10 Books To Navigate Your Relationships
10 Books To Navigate Your Relationships
But first, fall in love with the person you are today.
Relationships are hard and beautiful. They're messy, complicated, and full of drama, but they're also the most meaningful relationships of your life.
These ten books on relationships will help you learn how to navigate your relationships, no matter how complicated or simple they are. This is just a small sampling of the latest nonfiction titles I’ve curated on this subject. Make sure to check out the complete list HERE.
Couples
We Over Me: The Counterintuitive Approach to Getting Everything You Want from Your Relationship by Devale Ellis and Khadeen Ellis (2/7) Rodale Books - After twelve years of marriage, twenty years together, and four kids, Devale and Khadeen Ellis have been through a lot. They've loved their way through a long-distance relationship, financial instability, parenthood, Khadeen's near-death, and their near-divorce, chronicling their day-to-day life with their boys online. After much trial and error, they hit upon one surprising, essential truth: If you're looking for a healthy relationship and a fulfilling life, focus on your partner's needs instead of your wants.
An End to Arguing by Linda And Charlie Bloom (2/14) Koehler Books - An End to Arguing is filled with 101 reader-friendly, practical nuggets of guidance and wisdom that will come in handy to anyone who has ever felt the need for a manual for managing and preventing conflict, not only in personal relationships, but in any relationship in which differences arise.
8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go by Jay Shetty (1/31) Simon & Schuster - Nobody sits us down and teaches us how to love. So we're often thrown into relationships with nothing but romance movies and pop culture to help us muddle through. Until now. Instead of presenting love as an ethereal concept or a collection of cliches, Jay Shetty lays out specific, actionable steps to help you develop the skills to practice and nurture love better than ever before.
Monsters in Love: Why Your Partner Sometimes Drives You Crazy--And What You Can Do about It by Resmaa Menakem (3/14) Central Recovery Press - Monsters in Love challenges the idea that conflict between partners is unhealthy or something to avoid. Instead, it encourages both people to stand by what they need and who they are--but to do so with compassion rather than competitiveness or vengefulness.
Families
Drama Free: A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships by Nedra Glover Tawwab (2/28) Tarcher Perigree - Covering topics ranging from the trauma of emotional neglect, to the legacy of addicted or absent parents, to mental health struggles in siblings and other relatives, and more, this clear and compassionate guide will help you take control of your own life--and honor the person you truly are.
LGBTQ
Trans Love: An Anthology of Transgender and Non-Binary Voices by Freiya Benson (2019) - A ground-breaking anthology of writing on the topic of love, written by trans and non-binary people who share their thoughts, feelings and experiences of love in all its guises. The collection spans familial, romantic, spiritual and self-love as well as friendships and ally love, to provide a broad and honest understanding of how trans people navigate love and relationships, and what love means to them.
Marry Me a Little: A Graphic Memoir by Robert Kirby and Rob Kirby (2/21) - In Marry Me a Little, Rob Kirby recounts his experience of marrying his longtime partner, John, just after gay marriage was legalized in Minnesota in 2013, and two years before the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges made gay marriage the law of the land.
Nonmonogamy and Neurodiversity: A More Than Two Essentials Guide by Alyssa Gonzalez (2/17) Thornapple Press - This book is for neurodivergent people considering or practicing nonmonogamy. Its goal is to help neurodivergent people understand how well-suited they are to the polyamorous life, and to help them recognize and manage the challenges that being neurodivergent can bring to nonmonogamy.
Memoir
Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation by Camonghne Felix (2/14) One World - In this exquisite and raw reflection, Felix repossesses herself through the exploration of history she'd left behind, using her childhood "dyscalculia"--a disorder that makes it difficult to learn math--as a metaphor for the consequences of her miscalculations in love.
We Are Too Many: A Memoir [Kind Of] by Hannah Pittard (5/2) Henry Holt - In this wryly humorous and innovative look at a marriage gone wrong, Hannah Pittard recalls a decade's worth of unforgettable conversations, beginning with the one in which she discovers her husband has been having sex with her charismatic best friend, Trish.
Relationships are like a work of art. They take time, practice and dedication. But when you have all of that and more, the results are incredible!
What is the best relationship advice you have ever received?
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