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Wellbeing
Some of the best recovery books
There are so many self-help and recovery books now that it can be difficult to know where to start . Wellbeing Coach and author of four recovery books David Hurst picks some of the books that he considers are all-time recovery classics .
So many exceptional books on aspects of mental health and recovery deserve a mention including by Dr Gabor Maté , Louise Hay , Elisabeth Kübler-Ross , Brené Brown , Susan Jeffers , Bessel van der Kolk , Charles L . Whitfield , Matt Haig , Russell Brand , Jerold J . Kreisman and Hal Straus . There are so many more … but it would make the entire article just a list of names . We were not always so lucky in having such a wonderful choice .
Many people consider the Greek myths and the various " religious " texts as the first recovery books . Certainly , these are still as valuable as ever in explaining the human condition in all its highs and lows . But the birth of self-help recovery literature as we know it today really began in the 1930s . The term " self-help " itself is thought to have come about from a book published in 1859 by Samuel Smiles – called Self-Help . But it was in 1936 that Dale Carnegie ' s book How to Win Friends and Influence People really kickstarted the modern self-help movement .
But another book published just three years later is perhaps even more key to the modern world of recovery . It is the most read recovery book in history – and I ' ll start my list of six books that I consider to be recovery classics with it .
Alcoholics Anonymous by Bill Wilson
Nicknamed the " Big Book " due to the thickness of the paper it was originally produced on to save costs , it was the first time the Twelve Steps recovery program was put to print . For more than 80 years now , it has transformed and saved the lives of millions of people around the world – and has also been adapted to help with all addictions . It ' s an exceptional book , as much about life as alcohol addiction . Best quote : " Selfishness , self-centeredness ! That , we think , is the root of our troubles ."
Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer
Considered the founding father of the modern self-help movement , Wayne Dyer ' s first book started it all . Dyer spent much of his childhood in an orphanage after his father left . He became a high-school counsellor and his lectures on positive thinking became so popular that he wrote Your Erroneous Zones , which was published in 1976 . Dyer quit his job to promote the book and it became a bestseller . He went on to help millions through many more excellent books and presentations . Best quote : “ Self-worth cannot be verified by others . You are worthy because you say it is so . If you depend on others for your value it is other-worth .”
The Road Less Traveled by M . Scott Peck
Psychiatrist Morgan Scott Peck ' s outstanding book was published in 1978 , but it took five years for it to become a bestseller – then it spent ten years on the New York Times bestseller list . Peck reveals how to achieve spiritual growth and discover true self and happiness . However , he writes how most people won ' t do this even when they ' ve been told how to do so – hence the book ' s title . Best quote : " When we avoid the legitimate suffering that results from dealing with problems , we also avoid the growth that problems demand from us . It is for this reason that in chronic mental illness we stop growing , we become stuck . And without healing , the human spirit begins to shrivel .”
David Hurst pic : Tone Camara
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Published in 1997 , this bestseller describes how living in the present is the best way to live . It says how if we learn not to dwell on the past or worry about the future , life is so much easier . Tolle ' s second book Stillness Speaks also helps a great many people . It explains the way to " inner stillness ". Best quote : " Life is now . There was never a time when your life was not now , nor will there ever be ."
Codependent No More by Melody Beattie
Beattie was an alcoholic by 13 and a drug addict five years later . Although she cleaned up , she married a man who drank . She realized she was codependent – in her definition : " A codependent person is one who has let another person ' s behaviour affect him or her , and who is obsessed with controlling that person ' s behaviour ." While Beattie wasn ’ t the first to use the word codependent – that is believed to have come from Alcoholics Anonymous meetings – she became passionate about the subject . When published in 1986 it was Codependent No More that introduced the term “ codependent ” to the world . Best quote : " We don ’ t have to take other people ’ s behaviours as reflections of our self-worth ."
Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw
Even more than 30 years after its publication , this book is still the book on toxic shame . It explains how the painful shame of others ( usually a parent ) that ' s been passed down is behind so much codependency , compulsive behaviour , addiction and suffering in general that people are not aware of – until they know about toxic shame . Best quote : " There is no way to teach self-value if one does not value oneself . Toxic shame is multigenerational ."
DAVID HURST
David Hurst is a Wellbeing Coach with four books published on emotional and mental health recovery , including 12 Steps To 1 Hero and The Anxiety Conversation . To find out more or contact David to discuss how he can help you or someone you care about , visit : david-hurst . com
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