15 Books on Resilience to Strengthen Your Mindset
Books about resiliency can teach us a great deal, from showing examples of people who have overcome seemingly impossible circumstances to providing guidance on how to get from hard times to better ones. What propels emotional resilience books is knowing that the protagonist came out OK on the other side. When you read powerful books about how someone else has navigated a difficult situation, it can give you the strength you need to do the same. You may want to learn resilience for simply dealing with life, or you may have a specific hard situation you must get through. This list of best books about resilience will inspire you no matter what your circumstances.
Resilience is essentially mental toughness, or the ability to recover from a challenge or even tragedy. It may look like an athlete getting beat on a play and coming back on the next play to get a point or staying focused on achieving an academic goal despite failing a test.
Resilience falls under the self help books category because it teaches people ways to help themselves instead of looking to others when times get difficult. Authors may offer advice, share their stories, outline ways to deal with a particular problem, or show actionable ways they themselves have dealt with an issue. This list is based on book sales, critical acclaim and how well the books' messages hold up over time.
Disability rights advocate Keah Brown has cerebral palsy. In this funny and sharp essay collection, she shares how she moved from praying for 'normalcy' to embracing her unique qualities. Being Black and disabled in America is not easy, she says, but connecting with others in her community helped her thrive.
This book is best for anyone who liked or followed the #DisabledAndCute hashtag Brown popularized on social media. Keah Brown's The Pretty One is available from publisher Simon & Schuster.
Former NAVY Seal Eric Greitens reconnected with a former comrade-in-arms who'd been struggling with PTSD and alcoholism since returning from the war. The two began corresponding, with Greitens offering thoughts on developing resiliency and confronting pain. His letters make up this meditative book with advice on creating your own happiness.
This book is best for veterans or those searching for their purpose. Eric Greitens's Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life is available from publisher HarperCollins.
This New York Times Editors' Choice selection is a meditation on what it means to be a Native American woman and the many contradictions it entails. Toni Jensen addresses issues such as how Indigenous women are forgotten and ignored and how to redefine language used to talk about violence.
This book is best for those struggling with issues related to all types of violence. Toni Jensen's Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land is available from publisher Ballantine Books, a division of Penguin Random House.
One of the best memoirs by an actress, I'm Glad My Mom Died chronicles the life of former iCarly child star Jennette McCurdy, who was raised in a deeply religious household with an abusive mother. McCurdy learned making her mom happy was the best way forward, and she was severely sheltered despite working in Hollywood.
This book is best for those looking for books about grief or substance abuse. Jennette McCurdy's I'm Glad My Mom Died is available from publisher Simon & Schuster.
Drawing praise from Lambda Literary, Southern Review and Essence, novelist Daniel Black's first essay collection examines the resilience of Black people in a society that is, at turns, uncomfortable, angry and dismissive of them. He addresses disparate topics such as queerness in the Black church and police brutality, delivering a hopeful message.
This book is best for those who love cultural criticism with a deeper message. Daniel Black's Black on Black: On Our Resilience and Brilliance in America is available from publisher HarperCollins.
Connecticut physician Jessica Cerdeña gathers stories of Latina mothers who immigrated to New Haven, explaining how they have overcome challenges such as sexual assault, oppression and racism. She shows the strength of parents fighting for their children's futures, and she also gives a look at how COVID-19 impacted their journeys.
This book is best for those looking for resiliency books related to the pandemic or immigration. Jessica Cerdeña's Pressing Onward is available from publisher University of California Press.
Learning the best way to escape discomfort is part of resiliency. Pema Chödrön draws on Tibetan teachings to frame better ways to evade or overcome discomfort while avoiding habits that can cause harm, such as emotionally unhealthy behaviors. She offers lessons on loving yourself and accepting your perfectly human imperfections.
This book is best for anyone trying to avoid acting on unproductive urges. Pema Chödrön's Getting Unstuck: Breaking Your Habitual Patterns and Encountering Naked Reality is available from publisher Sound True.
Brought up in a survivalist Mormon family who didn't believe in traditional medicine or schooling, Tara Westover didn't enter a classroom until she was 17. In this National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, she shows how she went on to earn a PhD at Cambridge while continuing a complicated relationship with her family.
This book is best for those interested in upbringings in extreme circumstances or looking for compelling audiobooks. Tara Westover's Educated is available from publisher Penguin Random House.
Performance scientist Steve Magness thinks our society puts too high a premium on traditional toughness and not enough on listening to our real needs. In coaching Olympic athletes, he came to believe that we instead should be using our physiological and emotional responses to determine how to redefine and actually become 'tough.'
This book is best for endurance athletes or those training to complete challenging tasks. Steve Magness's Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness is available from publisher Harper Academic.
Viktor Frankl was imprisoned in four Nazi death camps during World War II. As he watched family members, including his pregnant wife, die, he came to a new understanding of how to cope with suffering. He continued to build on his thoughts when he resumed his medical practice after the war, pursuing life with meaning.
This book is best for those interested in what a Library of Congress survey once determined one of the top 10 books that have made a difference in people's lives. Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning is available from publisher Penguin Random House.
Sometimes resilience means rethinking your original goals. In Option B, Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant explore how to adjust and move forward after life deals you a setback, something the former Facebook executive experienced when her husband died suddenly.
This book is best for those trying to come back from a life-changing event. Adam Grant and Sheryl Sandberg's Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy is available from Penguin Random House Canada.
It takes a special sort of resilience to find joy while experiencing or sorting through trauma. In this collection of essays, Lewis-Giggetts looks at joy derived from Black culture and shows how her celebration and definition of joy has changed over the years. She shows why depictions of Black life without joy are severely lacking.
This book is best for those searching for joy. Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts's Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration is available from publisher HarperCollins.
Examining resilience within the context of mental illness, Esmé Weijun Wang's essay collection details her own schizoaffective disorder diagnosis and how she struggled to understand a disease that often has baffled medical experts. She weaves research and memoir deftly, demonstrating how she has dealt with misconceptions about her health and providing hope.
This book is best for those interested in reading about mental health. Esmé Weijun Wang's The Collected Schizophrenias is available from Graywolf Press.
An advisor to Roman Emperor Nero, Seneca the Younger wrote a collection of letters detailing his take on Stoic philosophy, such as elevating 'virtue' as the greatest good. The guidebook of sorts advocates for the value of friendship and the importance of overcoming setbacks. It also heralds the courage of 'ordinary men.'
This book is best for those looking for books based in philosophy. Seneca's Letters from a Stoic is available from publisher Penguin Random House.
A New York Times bestseller, Daring Greatly questions the concept that vulnerability equals weakness and instead praises the bravery involved in exposing one's true self. Brené Brown's interpretation of courage invites resiliency, rewarding those who 'get back on the horse' and try again in dating, business, friendship and life in general.
This book is best for anyone ready to take a new step. Brené Brown's Daring Greatly is available from publisher Penguin Random House.
Books about resilience can inspire you to make a change in your life, move past a traumatic event, or encourage new ways of thinking. Anything you choose on this list will teach and guide you while also keeping you engaged as you look ahead.
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