Recommended Books

Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends

by Marissa G. Franco

Using attachment theory and recent research, Dr. Franco explores the science of modern friendship, offering insights and practical guidance for building meaningful connections in an age of burnout and distraction.

Friendships & Social Skills

Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People

by Vanessa Van Edwards

The author reveals the science behind successful social interactions. Drawing from her research, she provides practical strategies and evidence-based techniques for building stronger connections in any situation—from networking to dating to workplace relationships.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

A timeless guide to social skills and effective communication. Carnegie's 1936 classic offers practical wisdom on meaningful conversations and building genuine relationships. Though decades old, its insights on human interaction remain remarkably relevant, making it essential reading for anyone looking to improve their interpersonal abilities.

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection

by Charles Duhigg

A fascinating look at the science of effective conversation from bestselling author Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit). Learn the key principles of exceptional communicators and practical strategies to transform your own interactions, both professionally and personally.

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

by Leil Lowndes

Reveals the communication secrets of naturally charismatic people. Drawing from her career as a communication expert, Lowndes presents 92 practical techniques to help readers build instant rapport, gain respect, and develop more meaningful relationships in both their personal and professional lives.

Modern Dating, A Field Guide

by Chiara Atik

I believe the intended audience for this book is young women in their 20s and maybe 30s. It's also a bit outdated in terms of social media/tech references.

Still, I had a nice time reading it and I thought the author was very thorough and covers all details related to dating.

Dating & Finding Love

He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys

by Greg Berhendt

Good book that ended up becoming a movie. This book helps women who are typically at the beginning of relationships get real about the signals they're getting (or not getting) from the men they're dating.

Marry Him

by Lori Gottlieb

An eye-opening, funny, painful, and always truthful in-depth examination of modern relationships, and a wake-up call for single women about getting real about Mr. Right, from the New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.

Dating Sucks, but You Don't: The Modern Guy's Guide to Total Confidence, Romantic Connection, and Finding the Perfect Partner

by Connell Barrett

Rejection. Ghosting. Not knowing how to talk to women. A helpful guide to gain instant confidence and attract a great girlfriend.

How to Flirt with Women: The Art of Flirting Without Being Creepy That Turns Her On! How to Approach, Talk to & Attract Women: Dating Advice for Men

by Ray Asher

Master the art of natural, engaging conversation and build genuine connections in the dating world. This comprehensive guide teaches you how to approach dating with social intelligence, authenticity, and respect. Learn to overcome self-doubt and develop the communication skills needed to create meaningful romantic connections

Date-onomics: How Dating Became a Lopsided Numbers Game

by Jon Birger

sing a combination of demographics, statistics, game theory, and number-crunching, Date-onomics tells what every single, college-educated, heterosexual, looking-for-a-partner woman needs to know: The “man deficit” is real. It’s a fascinating, if sobering read, with two critical takeaways: One, it’s not you. Two, knowledge is power, so here’s what to do about it.

How to Not Die Alone

by Logan Ury

A practical, humor-filled guide to finding and keeping lasting love. Discover how to make better relationship decisions and overcome the mental barriers that may be standing between you and your ideal partner.

You Are The One You've Been Waiting For

by Richard Schwartz PhD

Rather than focusing on communication skills or compromise, this book introduces a new paradigm: our psyche contains multiple parts, and relationship struggles often stem from expecting our partners to care for our disowned aspects. Dr. Schwartz provides practical tools for engaging with these parts while building genuine intimacy, including techniques for self-leadership, healing emotional wounds, and fostering resilient partnerships.

Relationships and Personal Growth

What to say when you talk to yourself

by Shad Helmstetter PhD

A powerful guide on the impact of self-talk. Helmstetter highlights the importance of positive affirmations and provides practical examples to help readers create personalized self-talk that addresses specific challenges. This transformative book empowers individuals to replace negative thoughts with constructive dialogue, fostering self-esteem and personal growth.

How We Heal

by Alexandra Elle

This book was also instrumental in my healing journey towards self-compassion. It contains super meaningful journal entry exercises, affirmations, and stories.

I recommend it to anyone who might struggle with self-judgement, feelings of unworthiness, and low self-esteem.

8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go

by Jay Shetty

A practical guide that explores the complexities of romantic relationships through ancient wisdom and modern science. Offering actionable steps for every stage of love, Shetty covers topics from self-love and nurturing partnerships to handling breakups. Structured around eight essential rules, the book teaches readers how to develop the skills necessary for meaningful connections. With insights on defining love and recognizing when to let go,

Love Sense

by Dr. Sue Johnson

A very helpful book to help couples navigate issues in their relationships. It addresses issues of infidelity and other losses of trust. It provides language to better communicate. I recommend this as helpful reading for any couple that might be needing marriage counseling due to a relationship crisis. I don't advocate for any book to replace real counseling. This is a recommendation for content to supplement counseling.

Marriage or Committed Relationships

The 5 Love Languages

by Gary Chapman

You've probably heard of this book. It explains how there are 5 different ways of feeling loved, and how important it is to understand your partner's love language so that you can make them feel loved in the best way for them. And the same goes for your partner understanding your love language.

The Seven Principles for Making Marriages Work

by John M Gottman PhD

Very straight forward points and a great read whether your relationship is in trouble or not. Definitely beneficial for conflict resolution but you and your spouse must be receptive to change and consistently putting in effort.

Fight Fair!

by Tim and Joy Downs

When couples fight, tempers flare, tongues loosen, and behavior occurs that can cause major damage to the relationship. Fight Fair! teaches couples how to have healthy disagreements. It is a candid and realistic "rulebook" for married couples to ensure that their conflict is respectful of their partner.

Attached

by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

This book explains why some of us might have trouble in our relationships due to our attachment styles we developed as children in relation to our parents or caregivers. We might have a secure, anxious or avoidant style. The good news is, we can become aware of our attachment styles we can evolve towards secure attachment by working on ourselves.

Boundaries

by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend

Boundaries is the book that's helped more than four million people learn when to say yes and know how to say no in order to take control of their lives.

"Does your life feel like it's out of control? Perhaps you feel like you have to say yes to everyone's requests. Maybe you find yourself readily taking responsibility for others' feelings and problems. Or perhaps you focus so much on being loving and unselfish that you've forgotten your own limits and limitations. Or maybe it's all of the above."

Boundaries

Set Boundaries, Find Peace

by Nedra Glover Tawwab

Yep, another book about Boundaries! Can we ever have enough? In this book, Nedra helps us verbalize our needs and boundaries with different aspects of our lives: Family, Friends, Work, Social Media, etc.

I love Nedra's podcast "You need to hear this", and I've read both her books. She's coming out with a new one soon and I can't wait!

Drama Free

by Nedra Glover Tawwab

Another good one by Nedra. In this one she explores unhealthy family relationships and helps us set boundaries with our families.

Boundaries in Dating

by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend

How do you set smart limits on your physical relationship? How much do you get involved financially? And how do you know if you've found your future spouse? Dating can be fun, but it's not always easy to navigate the questions and intricacies along the way

In Boundaries in Dating, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, counselors and authors of the New York Times bestseller Boundaries, share their practical advice for adding healthy boundaries to your dating life.