Books like Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself

01

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman · Psychology

Thinking, Fast and Slow is Daniel Kahneman's account of the two cognitive systems that govern human thought.

A kindred psychology read.

02

Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl · Psychology

Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's account of his years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and the psychological theory he developed from that experience.

A kindred psychology read.

03

The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel van der Kolk · Psychology

The Body Keeps the Score is Bessel van der Kolk's account of four decades spent studying and treating trauma, from Vietnam veterans at the VA in the 1970s to survivors of childhood abuse, accidents, and domestic violence.

A kindred psychology read.

04

Stumbling on Happiness

Daniel Gilbert · Psychology

Daniel Gilbert is a Harvard psychologist whose central finding, after decades of studying affective forecasting, is that humans are systematically wrong about what will make them happy.

Both dig into well-being.

05

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being

Martin E. P. Seligman · Psychology

Martin Seligman founded the positive psychology movement and published Authentic Happiness in 2002.

Both dig into well-being.

06

The Emotional Life of Your Brain

Richard J. Davidson and Sharon Begley · Psychology

Richard Davidson spent decades in a field where discussing emotions in relation to brain science was considered soft and suspect.

Shares mindfulness and well-being with Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.

07

The Perfection Trap

Thomas Curran · Psychology

The Perfection Trap is a social psychologist's case that perfectionism isn't a personality quirk or an asset but a cultural epidemic — and that rates of perfectionism have risen sharply over the past three decades, driven by specific social and economic forces.

Shares self-compassion and well-being with Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.

08

Radical Acceptance

Tara Brach · Religion & Spirituality

Tara Brach, a psychologist and Buddhist meditation teacher, wrote Radical Acceptance as a response to what she calls the trance of unworthiness — the pervasive background feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with us, that we are not enough.

Shares self-compassion and mindfulness with Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.

09

The Future of Happiness

Amy Blankson · Self-help

The Future of Happiness tackles a question that most positive psychology books sidestep: how do you cultivate well-being in an environment designed to capture your attention and monetize your anxiety?

Shares mindfulness and well-being with Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.

10

Authentic Happiness

Martin E. P. Seligman · Psychology

Authentic Happiness is Martin Seligman's founding statement of positive psychology — the scientific study of what makes life worth living.

Both dig into well-being.

11

Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence

Rick Hanson · Psychology

Rick Hanson is a neuropsychologist and meditation teacher, and this book is his attempt to explain why wellbeing is so hard to sustain and what the brain science suggests you can do about it.

Both dig into mindfulness.

12

Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation

Daniel J. Siegel · Psychology

Mindsight is Daniel Siegel's case that humans have a distinct capacity he calls "mindsight" — the ability to sense and shape one's own mental processes and to perceive the inner lives of others.

Both dig into mindfulness.