These pages are a list of books I have read/am reading around adoption as family. Some books are obviously filtered by my personal experience for they likely appear to a more objective observer as having a rather thin connection to the world of adoption. I add no comment as we are individual in what we take from a book. I do make some value judgment in that I pop an asterisk or more in front of the books more valuable to me personally, at the time of reading. Incidentally, fairly nearly 100% of the books are from where ever my current regional library was/is at the time of reading.
An Inconsistent Legend:
* – useful
** – useful AND a good read
***-YES!
Topics:
Becoming Family: Russia, the process of adoption, memoirs and novels
Being Family: looking at being family in adoption, memoirs, novels and specific issues- anxiety, depression, addiction, FASD and homelessness
Becoming Family
Russia
Out of Line: growing up soviet Tina Grimberg 2007
**Secondhand Time: the last of the Soviets Svetlana Alexievich 2016
**The Girl from the Metropol Hotel: growing up in communist Russia Ludmilla Petrushevskaya 2006
*Mothers of Misery David L. Ransel 1988
And Now My Soul is Hardened: Abandoned Children in Soviet Russia, 1918 – 1930 Alan M. Ball 1994
The Last Man in Russia Oliver Bullough 2013
**Little Failure Gary Shteyngart 2014
The Future Is History: how totalitarianism reclaimed Russia Masha Gessen 2017
The Possessed: adventures with Russian books and the people who read them Elif Batuman 2010
Putin’s World: Russia against the West and with the rest Angela Stent 2019
***In Putin’s Footsteps: searching for the soul of an empire across Russia’s eleven time zones Nina Khrushcheva and Jeffrey Talyer 2019
Lessons from the Edge: a memoir Marie Yovanovitch 2022
Russka: the novel of Russia Edward Rutherfurd 1991
The Return of Holy Russia: apocalyptic history, mystical awakening, and the struggle for the soul Gary Lachman 2020
The Dissident: Alexey Navalny, profile of a political prisoner David M. Herszenhorn 2023
‘The Counteroffensive’ The Atlantic Anne Applebaum and Jeffrey Goldberg June 2023
The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky 1879
I Love Russia: reporting from a lost country Elena Kostyuchenko 2023
Mud and Stars: travels in Russia with Pushkin, Tolstoy, and other geniuses of the Golden Age Sara Wheeler 2019
Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky 2000
Anton Chekhov: fifty-two stories translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky 2020
War and Peace: the graphic novel / the BBC series/ Sergei Bondarchuk movie
The Process of Adoption
***Lost and Found: the adoption experience Betty Jean Lifton 1979
***Journey of the Adopted Self: a quest for wholeness Betty Jean Lifton 1994
**Attaching in Adoption: practical tools for today’s parents Deborah D. Gray 2002
*Understanding Attachment: parenting, child care and emotional development Jean Mercer 2006
*Thinking Critically about Child Development: examining myths and misunderstandings Jean Mercer 2016
*Great Myths of Child Development Stephen Hupp, Jeremy Jewell 2015
***Born for Love: why empathy is essential – and endangered Maia Szalavitz, Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. 2010
Adopting Older Children: a practical guide to adopting and parenting children over age four Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero, MA, Gloria Russo Wassell, MS, LMHC, Victor Groza, PhD 2014
A Legacy of Divorce Judith Wallerstein 2000
Adopting Maternity: white women who adopt transracially or transnationally Nora Rose Moosnick 2004
Attachment Processes in Couple and Family Therapy Susan M Johnson, Valerie P. Wiflen, (eds.) 2005
Models of Clinical Intervention: attachment based family therapy for depressed adolescents Guy S Diamond, PhD, Gary M. Diamond, PhD, Suzanne A. Levy, PhD 201
The Inner Life of Animals: love, grief, and compassion: surprising observations of a hidden world Peter Wohllenben 2017
Uprooted:the shipment of poor children to Canada, 1867-1917 Roy Parker 2010
***Thicker Than Blood: adoptive parenting in the modern world Marion Crook 2016
*High Five: a suburban adoption saga Julia Ivanova 2013 video
Father Dreams Julia Ivanova 2007 video
The Adoptive Parents’ Handbook: a guide to healing trauma and thriving with your foster or adopted child Barbara Cummins Tantrum 2020
**Fostering Change: myth, meaning and magic bullets in attachment theory Richard J. Delaney 2006
Family Bond: Adoption and the politics of parenting Elizabeth Bartholet 1993
***China’s Hidden Children: abandonment, adoption, and the human costs of the one-child policy Kay Ann Johnson 2016
***the Child Catchers: rescue, trafficking, and the new gospel of adoption Kathryn Joyce 2013
**Ghosts of the Orphanage: a story of mysterious deaths, a conspiracy of silence, and a search for justice Christine Kenneally 2023
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220817-the-twins-who-were-split-up-at-birth
***American Baby: a mother, a child, and the secret history of adoption Gabrielle Glaser 2021
You’ll Forget This Ever Happened: secrets, shame, and adoption in the 1960s Laura L. Engel 2022
Lesbian and Gay Foster Care and Adoption, 2nd ed. Stephen Hicks and Janet McDermott 2018
Adoption & Prenatal Alcohol and Drug Exposure: research, policy, and practice edited by Richard P Barth, Madelyn Freundlich, and David Brozinsky 2000
The Adoption Machine: the dark history of Ireland’s mother and baby homes and the inside story of how Tuam 800 became a global scandal Paul Jude Redmond 2018
Hello, Sweet Baby: an adoption journey Janeen Jackson and Brittanie Gaja 2023
**Adoption Unfiltered: revelations from adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, and allies Sara Easterly, Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, Lori Holden 2024
One Big Happy Family: 18 writers talk about polyamory, open adoption, mixed marriage, househusbandry, single motherhood, and other realities of truly modern love ed. by Rebecca Walker 2009
White Unwed Mother: the adoption mandate in postwar Canada Valerie J Andrews 2018
Adoption As Both Elena S Hall 2021
Memoirs of Adoption
*The Mistress’s Daughter: a memoir A.M. Homes 2007
*Blue Nights Joan Didion 2011
Found: a memoir Jennifer Lauck 2012
Philomena (movie) 2013
Me, Myself, and Why Jennifer Ouellette 2014
A long Way Home Saroo Brierley 2013
Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading and Losing Myself in Books Maureen Corrigan 2005
*Rescuing Julia Twice: a mother’s tale of Russian adoption and overcoming Reactive Attachment Disorder Tina Traster 2014
“Flight of the Wendybird” Lynn Coady from Great Expectations: twenty-four true stories about childbirth Dede Crane, Lisa Moore(eds.) 2008
* Identical Strangers: a memoir of twins separated and reunited Elyse Schein, Paula Bernstein 2007
*Three Identical Strangers CNN documentary February 2019
*All You Can Ever Know: a memoir Nicole Chung 2018
Inheritance: a memoir of genealogy, paternity, and love Dani Shapiro 2019
*Lucky Girl: a memoir Mei-Ling Hopgood 2009
*** Stolen From Our Embrace: the abduction of First Nations children and the restoration of Aboriginal communities Suzanne Fournier and Ernie Crey 1997
We Were Children DVD 2012
Beautiful Scars: Steeltown secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the road home Tom Wilson 2017
Before and After: the incredible real-life stories of orphans who survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society Judy Christie & Lisa Wingate 2019
***The Girl Behind the Door: a father’s quest to understand his daughter’s suicide John Brook 2016
These Are The Stories: memories of a 60s Scoop Survivor Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith 2021
***Invisible Boy: a memoir of self-discovery Harrison Mooney 2022
***Somewhere Sisters: a story of adoption, identity, and the meaning of family Erika Hayasaki 2022
****Detachment: an adoption memoir Maurice Mierau 2014
The Beauty of Living Twice Sharon Stone 2021
Kisses for Katie: a story of relentless love and redemption Katie Davis with Beth Clark 2011
Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other : in praise of adoption Scott Simon 2010
***make me a mother: a memoir Susanne Antonetta 2014
Pulling the Chariot of the Sun Shane McCrae 2023
Monstrous: a transracial adoption story Sarah Myer 2023
The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: a speculative memoir of transracial adoption Shannon Gibney 2023
Our Wish For You: a story about open adoption Dano Moreno 2023
From Maybe To Forever: an adoption story M.L.Gold and N.V. Fong 2020
Bitterroot: a Salish memoir of transracial adoption Susan Devan Harness 2018
Hidden Daughter-Secret Sister: a story of adoption Kim Mooney 2020
The Language of Blood: a memoir Jane Jeong Trenka 2003
You’ll Forget This Ever Happened: secrets, shame, and adoption in the 1960s Laura L Engel 2022
Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related: a memoir Jenny Heijun wills 2019
Look At You Now: my journey from shame to strength Liz Pryor 2017
The Last Black Unicorn Tiffany Haddish 2017
Mamalita: an adoption memoir Jessica O’Dwyer 2010
The Invisible Girl: the true story of an unheard voice Torey Hayden 2021
Somebody’s Child: stories about adoption ed. by Bruce Gillespie and Lynne Van Luven 2011
You Should Be Grateful: stories of race, identity, and transracial adoption Angela Tucker 2022
Welcome Home: an anthology on love and adoption Eric Smith,ed. 2017
Novels referencing Adoption
A Casual Vacancy JK Rowling 2012
And the Mountains Echoed K Hosseini 2013
Cider House Rules John Irving 2000
The Cuckoos Calling R Galbraith (JK Rowling) 2013
Before We Were Yours Lisa Wingate 2017
The Children Act Ian McEwan 2014
Run Ann Patchett 2007
Digging to America Anne Tyler 2006
The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver 1988
Little Men Louisa May Alcott 1871
David Copperfield Charles Dickens 1849-50
Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1837-39
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte 1847
Eva Luna Isabel Allende 1989
Daughter of Fortune Isabel Allende 1999
And of course, All the Harry Potter books JK Rowling
A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles 2016
The Wind Knows My Name Isabel Allende 2023
***We Meant Well Erum Shazia Hasan 2023
Small Things Like These Claire Keegan 2021
There,There Tommy Orange 2018
Being Family
***Hold On To Your Kids: why parents need to matter more than peers Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D. , Gabor Mate, M.D. 2004
*When Parents Hurt: compassionate strategies when you and your grown children don’t get along Joshua Coleman 2007
*Coyote Medicine: lessons from Native American healing Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D. 1997
*Coyote Healing: miracles in native medicine Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D 2003
**Coyote Wisdom: the power of story in healing Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D. 2005
*Narrative Medicine: the use of history and story in the healing process Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Ph.D. 2007
*Healing the Mind Through the Power of Story: the promise of narrative psychiatry Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Ph.D. 2010
*Remapping Your Mind: the neuroscience of self-transformation through story Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Ph.D. 2015
Extra Sensory: the science and pseudoscience of telepathy and other powers of the mind Brain Clegg 2013 Included because maybe, just maybe, there are other ways to connect with my son’s mind. With this I have read some fairly new age-ish renditions of quantum physics, all in the hope that maybe, just maybe.
On the Move: a life Oliver Sacks 2015
Consciousness Beyond Life: the science of the near-death experience Pim Von Lommel 2010 Included because along with Joseph Campbell’s writings, it encourages my chosen belief that we are each on a journey
The Application of Impossible Things Natalie Sudman 2012
***The Silence of Jesus: the authentic voice of the historical man James Breech 1983 A perspective on the Good Samaritan and Prodigal Son
Myths to Live By Joseph Campbell 1972
The Power of Myth Joseph Campbell 1988
From Science to God: a physicist’s journey into the mystery of consciousness Peter Russel 2000
Waking from Sleep: why awakening experiences occur and how to make them permanent Steve Taylor 2010
Supersense: why we believe in the unbelievable Bruce Hood 2009
Far from the Tree: parents, children and the search for identity Andrew Solomon 2012
**Far from the Tree: how children and their parents learn to accept one another… our differences unite us Young Adult edition Andrew Solomon 2017
*The Brain’s Way of Healing: remarkable discoveries and recoveries from the frontiers of brain science Norman Doidges 2007
The Idiot Brain: what your head is really up to Dean Burnett 2016
My Stroke of Insight: a brain scientist’s personal journey Jill Bolte Taylor 2006
The Male Brain: a breakthrough understanding of how men and boys think Loann Brizendine 2010
The Unmade Bed: the messy truth about men and women in the 21st century Stephen Marche, with Sarah Fulford 2017
Hallucinations Oliver Sacks 2012
*Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman 2011
**Living in Limbo: families journeying toward understanding Mavis Olesen, Ph.D., Dallas Williams 2003
“Why Do I Love These People?”: understanding, surviving, and creating your own family Po Bronson 200
***Strangers Drowning: grappling with impossible idealism, drastic choices, and overpowering urge to help Larissa MacFarquhar 2015
The Deepest Well: healing the long-term effects of childhood adversity Nadine Burke Harris, MD 2001
The Art of Memoir Mary Karr 2015
Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark 2019
Imagining Child Welfare in the Spirit of Reconciliation, Voices from the Prairies Ed. Dorothy Badry, H. Monty Montgomery, Daniel Kikulwe, Marlyn Bennett, and Don Fuchs 2018
****The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog And Other Stories From A Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook: what traumatized children can teach us about Loss, Love, and Healing Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. and Maia Szalavitz 2006
The Body Bill Bryson 2019
Stumbling on Happiness Daniel Gilbert 2006
***The Science of Evil: on empathy and the origins of cruelty Simon Baron-Cohen 2011
***Zero Degrees of Empathy: a new theory of human cruelty and kindness Simon Baron-Cohen 2011
The Age of Empathy: nature’s lessons for a kinder society Frans De Waal 2009
Survival of the Friendliest: understanding our origins and rediscovering our common humanity Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods 2020
**The Empathic Civilization: the race to global consciousness in a world in crisis Jeremy Rifkin 2009
Daring Greatly: how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead Brene Brown 2012
***Nobody’s Normal: how culture created the stigma of mental illness Roy Richard Grinker 2021
***Born for Love:why empathy is essential — and endangered Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz 2010
Pieces of Light: how the new science of memory illuminates the stories we tell about our pasts Charles Fernyhough 2012
The Wrong Way to Save Your life: essays Megan Stielstra 2017
**Epigenetics: the ultimate mystery of inheritance Richard C. Francis 2011
**The Origins Of You: how childhood shapes later life Jay Belsky, Avshalom Caspi, Terrie E. Moffat, Richie Poulton 2020
Attached: the new science of adult attachment and how it can help you find-and keep-love Amir Levine, M.D. and Rachel S.F. Heller, M.A. 2010
**Strangers to Ourselves: unsettled minds and the stories that make us Rachel Aviv 2022
Think Again: the power of knowing what you don’t know Adam Grant 2021
***The Myth of Normal:trauma, illness & healing in a toxic culture Gabor Mate, MD with Daniel Mate 2022
What Kind Of Parent Am I?: self-surveys that reveal the impact of toxic stress and more Dr. Nicole Letourneau 2018
****The Not Good Enough Mother Sharon Lamb 2019
The Owner’s Manual To Terrible Parenting Guy Delisle 2015
***Scientific Parenting:what science reveals about parenting influence Dr. Nicole Letourneau with Justin Joschko 2013
**Act Natural: a cultural history of misadventures in parenting Jennifer Traig 2019
Keys to Parenting the Adopted Child 2nd ed. Kathy Lancaster, Ph.D 2009
The Family First Workbook: specific tools, strategies, and skills for creating a phenomenal family Dr. Phil McGraw 2005
***The Gene: an intimate history Siddhartha Mukherjee 2017
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents Lindsay C. Gibson, PsyD 2016
Hunt, Gather, Parent: what ancient cultures can teach us about the lost art of raising happy, helpful little humans Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD 2021
Fault Lines: fractured families and how to mend them Karl Pillemer, PhD 2022
Humankind: a hopeful history Rutger Bregman 2019
EVE: how the female body drove 200 million years of human evolution Cat Bohannon 2023
How To Raise An Adult: breaking free of the overparenting trap and prepare your kid for success Julie Lythcott-Haims 2015
Bad Therapy: why kids aren’t growing up Abigail Shier 2024
Parenting Adopted Teenagers: advice for the adolescent years Rachel Staff 2016
Advanced Parenting: advice for helping kids through diagnoses, difference, and mental health challenges Kelly Fradin, MD 2023
The Parenting Handbook: your guide to raising resilient children Tania Johnson, R. Psych and Tammy Schamuhn, R. Psych 2024
Memoirs of Being Family
***A Mother’s Reckoning: living in the aftermath of tragedy Sue Klebold 2016
The Sum of Our Days Isabelle Allende 2008
**Paula Isabelle Allende 1994
Expecting Adam: a true story of birth, rebirth and everyday magic Martha Beck 2000
***Swing Low: a life Miriam Toews 2000
Jupiter’s Travels Ted Simon 2005
Hillbilly Elegy: a memoir of a family and culture in crisis J.D. Vance 2016
Living with a Wild God: a nonbeliever’s search for the truth about everything Barbara Ehrenreich 2014
Encountering Our Wild God: ways to experience his untamable presence every day Kim Meeder 2018
Love Works Like This: moving from one kind of life to another Lauren Slater 2014
The Rules Do Not Apply Ariel Levy 2017
**Confessions of a Sociopath: a life spent hiding in plain sight M.E. Thomas 2013
**Mamaskatch: a Cree coming of age Darrel J. Mcleod 2001
**** The Master Plan: my journey from life in prison to a life of purpose Chris Wilson with Bret Witter 2019
Everything You Ever Wanted Jillian Lauren 2015
**Building a Life Worth Living: a Memoir Marsha M. Linehan 2020
*Educated: a memoir Tara Westover 2018
***Why Religion?: a personal story Elaine Pagels 2018
Normal Family: on truth, love and how I met my 35 siblings Chrysta Bilton 2022
Will Will Smith with Mark Manson 2021
*Laughing with the Trickster: on sex, death, and accordions Tomson Highway 2022
Abandon Me: memoirs Melissa Febos 2017
**Heartbreak: a personal and scientific journey Florence Williams 2022
In Search of Stones: a pilgrimage of faith, reason and discovery M.Scott Peck 1995
Running With Scissors: a memoir Augusten Burroughs 2002
Pulling the Chariot of the Sun: a memoir of a kidnapping Shane McCrae 2023
This is the Night Our House Will Catch Fire: a memoir Nick Flynn 2020
Someone Has Led This Child To Believe Regina Louise 2018
A Child Called “It”: one child’s courage to survive Dave Pelzer 1995
Too Close To Me: the middle-aged consequences of revealing Dave Pelzer 2015
While You Were Out: an intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence Meg Kissinger 2023
****Splinters: another kind of love story Leslie Jamison 2024
**Worthy Jada Pinkett Smith 2023
** I’m Glad My Mom Died Jennette McCurdy 2022
Parents Under the Influence: words of wisdom from a former bad mother Cecile David-Weill 2019
Consent: a memoir Jill Ciment 2024
Paris: the memoir Paris Hilton 2023
Saving: a doctor’s struggle to help his children Shane Neilson 2023
Novels referencing Difficulties in Being Family
A Casual Vacancy J.K. Rowling 2012
The Good House Ann Leary 2013
Maya’s Notebook Isabelle Allende 2013
***All My Puny Sorrows Miriam Toews 2015
***A Complicated Kindness Miriam Toews 2005
A Nearly Normal Family M.T. Edvardsson 2019
The Alchemist: a graphic novel Paulo Coelho 2010
***Fight Night Miriam Toews 2021
**A Good Enough Mother: a novel Bev Thomas 2019
The Running Grave J.K. Rowling 2023
Help for Bio-Psycho-Social Distress
****Hope and Help for Your Nerves Dr. Claire Weekes 1969 Dealing with fear of the feelings that fear itself had aroused
How to Meditate: a guide to self-discovery Laurence LeShan 1999
*Waking the Tiger: healing trauma Peter Levine 1997
The Science of Yoga: the risks and rewards William Broad 2012
Mindfulness for Beginners Jon Kabat Zinn 2006
The Happiness Hypothesis: finding modern truth in ancient wisdom Jonathan Haidt 2006
The Joy Diet: ten daily practices for a happier life Martha Beck 2003
Steering by Starlight Martha Beck 2008
Finding your Way in a Wild New World Martha Beck 2012
***Full Catastrophe Living: using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness Jon Kabat Zinn 1990
*Radical Acceptance: embracing your life with the heart of a Buddha Tara Brach 2003
Freedom from Depression: a practical guide for the journey James Gordon 2012
Loving What Is: four questions that can change your life Byron Katie 2003
Anxious: using the brain to understand and treat fear and anxiety J Ledoux 2015
Meditations for Fidgety Skeptics: a 10% happier how-to book Dan Harris 2017
Rewire Your Anxious Brain: how to use the neuroscience of fear to end anxiety, panic, and worry Catherine Pittman 2015
The Compass of Pleasure: how our brains make fatty food, orgasm, exercise, marijuana, generosity, vodka, learning and gambling feel so good David J. Linden 2011
The Power of Acceptance: finding peace from anxiety and panic attacks Judith Bemis 2008
The Mindful Way Through Anxiety: break free from chronic worry and reclaim your life Susan M. Orsillo, Lizabeth Roemer, Zindel V. Segal 2011
Learning to Breathe: a mindfulness curriculum for adolescents to cultivate emotion regulation, attention, and performance Patricia C. Broderick 2013
Seeking Serenity: the 10 new rules for health and happiness in the age of anxiety Amanda Enayati 2015
I Want to Change My Life: skills for anxiety, depression, addiction and life Steven Melemis 2010
*Overcoming the Fear of Fear: how to reduce anxiety sensitivity Sherry Stewart Ph.D., Steven Taylor, Ph.D. Margo Watt, Ph.D. 2007
**The Mind and the Brain: neuroplasticity and the power of mental force Jeffrey Schwartz, Sharon Begley 2003
**You are Not Your Brain: the 4-step solution for changing bad habits, ending unhealthy thinking, and taking control of your life Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. and Rebecca Gladding, M.D. 2011
**The Body Keeps the Score: brain, mind and body in the healing of trauma Bessel A. van der Kolk 2014
**Learned Optimism: how to change your mind and your life Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D. 2006
** Bright-Sided: how the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America Barbara Ehrenreich 2009
The Power of Now: a guide to spiritual enlightenment Eckhart Tolle 1999 Flipping through it now, lines I underlined are about the “letting go” concept that tends to befuddle me when I try to enact or live it.
Freud: inventor of the modern mind Peter D. Kramer 2006
Antidote: happiness for people who can’t stand positive thinking Oliver Burkeman 2012
Yoga Therapy for Stress and Anxiety: create a personalized holistic plan to balance your life Robert Butera, Erin Byron 2015
Healing Developmental Trauma: how early trauma affects self-regulation, self-image and the capacity for relationship Laurence Heller Aline La Pierre 2012
**How God Changes Your Brain: breakthrough findings from a leading neuroscientist Andrew Newberg, Mark Robert Waldman 2009
What Happy Women Know: how new findings in positive psychology can change women’s lives for the better Dan Baker, Ina Yalof 2007
The Sleep Revolution: transforming your life, one night at a time Arianna Huffington 2016
Maybe You should Talk to Someone Lori Gottlieb 2019
The Power of Kindness: why empathy is essential in everyday life Brian Goldman, M.D. 2018
***Healing the Mind through the Power of Story: the promise of narrative psychiatry Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D. 2010
The Healing Power of Mindfulness: a new way of being Jon Kabat-Zinn 2018
***Lost Connections: uncovering the real causes of depression – and the unexpected solutions Johann Hari 2018
The Story You Need To Tell: writing to heal from trauma, illness, or loss Sandra Marinella 2017
**Pieces of Light: how the new science of memory illuminates the stories we tell about our pasts Charles Fernyhough 2012
***The Science of Storytelling: why stories make us human and how to tell them better Will Storr 2020
**Personality isn’t Permanent: break free from self-limiting beliefs and rewrite your story Benjamin Hardy, PhD 2020
**Upside: the new science of post-traumatic growth Jim Rendon 2015
**The Heretics/ The Unpersuadables: adventures with the enemies of science Will Storr 2013/4
****Man’s Search for Meaning Viktor E. Frankl 1946
*8 Keys To Safe Trauma Recovery: take-charge strategies to empower your healing Babette Rothschild 2010
**Noonday Demon: an atlas of depression Andrew Solomon 2015
The Righteous Mind: why good people are divided by politics and religion Jonathan Haidt 2013
**How To Change Your Mind: what the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression and transcendence Michael Pollan 2021
*What Happened to You: conversations on trauma, resilience and healing Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
Discomfortable: What is shame and how can we break its hold A.J. Bond 2021
Shame: free yourself, find joy, and build true self-esteem Joseph Burgo, Ph.D. 2018
Love’s Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy Irvin D. Yalom 2012
Stumbling on Happiness Daniel Gilbert 2007
Atlas of the Heart: mapping meaningful connection and the language of human experience Brene Brown 2021
Group: how one therapist and a circle of strangers saved my life Christie Tate 2020
Habits of a Happy Brain: retrain your brain to boost your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Endorphin levels Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD 2016
***A Cure for Darkness: the story of depression and how we treat it Alex Riley 2021
*We All Have Parts: an illustrated guide to healing trauma with internal family systems Colleen West 2021
**Internal Family Systems Therapy 2nd ed. Richard C. Schwartz and Martha Sweezy 2020
*Complex PTSD: from surviving to thriving:a guide and map for recovering from childhood trauma Pete Walker 2013
Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking Susan Cain 2012
*Dopamine Nation:finding balance in the age of indulgence Anna Lembke, MD 2021
No Bad Parts: healing trauma & restoring wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model Richard C. Schwartz, PhD. 2021
***Curing Stubborn Depression: emerging & breakthrough therapies for treatment-resistant depression Paul B. Fitzgerald, PhD, MBBS 2023
Talking To Strangers: what we should know about the people we don’t know Malcolm Gladwell 2019
***The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: a counterintuitive approach to living a good life Mark Manson 2016
***Everything is Fucked: a book about hope Mark Manson 2019
The Improbability Principle: why coincidences, miracles, and rare events happen every day David J. Hand 2014
Disentangling from Emotionally Immature People Lindsay C Gibson, PsyD 2023
**The Empathy Exams: essays Leslie Jamison 2014
Retrain Your Brain: cognitive behavioural therapy in 7 weeks:a workbook for managing depression and anxiety Seth J Gillihan, PhD. 2016
The 4-Week Insomnia Workbook: a drug-free program Sara Dittoe Barrett 2019
What is Emotion: history, measures, and meanings Jerome Kagan 2007
The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: the history of the human brain as revealed by true stories of trauma, madness, and recovery Sam Kean 2014
Good Chemistry: the science of connection, from soul to psychedelics Julie Holland, MD 2020
Remember: the science of memory and the art of forgetting Lisa Genova 2021
Memoirs dealing with Bio-Psycho-Social Distress
The Happiness Project: or why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle, and generally have more fun Gretchen Rubin 2009
*Monkey Mind: a memoir of anxiety Daniel Smith 2012
**My Age of Anxiety: fear, hope, dread and the search for peace of mind. Scott Stossel 2014
*10% Happier: how I tamed the voice in my head, reduced stress without losing my edge, and found self-help that actually works Dan Harris 2014
Learning to Breathe: my yearlong quest to bring calm to my life Priscilla Warner 2011
Hi, Anxiety: life with a bad case of nerves Kat Kinsman 2016
In Praise of Messy Lives: essays Katie Roiphe 2012
**The Hope Circuit: a psychologist’s journey from helplessness to optimism Martin E.P. Seligman 2018
Daring: my passages: a memoir Gail Sheehy 2014
**Building a Life Worth Living: a memoir Marsha M. Linehan 2020
**The Buddha and the Borderline: a memoir Kiera Van Gelder 2010
**Group: how one therapist and a circle of strangers saved my life Christie Tate 2020
**The Shapeless Unease Samantha Harvey 2020
**Heartbreak: a personal and scientific journey Florence Williams 2022
While You Were Out: an intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence Meg Kissinger 2023
If I Knew Then: finding wisdom in failure and power in aging Jann Arden 202o
This Ordinary Stardust: a scientist’s path from grief to wonder Alan Townsend 2024
Wired For Love: a neuroscientist’s journey through romance, loss, and the essence of human connection Stephanie Cacioppo 2022
Dealing with Addictions
**What You Can Change… and What You Can’t: the complete guide to successful self-improvement Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D. 2007
***The Biology of Desire: why addiction is not a disease Marc Lewis, Ph.D. 2015
***Unbroken Brain: a revolutionary new way of understanding addiction Maia Szalavitz 2016
Inner Paths to Outer Space: journeys to alien worlds through psychedelics and other spiritual technologies Rick Strassman, M.D. Slawek Wojtowicz, M.D. Luis Eduardo Luna, Ph.D. and Ede Frecka, M.D. 2008
**Drink: the intimate relationship between women and alcohol Ann Dowsett Johnston 2013
***In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: close encounters with addiction Gabor Mate M.D. 2012
Addiction and Grief: letting go of fear, anger and addiction Barb Rogers 2011
Addiction as an Attachment Disorder: implications for group therapy Philip J. Flores Ph.D. 2004
Helping the Addict You Love: the new effective program for getting the addict into treatment Laurence M Westreich, M.D. 2007
**When the Body Says No: the cost of hidden stress Gabor Mate, M.D. 2004
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous Bill W. 1939
Co-dependent No More: how to stop controlling others and start caring for yourself Melody Beattie 1989(paperback)
*The Sober Truth: debunking the bad science behind 12-step programs and the rehab industry Lance Dodes 2014
Addicted: in the belly of the beast. Lorna Crossier Patrick Lane 2006
Desire: where sex meets addiction Susan Cheevers 2008
Addiction: why can’t they just stop John Hoffman and Susan Froemke,( ed.) 2007
*Arresting Hope: women taking action in prison health inside out Ruth Elwood, Mo Korchinski, Lynn Fels , Carl Leggo 2014
Addict in the Family: stories of loss, hope, and recovery Beverly Conyers 2003
**Fighting for Space: how a group of drug users transformed one city’s struggle with addiction Travis Lupick 2017
**Blue Dreams: the science and story of the drugs that changed our minds Lauren Slater 2018
Addiction Solution: treating our dependence on opioids and other drugs Lloyd I. Sederer 2018
American Fix: inside the opioid addiction crisis and how to end it Ryan Hampton 2018
Beyond Addictions: how science and kindness help people change Jeffrey Foote 2014
An Army of Problem Solvers: reconciliation and the solutions economy Shaun Loney before 2017
***Firewater: how alcohol is killing my people (and yours) Howard R. Johnson 2016
***Never Enough: the neuroscience and experience of addiction Judith Grisel 2019
Chasing the Scream: the first and last days of the war on drugs Johann Hari 2015
The Least of Us: true tales of America and hope in the time of Fentanyl and Meth Sam Quiones 2021
Drugs Without The Hot Air: minimizing the harms of legal and illegal drugs David Nutt 2012
What Good is God?: in search of a faith that matters Philip Yancey 2010
**Psyched: seven cutting-edge psychedelics changing the world Amanda Siebert 2022
***The Urge: our history of addiction Carl Erik Fisher 2022
**This Naked Mind: Nicotine: the science-based method to reclaim your health and take control easily Annie Grace and William Porter 2022
**This Naked Mind: control alcohol: find freedom, discover happiness & change your life Annie Grace 2018
The Globalization of Addiction: a study in poverty of the spirit Bruce K Alexander 2008
****The Recovery: intoxication and its aftermath Leslie Jamison 2018
The Pornography Wars: the past, present, and future of America’s obscene obsession Kelsey Burke 2023
Overdose: heartbreak and hope in Canada’s opioid crisis Benjamin Perrin 2020
Indictment: the criminal justice system on trial Benjamin Perrin 2023
Un-Addiction: 6 mind-changing conversations that could save a life Nzinga Harrison, MD with Lynya Floyd 2024
Memoirs Dealing with Addictions
Broken: my story of addiction and redemption William Cope Moyers 2006
****Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: a neuroscientist examines his former life on drugs Marc Lewis, Ph.D. 2011
Blackout : remembering things I drank to forget Sarah Hepola 2015
***Addiction – A Mother’s Story: my son’s descent into addiction and where it took us June Ariano-Jakes 2012
***Wasted: an alcoholic therapist’s fight for recovery in a flawed treatment system Michael Pond and Maureen Palmer 2016
Dry: a memoir Augusten Burroughs 2004
God if You are Not Up There I’m F*cked Darrell Hammond 2011
**Beautiful Boy: a father’s journey through his son’s addiction David Scheff 2007
*Lit Mary Karr 2009
Being Flynn Nick Flynn 2010
Stoned Again: the high times and strange life of a drugs correspondent Mike Sager 2015(paperback)
Life Keith Richards 2010
**Drunk Mom: a memoir Jowita Bydlowska 2013
**Mayhem: a memoir Sigrid Rausing 2017
Love Works Like This: moving from one kind of life to another Lauren Slater 2002
Ninety Days: a memoir of recovery Bill Clegg 2012
**Tweak: growing up on methamphetamines Nic Sheff 2008
**We All Fall Down Nic Sheff 2011
*** Long Way Home Cameron Douglas 2019
Inside Out: a memoir Demi Moore 2019
**Love Warrior Glennon Doyle Melton 2016
**if you love me: a mother’s journey through her daughter’s opioid addiction Maureen Cavanagh 2018
***The Buddhist On Death Row: how one man found light in the darkest place David Scheff 2020
***Trejo: my life of crime, redemption, and Hollywood Danny Trejo with Donal Logue 2021
**A Crowbar in the Buddhist Garden: writing from prison Stephen Reid 2012
**One Good Reason; a memoir of addiction and recovery, music and love Sean McCann with Andrea Aragon 2020
**Original Sins: a memoir Matt Rowland Hill 2022
**From the Ashes: my story of being Metis, homeless, and finding my way Jesse Thistle 2019
**Hey, Good Luck Out There Georgia Toews 2022
**So-Called Normal: a memoir of family, depression and resilience Mark Henick 2021
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: a memoir Matthew Perry 2022
***In My Own Moccasins: a memoir of resilience Helen Knott 2019
Beautiful Things: a memoir Hunter Biden 2021
***Hit So Hard: a memoir Patty Schemel with Erin Hosier 2017
**North Wind Man Clarence Cachagee and Seth Ratzlaff 2023
Where I’m Calling From: new and selected stories Raymond Carver 1989
****Here With You: a memoir of love, family, and addiction Kathy Wagner 2023
The Longest Road:to hell and back from addiction to advocacy Joe Calendino & Gary Little 2024
Crooked Smile: what it took to escape a decade of homelessness, addiction, & crime Jared Klickstein 2024
Neurodivergent/FAS/FASD
**Broken Cord: a family’s ongoing struggle with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Michael Dorris 1989
Beautiful Smiles, Gentle Spirits: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, a misunderstood problem Margaret A. Michaud & Sacha K. Michaud 2003
Trying Differently Rather than Harder: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Diane Malbin, MSW 2002
The Oasis Guide to Asperger Syndrome: advice, support, insight, and inspiration Patricia Romanowski Basue, Barbara L. Kirby 2005
FASD: unexpected journeys FASD Network 2015
**Damaged Angels: a mother discovers the terrible cost of alcohol in pregnancy Bonnie Buxton 2004
Living with FASD: a guide for parents Sara Graefe 2004
***The Burning: parenting my son through adoption, FASD, and suicide Ruth Spencer 2019
**The Illustrated Guide to Dyslexia and its Amazing People Kate Power & Kathy Iwanczak Forsyth 2018
**Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities Linda Siegel 2013
**Overcoming Dyslexia 2nd ed. Sally Shaywitz, M.D. and Jonathan Shaywitz, M.D.
**The Mislabeled Child: how understanding your child’s unique learning style can open the door to success Brock Eide, M.D. M.A, and Fernette Eide, M.D 2006
**Dyslexia, Learning, and the Brain Roderick I. Nicholson and Angela J. Fawcett 2008
***The Power of DIFFERENT: the link between disorder and genius Gail Saltz, M.D. 2017
A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: embrace neurodiversity, live boldly and break through barriers Sari Solden, MS and Michelle Frank, PsyD 2021
**Fish Don’t Climb Trees: a whole new look at Dyslexia Sue Blyth Hall 2014
**The Gift of Dyslexia: why some of the smartest people can’t read … and how they can learn Ronald D. Davis with Eldon M. Braun 2010
***Visual Thinking: the hidden gifts of people who think in pictures, patterns, and abstractions Temple Grandin 2022
ADHD 2.0: new science and essential strategies for thriving with distraction-from childhood through adulthood Edward M Hallowell, MD and John J Ratey, MD 2021
**Divergent Mind: thriving in a world that wasn’t designed for you Jenara Nerenberg 2020
Parenting A Struggling Reader: a guide to diagnosing and finding help for your child’s reading difficulties Susan L Hall & Lousia C Moats, Ed.D 2002
***My Dyslexia Philip Schultz 2011
**NeuroTribes: the legacy of autism and the future of neurodiversity Steve Silberman 2015
The Mind’s Eye Oliver Sacks 2010
Fantastic Antone Succeeds!: experiences in educating children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Edited by Judith Kleinfeld and Siobhan Westcott 1993
IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea Stephen Murdoch 2007
Ungifted: intelligence redefined Scott Barry Kaufman 2013
David and Goliath: underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants Malcolm Gladwell 2009
*The Brain that Changes Itself: stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of neuroplasticity Norman Doidges 2015
Hidden Potential: the science of achieving greater things Adam Grant 2023
Homelessness
**Dirty Kids: chasing freedom with America’s Nomads Chris Urquhart 2017
Mental Health & Addiction Interventions for Youth Experiencing Homelessness: practical strategies for front-line providers Sean Kidd, Natasha Slesnick, Tyler Frederick, Jeff Karabanow, and Stephen Gaetz 2018
Street Stories: 100 years of homelessness in Vancouver Michael Barnholden & Nancy Newman 2007
***The Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness: an empathy-driven approach to solving problems, preventing conflict, and serving everyone Ryan Dowd 2018
***San Fransicko: why progressives ruin cities Michael Shellenberger 2021
The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls 2005
Runaway: diary of a street kid Evelyn Lau 2001
Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s urgent mission to bring healing to homeless people Tracy Kidder 2023
Hit So Hard: a memoir Patty Schemel 2017
A Knapsack Full of Dreams: memoirs of a street nurse Cathy Crowe 2019
These are addresses to websites, documentaries, movies that I have found worthwhile to my interests. I am only providing the link address, not activating them.
*Julia Ivanova’s documentary: From Russia, For Love
knowadoption.com/from-russia-for-love/youtube.com/watch?r=ZDQxy4r7ZLE
*Parents’ group for parents with children in trouble: parentsforever.ca
*Parent activism for drug abuse: https://www.facebook.com/MomsStopTheHarm/
*FASD group discussion: faslink@googlegroups.com acbr.com/FAS/faslink.htm
*Jewelry with a message of hope in the symbol of the Tree of Life: www.facebook.com GoldenEagleGifts
*The child trauma/resilience assessment:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/02/387007941/take-the-ace-quiz-and-learn-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean
The movie Blue Bayou with Justin Chon
On Putin’s Blacklist documentary directed by Boris Ivanov
http://parentingandattachment.com
bcadoption.com/resources/articles/adoption-friendly-family-trees