Our Book Recommendations #4
The Self.
Changing The Way We Think About Ourselves.
Reading these books could lead you to change your mind about your relationship with your body, as well as your relationship to your chronic pain or illness. The concepts contained in these books can change your life. Permanently. For. The. Better.
Together, these books are selling over 18,575 copies per month. The theme of these books is based on the fundamental concept that we can change the way we think about ourselves by exploring powerful alternative perspectives. We’ve chosen to present these books in order of approval rating.
Our featured Bonus Book #4 holds records for being one of the most-translated books in all of history. Originally published in 1988, this book is now selling at a mad rate of 15,000 books per month!
Until we have time to provide our own review on each book, below is the information from each book’s inside or back cover, along with sales ratings from Amazon.com (and corresponding links to the books on Amazon – with no current sales affiliations).
It goes without saying that our book recommendations are a small sampling from many sources of bodymind or mind-body concepts. Here are the top five books by sales, as recommended by a selection of self-healing books from TheBodyIsMind library. All sales rankings as listed were accurate as of 2018 when the original research was done.
#1
Resilient
How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness
Hardcover – March 27, 2018
by Rick Hanson Ph.D (Author), Forrest Hanson (Author)
97% 4.9 Stars Average from 68 reviews
Year: 2018 | Pages 304
Rank #4975 selling 660 books per month
From The Cover
These days it’s hard to count on the world outside. So it’s vital to grow strengths inside like grit, gratitude, and compassion—the key to resilience, and to lasting well-being in a changing world.
True resilience is much more than enduring terrible conditions. We need resilience every day to raise a family, work at a job, cope with stress, deal with health problems, navigate issues with others, heal from old pain, and simply keep on going.
With his trademark blend of neuroscience, mindfulness, and positive psychology, New York Times bestselling author Dr. Rick Hanson shows you how to develop twelve vital inner strengths hardwired into your own nervous system. Then no matter what life throws at you, you’ll be able to feel less stressed, pursue opportunities with confidence, and stay calm and centered in the face of adversity.
This practical guide is full of concrete suggestions, experiential practices, personal examples, and insights into the brain. It includes effective ways to interact with others and to repair and deepen important relationships.
Warm, encouraging, and down-to-earth, Dr. Hanson’s step-by-step approach is grounded in the science of positive neuroplasticity. He explains how to overcome the brain’s negativity bias, release painful thoughts and feelings, and replace them with self-compassion, self-worth, joy, and inner peace.
#2
How Healing Works
Get Well and Stay Well Using Your Hidden Power to Heal
Hardcover – January 9, 2018
by Wayne Jonas M.D. (Author)
91% 4.8 Stars Average from 36 reviews
Year: 2018 | Pages 336
Rank #76080 selling 62 books per month
TheBodyIsMind Review (Audible version)
Dr. Jonas has practiced medicine around the world in respected positions, including as the Director of the National Institutes of Health. He directed portions of the NIH budget to study the efficacies of various methods of healing and wellness not generally considered part of traditional Western medicine. What he found is startling news, because the implications are that we are about to experience a massive wave of global healing of trauma, pain, and suffering. If we were to only listen to the overwhelming mountains of evidence pouring in from around the world, we only need to discover our options, and being a self-directed healing path. We need to take responsibility to try anything we believe will help us to heal, and not to stop looking until we find combinations of modalities which help us for real. We don’t need anyone’s permission to discover ALL our alternatives.
– Les Konley
From The Cover
Drawing on 40 years of research and patient care, Dr. Wayne Jonas explains how 80 percent of healing occurs organically and how to activate the healing process.
In How Healing Works, Dr. Wayne Jonas lays out a revolutionary new way to approach injury, illness, and wellness. Dr. Jonas explains the biology of healing and the science behind the discovery that 80 percent of healing can be attributed to the mind-body connection and other naturally occurring processes. Jonas details how the healing process works and what we can do to facilitate our own innate ability to heal. Dr. Jonas’s advice will change how we consume health care, enabling us to be more in control of our recovery and lasting wellness. Simple line illustrations communicate statistics and take-aways in a memorable way. Stories from Dr. Jonas’s practice and studies further illustrate his method for helping people get well and stay well after minor and major medical events.
#3
DARE
The New Way To End Anxiety And Stop Panic Attacks
Paperback – May 8, 2015
by Barry McDonagh (Author)
89% 4.8 Stars Average from 877 reviews
Year: 2015 | Pages 242
Rank #2612 selling 1088 books per month
From The Cover
There’s a new and faster way for anxiety relief, but few have ever heard it. Most people are advised to either just “manage” their anxiety or medicate it away.
If you’re tired of just managing your anxiety and want a powerful natural solution, then apply the ‘Dare’ technique as explained in Barry McDonagh’s latest book.
Based on hard science and over 10 years helping people who suffer from anxiety, Barry McDonagh shares his most effective technique in this new book. The DARE technique can be used by everyone, regardless of age or background, to live a life free from anxiety or panic attacks.
In this step-by-step guide you will discover how to:
- Stop panic attacks and end feelings of general anxiety.
- Face any anxious situation you’ve been avoiding (driving/flying/shopping etc.).
- Put an end to anxious or intrusive thoughts.
- Use the CORRECT natural supplements to relieve anxiety.
- Boost your confidence and feel like your old self again.
- Fall asleep faster and with less anxiety each night.
- Live a more bold and adventurous life again.
IMPORTANT: THIS IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A BOOK
It also comes with a free App for your smartphone as well as four audios for quick anxiety relief. With these new tools you can apply the DARE Response in any situation that makes you anxious (e.g. driving/shopping/traveling). Help is now with you wherever you go!
#4
The Willpower Instinct
How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It
Hardcover – December 29, 2011
by Kelly McGonigal (Author)
79% 4.6 Stars Average from 713 reviews
Year: 2013 | Pages 288
Rank #8466 selling 430 books per month
From The Cover
Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal’s wildly popular course “The Science of Willpower,” The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the new science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity.
Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. For example, readers will learn:
- Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
- Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health.
- Temptation and stress hijack the brain’s systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained for greater willpower
- Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control.
- Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control.
- Willpower failures are contagious – you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends - but you can also catch self-control from the
right role models.
In the groundbreaking tradition of Getting Things Done, The Willpower Instinct combines life-changing prescriptive advice and complementary exercises to help readers with goals ranging from losing weight to more patient parenting, less procrastination, better health, and greater productivity at work.
By the time you finish Mind Over Medicine, you’ll have made your own Diagnosis, written your own Prescription, and created a clear action plan designed to help you make your body ripe for miracles.
#5
The Happiness Trap
How to Stop Struggling and Start Living: A Guide to ACT
Paperback – June 3, 2008
by Russ Harris (Author), Steven C. Hayes PhD (Foreword)
74% 4.5 Stars Average from 534 reviews
Year: 2008 | Pages 240
Rank #2440 selling 1146 books per month
From The Cover
Are you, like milllions of Americans, caught in the happiness trap? Russ Harris explains that the way most of us go about trying to find happiness ends up making us miserable, driving the epidemics of stress, anxiety, and depression. This empowering book presents the insights and techniques of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) a revolutionary new psychotherapy based on cutting-edge research in behavioral psychology.
By clarifying your values and developing mindfulness (a technique for living fully in the present moment), ACT helps you escape the happiness trap and find true satisfaction in life.
The techniques presented in The Happiness Trap will help readers to:
- Reduce stress and worry
- Handle painful feelings and thoughts more effectively
- Break self-defeating habits
- Overcome insecurity and self-doubt
- Create a rich, full, and meaningful life
BONUS BOOK
The Alchemist
25th Anniversary Edition
Paperback – April 15, 2014
by Paulo Coelho (Author)
72% 4.6 Stars Average from 11,935 reviews
Year: 2014 | Pages 208
Rank #45 selling 15,189 books per month
This book was originally published in 1988 in Rio do Janeiro. Since then, over 65 million copies have been sold in over 80 languages. It is one of the most-translated books in history, so chances are you’ve already heard of it and may even own a copy. This fast read is always inspirational and helps people connect with the power of their heart.
From The Cover
A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho.
Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.
Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago’s journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.