“Look for the Helpers”: Encouraging Books for Challenging Times 

Subtitled “Important Things to Remember,” this collection of wisdom, stories, anecdotes, and insights culled from Fred Rogers’ speeches, letters, books, and interviews is filled with “bits of philosophy and advice from a man who lived a life we could all emulate” (San Diego Union-Tribune), delivered in a way that “shares the gentle philosophy that made Rogers one of America’s most beloved public figures” (Knight Ridder News Service). 

On the air for more than 30 years, Rogers became a fixture of American households, teaching children across generations important lessons on friendship, respect, individuality, and honesty as “America’s Favorite Neighbor.” 

Now, he brings all those same lessons home in this one-of-a-kind book filled with “humanity-affirming thoughts” (Los Angeles Times).

Written in the shadow of the Nazi concentration camps and originally published immediately following the end of World War II, Viktor E. Frankl’s “enduring work of survival literature” (New York Times) does more than merely chronicle his time spent in one of the most horrific situations in human history; it explores what it means to be human.

In the darkest of moments, this book explores how we can find meaning, arguing that the purpose of life exists in every moment of living, even during suffering. Translated into more than fifty languages, this worldwide bestseller is “an absolute must-read for every human being. Period.” (Anna Chlumsky, actress).

World-famous anthropologist and primatologist Jane Goodall passed away in October of 2025. Before she did, however, she sat down with internationally bestselling author Douglas Abrams to discuss reasons to hold onto hope, even in the most trying of times. 

The result is an “informative road map of ideas for ways in which every person may help bring about positive change in the world” (NPR Books), filled with Goodall’s “infectious optimism and stirring call to action” (Publishers Weekly).

What Booklist hails as a “compelling and enlightening dialogue of hope [that] amplifies Goodall’s mantra: ‘Together we can. Together we will.’” 

While Goodall herself may be gone, her message lives on in a book that couldn’t have come at a time when it was more needed.

“If you need a pick-me-up on a very fundamental level, you could do a lot worse than this book,” raves PEOPLE magazine about this “wonderful and essential” (Huffington Post) memoir of depression from the bestselling author of The Midnight Library. 

At just 24 years old, Matt Haig felt like his life was over. Yet, he found a way to carry on, and catalogued reasons to stay alive in this “scintillating read” (Daily Mail) that is “destined to become a modern classic” (Entertainment Weekly). 

Depression is a serious topic, but Haig’s account of it is “a quick, witty and at times profound take on an illness many people suffer from, but sometimes can’t bring themselves to talk about” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune). The kind of book that we could probably all use right now.

An American-born Tibetan Buddhist, Pema Chödrön taught at Nova Scotia’s Gampo Abbey until she retired in 2020. She also wrote numerous books, with this being probably her most famous. 

Written in the wake of her own battle with illness, When Things Fall Apart is “filled with useful advice about how Buddhism helps readers to cope with the grim realities of modern life, including fear, despair, rage and the feeling that we are not in control of our lives” (Publishers Weekly). 

Yet, while When Things Fall Apart draws heavily from Chödrön's own Buddhist beliefs and teachings, “what makes Pema’s message resonate so strongly with people, no matter what their religion or spiritual path, is its universality” (O, The Oprah Magazine).