More Resources

Somatic Healing & Trauma

• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk — A landmark text exploring how trauma is stored in the body and the role of body-based interventions in healing .  (This one can be re-traumatizing to read!)

• Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter Levine & Ann Frederick — Introduces Somatic Experiencing and how releasing trapped energy supports trauma resolution.

• Nurturing Resilience ( Kathy L Kain, Stephen J Terrell) -A practical, integrated approach for therapists working with child and adult patients impacted by developmental trauma and attachment difficulties—featuring a foreword by Waking the Tiger author, Peter Levine.

• Breath (James Nestor) - A deep dive on so many types of breath exercises, origins, applications, and Nestor's experimentation with them.  Go start "mouth taping!"

• ​Complex PTSD:  From Surviving to Thriving (Pete Walker)

Internal Family Systems (IFS) Essentials

• No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard Schwartz — Core entry for understanding parts work, self-leadership, and trauma unburdening

• Introduction to Internal Family Systems by Richard C. Schwartz — Accessible foundational guide with theory and exercises to help clients begin their own IFS journey

• Internal Family Systems Therapy (2nd Ed.) by Schwartz & Sweezy — Comprehensive reference manual for practitioners and seekers alike 

• Internal Family Systems Therapy for Shame and Guilt by Martha Sweezy — Focused guidance on working with core feelings of shame and guilt through IFS 

• You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For by Richard Schwartz — Applies IFS specifically to intimate relationships and relational healing.

Relational and Communication Healing

• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg — Transformational approach to expressing needs and receiving empathy through compassionate dialogue Wikipedia.

• Radical Acceptance & Radical Compassion by Tara Brach — Cultivate inner kindness and acceptance as foundations for healed communication and self-relating (mentioned in broader IFS community recommendations) Reddit.

• Complex PTSD Workbook by Dr. Arielle Schwartz — Structured exercises focused on relational trauma repair, resilience, and post-traumatic growth

• Unfuck Your Boundaries (Faith G. Harper) 

• UnFuck Your Intimacy (Faith G. Harper) 

• Unfuck Your Brain (Faith G. Harper) 

🌈 Polyamory & Ethical Non‑Monogamy Resources

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• More Than Two, Second Edition (Veaux & Rickert) — A comprehensive and updated roadmap for ethical polyamory, focusing on communication, consent, and integrity in multi-partner relationships.

• The Ethical Slut (3rd edition) (Easton & Hardy) — The foundational guidebook covering desires, boundaries, relationship ethics, and respectful polyamory living. 

• Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy (Jessica Fern) — Explores how attachment styles and trauma shape poly dynamics, offering the HEARTS model for creating secure bonds. 

• Polywise: A Deeper Dive into Navigating Open Relationships (Fern, Cooley & Jenkins) — Offers deeper insight into root causes of jealousy, communication breakdowns, and how to cultivate thriving multi‑partner relationships. 

• Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships (Tristan Taormino) — Practical, inclusive advice on negotiation, jealousy dynamics, relationship structures, and real‑life scenarios. 

• The Smart Girl’s Guide to Polyamory (Dedeker Winston) — Exercises and communication tools tailored to solo poly and people transitioning from monogamy with a focus on self‑confidence and relational clarity. 

• The Anxious Person’s Guide to Non‑Monogamy (Lola Phoenix) — A thoughtful primer for folks navigating anxiety, jealousy, timing challenges, and the mental health aspects of openness. 

• The Polyamory Toolkit (Dan & Dawn Williams) — A hands‑on set of tools and exercises for boundary-setting, jealousy mapping, communication, and self‑reflection in polyamorous partnerships. 

• Stepping Off the Relationship Escalator (Amy Gahran) — Explores relationship anarchy, solo poly, and alternative structures, dismantling assumptions and redefining what love can look like. 

• Sex At Dawn (Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha)  - Argues that humans were not inherently monogamous, rather evolved within a context of more fluid and promiscuous hunter-gatherer societies.  Dives into historical and scientific theory. 

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 Conscious and Present Parenting

• No‑Drama Discipline by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson
  Integrates neuroscience and empathy to resolve conflict through connection instead of punishment.

• Parenting from the Inside Out by Daniel J. Siegel & Mary Hartzell
  Explores how parents’ own attachment and trauma histories influence their relationship with kids.

• Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy
  Affirming approach to support emotional resilience and strengthen connection through compassionate communication.

• The Opposite of Worry by Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D.
  A playful, therapeutic approach to help children manage anxiety and build confidence.

• Love In, Love Out by Malie Coyne
  A guide for parenting anxious kids with compassion, mindfulness, and developmental understanding.

• My Everything (Einat Nathan) 

• New Skills For Frazzled Parents ( Daniel G Amen) 

• The Whole Brain Child (Daniel J Siegel, Tina Payne Bryson) 

• No Bad Kids (Janet Lansbury) 

• The Anxious Generation (Jonathan Haidt) 

• ​Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline (Becky A Bailey) 

• The Danish Way of Parenting (Jessica Joelle Alexander, Dissing Sandahl)​

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🧩 Workbooks & Practical Guides

• The Whole‑Brain Child Workbook by Siegel & Bryson
  Companion to the popular title with hands-on exercises to foster emotional integration in children.

• The Positive Parenting Workbook by Rebecca Eanes
  Interactive journal-style guide that deepens parent-child emotional attunement and communication.

 

 Even More!

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• The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
  A compact, Toltec wisdom-based guide to personal freedom through agreements of integrity, presence, and non-reactivity.

• How To Be Antiracist (Ibram X. Kendi) 

• My Grandmother's Hands (Resmaa Menakem) 

• Wild Mercy (Mirabai Starr) 

• The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singer
  A spiritual guide to inner awareness, letting go of mental clutter, and living from a place of centered stillness.

• The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
  A foundational text on awakening to the present moment and separating from egoic identity and thought patterns.

• ​The Art of Communicating – Thích Nhất Hạnh
  A gentle, mindful guide to heart-centered communication, rooted in Buddhist wisdom and everyday compassion.

• IntraConnected - (Daniel J Siegel).  - Argues that our very minds are made up of our surroundings and social structures, and that our mental health depends on healthy interdependence and consistent connection. 

• The Center Cannot Hold (Elyn R. Saks) - An eye opening and vulnerable memoire about a psychologist navigating life with schizophrenia.  

• A Hunter Gatherer's Guide To The 21st Century (Heather Heying, Bret Weinstein) Heying and Weinstein cut through the politically fraught discourse surrounding issues like sex, gender, diet, parenting, sleep, education, and more to outline a science-based worldview that will empower you to live a better, wiser life. They distill more than 20 years of research and first-hand accounts from the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth into straightforward principles and guidance for confronting our culture of hyper-novelty.

• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Sri Swami Satchidananda) 

• The Yamas and Niyamas (Deborah Adele)

• Psycho Cybernetics (Maxwell Maltz) 

• Be Love Now (Ram Dass) 

• Greenlights (Matthew McConaughey) ​

• The Hidden Messages In Water (Masaru Emoto) 

• The Artist's Way (Julia Cameron)

• The Creative Act (Rick Rubin) 

• Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer)

• Group Living and Other Recipes (Lola Milholland)