9 Energizing Books to Foster Resilience 

Can you build greater resilience and start yourself on the path to true happiness in just 21 days? You can, according to Dr. Zelana Montminy, who offers a science-backed toolkit to help you handle whatever life throws your way through simple daily tasks you can accomplish amid your hectic schedule, building key traits that lead to resilience. 

“It’s hard to have a calm mind and clear purpose when life gets crazy and chaotic,” raves actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. “Dr. Z gets it. This book is like having her at your side as part therapist, life coach, and friend, walking you through a process that will change your outlook and help you push through challenges towards your best self.”

Despite having her right leg amputated when she was just five years old, in 1984 Bonnie St. John became the first African-American ever to bring home medals in Winter Olympic competition—so you could say that she knows a little something about resilience. 

Now a leadership consultant and executive trainer, former CEO Allen Haines joins her in this book that is “a great example of a 21st century solution to meet our 21st century challenges and opportunities” (Bernard J. Tyson, Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente).

Did you ever wish you had a life coach? In this “evidence-based, accessible, and imminently practical” book, Marc Cordon offers the next best thing (Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Being Happy). 

A life coach himself, Cordon knows that the secrets of living your best life lie in resilience, but he also knows that not even life coaches are immune to the slings and arrows that beset our best-laid plans. 

Through examples ranging from philosophy to pop culture, Cordon offers a guide on how both coaches and everyday people can draw strength and valuable lessons from life’s everyday occurrences—both the pleasant ones and those we would rather avoid.

“Resilience is the core strength we all have but most don’t know how to access and nurture it,” writes Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Change. “Yet it is possible to tap into resilience, and Gazelle skillfully gives us the very tools we need to do just this.” 

Filled with clear, concise information backed by research and established mindfulness practices, Harvard Medical School assistant professor Gail Gazelle offers a book that is “THE road map to find your resilience,” according to Carol Kauffman, founder of the Harvard Medical School Institute of Coaching.

New York Times-bestselling author and CEO Joe De Sena offers “essential lessons for any parent, at any stage in the game” (Rich Roll, ultra-endurance athlete). 

Arguing that resilience is the key to success, De Sena outlines a ten-step guide to building resilience within ourselves and our families, and to setting our children up to be resilient in the face of life’s challenges. 

“For anyone who is looking for some guidance on how to parent with these principles at the forefront, you’ll find it here,” raves Olympic volleyball star Gabby Reece.

In a world where terms like “toxic masculinity” and the “male loneliness epidemic” are regularly tossed around as buzzwords, the challenges of being a “boy mom” can feel insurmountable. Enter this one-of-a-kind book by award-winning educator and founder of the organization Raising Lifelong Learners, Colleen Kessler.

Focused on the unique challenges of raising young boys, Kessler’s book teaches emotional intelligence and helps nurture sons who are strong, confident, and empathetic, capable of expressing and regulating their own emotions and understanding the emotions of others.

Considered the “father of positive psychology,” Martin Seligman once compared resilience to clearing the weeds from a rose garden. 

In this “well written book riddled with stories of real-world people," executive coach and corporate trainer Doug Hensch draws from more than twenty years of experience to offer an approach that “gave me perspective on modern life, and has made me more effective every step of the way” (John Wood, CEO of Telos Corporation; Stephanie Cutter, former advisor to President Barack Obama). 

The result is a book that is “practical, easy to read, and a must read for everyone” (Bob Rosen, CEO of Healthy Companies International).

Bestselling author and former Navy SEAL, “Eric Greitens provides a brilliant and brave course of action to help navigate life’s toughest waters” in this one-of-a-kind guide to better living  (Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). When Greitens heard from another former SEAL, he was surprised to find his friend struggling. 

Between them, they began a correspondence that would change both their lives, as Greitens outlined the lessons he had learned not only about how to live, but why in what would become “a gift not only to Greitens’s comrades-in-arms, but to readers everywhere” (Publishers Weekly).

From breakups and divorce to natural disasters, physical and sexual trauma, trouble with our kids, illnesses and injuries, and much more, we all face challenges in our lives. 

With exercises, examples, and anecdotes tailored to the unique lives and challenges women face, this workbook helps readers harness their inner strength through coping strategies and confidence-boosting tips that can change how they approach problems—and increase their likelihood of overcoming them. 

No matter what your personal situation, The Resilience Workbook for Women is designed to help you spark joy even in the darkest times.