Dust Bowl-era women banding together. Read it when you’re tempted to compare your life to Instagram highlights. Nothing puts “bad days” in perspective like literal crop failures and survivalist grit.
Why Trust Me?
Because I’ve been the girl who used books as armor—against breakups, burnout, and that existential dread when you realize nobody actually knows what they’re doing. These aren’t just “good reads.” They’re battle plans for building a life that doesn’t shrink to fit others’ expectations.
Final PSA: Life’s too short for books that don’t spark joy. If it’s not giving “chest tattoo-worthy quotes,” toss it. Your TBR pile deserves better. Now go forth and highlight recklessly. ✨