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Home • Entertainment

6 Books To Help You (Really) Practice Self-Care

It’s a perfect time to seek out books filled with wellness tips for women who want to make self-care a priority.
6 Books To Help You (Really) Practice Self-Care
By Joi-Marie McKenzie · Updated December 6, 2020

With so much going on in the world, self-care seems like a necessary form of survival.

We don’t have to remind you what we’re up against, but for the record: a novel coronavirus is still ravaging the U.S. because of total lack of governmental leadership, a racial reckoning is happening in every facet of society and children (in some parts of the country) are being forced to go back to school even as millions have died from the virus.

We’re still not used to working from home. We still miss our friends because we’re trying to be responsible and self-isolate and we’re still missing our old ways of life.

For the July/August issue of ESSENCE, psychologist Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis helped us hand-select books that really speak to our need for care, compassion, empathy and real-life tactics on how to cope.

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01
Bipolar Faith
Monica A. Coleman gets real about her own “dance” with bipolar disorder and shows others there is a way out in Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman’s Journey With Depression and Faith ($26.99)
6 Books To Help You (Really) Practice Self-Care
02
The Self-Care Prescription
Robyn L. Gobin, Ph.D., breaks down useful techniques in The Self-Care Prescription: Powerful Solutions to Manage Stress, Reduce Anxiety and Increase Well- Being ($14.99) to help you design a balanced and purpose-filled life
6 Books To Help You (Really) Practice Self-Care
03
Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us
In his debut, Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us ($20.99), Justin Michael Williams offers meditations for trauma, racism, homophobia and even self- sabotaging
6 Books To Help You (Really) Practice Self-Care
04
Dear Woman
Michael E. Reid, better known as Just Mike The Poet, penned a collection of poetry and letters called Dear Woman ($27.99), in which he reminds women to grab and wear their crown
6 Books To Help You (Really) Practice Self-Care
05
Soothe Your Nerves: The Black Woman’s Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety, Panic, and Fear
In Soothe Your Nerves: The Black Woman’s Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety, Panic, and Fear ($16.95), Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett places Black women’s anxiety front and center
6 Books To Help You (Really) Practice Self-Care
06
Happy, Okay?: Poems About Anxiety, Depression, Hope, & Survival
We’re introduced to Paloma, a woman faking it to survive, in M.J. Fievre’s Happy, Okay?: Poems About Anxiety, Depression, Hope, & Survival ($15.95)
6 Books To Help You (Really) Practice Self-Care
TOPICS:  black books Books self-care self-help self-love