There are few things as relaxing as curling up in a comfortable chair to read a good book. And I don’t know about you, but I’m always on the hunt for books that will help me get my life together. They used to call them self-help books. I call them self-care books for women. And I love reading them.

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As a stepmom with a busy career and family life, it’s important to exercise what I call “stepmom self-care.” This is the idea that, stepmom or not, taking care of yourself is an essential part of making you healthy, happy, and productive.

For me, part of this is continually trying to learn new skills and ways to approach things.

So I’ve compiled some of my favorite self-care books for women here. Some are inspirational, some are organizational, and some are just fun. Some are related to stepparenting, but all have helped me be a better parent, wife, and person.

I hope you’ll get some good ideas here! And if you think you don’t have time to read, let me share something with you.

I use Audible all the time. I listen to books and podcasts in the car and when I’m walking to meetings. Being able to read at any given moment has been truly life-changing for this bibliophile. If you don’t already have it, I highly recommend.

You Can Do It! Books

Let It Be Easy, by Susie Moore

Susie Moore happens to be one of my mentors. And I’ve loved working with her largely because of her outlook on life. “Let It Be Easy” is her mantra. And she lives it. It doesn’t matter what comes up in life or business, if you can take a step back and “let it be easy,” you’ll notice a big transformation in outlook and outcomes.

And in it’s short, easily digestible chapters, Let It Be Easy gives you some fantastic tips and tools to reduce your stress and start to enjoy life more.

 

Everything Is Figuroutable, Marie Forleo

Oprah has called her the “thought leader for the next generation.” She calls herself a “multipassionate entrepreneur.” She’s a life coach and optimist and has a great outlook.

The basic premise of her book is, you guessed it, that “everything is figureoutable.” Marie has a way of inspiring you to act through her unique outlook.

One of the things Marie has discussed in interviews is the concept that “you win or you learn.”

Not “lose.” What a great way to frame life lessons. You don’t lose, you learn.

I love this. Imagine if we could all shift our way of thinking so that failures are simply lessons learned? I know it’s not a novel concept, but it’s a good reminder.

Do It Scared, by Ruth Soukup

Ruth is a New York Times bestselling author, online entrepreneur, and blogger extraordinaire. I have been very lucky to workshop with Ruth a few times and she’s kind of an inspirational genius.

Also, she’s one of the few women taller than me. Tall girls unite!

But seriously, not only does she give great blogging and business advice, but she wrote Do It Scared to help you overcome your fears. She developed a whole system that helps you identify your fear archetype and once you do, her book walks you through how to face it and crush your goals.

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, by Elizabeth Gilbert

You probably read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. While her most recent book not about a woman traveling the world to find herself, it sure does tackle some of the same underlying issues.

In Big Magic, Elizabeth also talks about tackling fear. She focuses on how to live a more creative life. And asks the question: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?

That’s a big question, right?

She’s not posing it to get her readers involved in the creative arts. When she talks about a creative life, she instead means a life driven more by curiosity than fear. Tackling your day to day life with more mindfulness and passion.

 

Books To Help You Get Organized

I also love books that give me ways to feel more organized. Almost as much as I love wandering through office supply stores. I know, I’m weird. But both of those things make me feel like I can tackle the world.

And these books below really fit the bill. Each one of them has real-life tools that will help you get your act together.

Atomic Habits, by James Clear

Looking to start some new habits but it seems overwhelming? James Clear’s premise in Atomic Habits is life-changing.

He talks about a paradigm shift from embarking on big changes all at once to making very small changes bit by bit. He argues that it’s the cumulative effect of small changes we make on top of each other every day that will help build the larger changes in your life.

Truly, you’ll see things differently after this book.

Free To Focus, by Michael Hyatt

Michael Hyatt was Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers when he realized that he was sacrificing his health and relationships in the name of getting more done. He figured out a system to instead “get the right things done” and now teaches others to do the same.

The premise of Free to Focus is that you can accomplish more by “doing less.”  Meaning you figure out the things you’re good at and enjoy doing and try to delegate or eliminate more of the stuff that you’re either not good at or don’t enjoy. The idea is that this will free you up to have time to “do nothing.”

It’s kind of an awesome idea – that you can actually find time to not be “on” and not be working. 

He also sells an accompanying planner to help you execute the strategies you learn in the book.

It’s no-frills and very different from any of the cute Erin Condren type planners I had used before. But you know what? I love it.

It helps me look long term to plan out my year and my quarter, which I’ve not had much success doing with previous planners. And it helps me stay organized between a couple of different digital calendars.

7 Habits Books, by Stephen R. Covey

There’s a reason Steven Covey has sold over 50 million copies of his The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People. 

The strategies he developed work. In my first job out of law school, 7 Habits was required reading. It made our staff more thoughtful, strategic, and efficient.

He expanded his 7 Habits empire with The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Families, and it’s just as fantastic. He takes his 7 habits and translates them into ways to improve how your family operates. To include how you communicate with each other and how you treat each other.

As an aside, his son wrote a 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens that simplifies the concepts for teens. I think it looks awesome, but I’m admittedly still trying to get my stepdaughter to read it. Stay tuned!

Books To Help You Stepparent

When Craig and I got engaged, I scoured Amazon for stepparenting books. I was determined to study up, follow a plan, and do it right.

Well, I quickly found that the resources were sorely lacking. In no small part because there is no real blueprint to all this. Every situation is different.

That being said, I found a few books that I can recommend to anyone who is about to be or is currently on the stepparenting journey.

Skirts At War, by  Jennifer Newcomb Marine and Jenna Korf

This is a great look at the dynamic between divorced moms and stepmoms, and how to deal with the chaos of different households, especially when it’s a hostile dynamic. It will help you increase your ability to stay grounded and centered while mastering the most common challenges for divorce-connected families.

Co-written by a mom and stepmom team, it’s full of good advice for whatever your dynamic looks like.

Stepparenting With Grace, by Gayla Grace

This devotional is based on scripture but also includes encouraging words for blended family stepparents. It is soothingly inspirational.

I don’t necessarily open it up every day, but when I do it makes me feel centered and calm.

The Stepfamily Handbook, by Dr. Patricia Papernow and Karen Bonnell

There’s no silver bullet book that will teach you how to stepmom.

But The Stepfamily Handbook comes darn close.

It is not a light lift of a book – and it’s not one to skim. But it is packed full of educational information that you can use in your blended family.

As much as I adore my instant family, life changed drastically when I met Craig. I had been living alone for 10 years. Working a lot, traveling a pretty decent amount, and generally doing whatever I wanted.

I’m super thankful for my current life, including how different it is from my former life. But there have definitely been bumps in the road. The Stepfamily Handbook helped me understand some of the challenges in my stepfamily and helped me figure out how to address them.

Building Love Together In Blended Families, by Gary Chapman and Ron Deal

You might remember Gary Chapman as the author of the 5 Love Languages books. They’re all about the different ways people give and receive love. And how to ensure you’re giving your love to your family and loved ones in ways that they can receive.

Just released this month, he’s now applied the love languages to blended families.

We all know stepfamilies are very different than biological families. Giving and receiving love often feels different – and hard.

This book will walk you through that dynamic and help you apply the love languages to your family.

Books To Inspire You

On Fire: The 7 Choices To Ignite A Radically Inspired Life, by John O’Leary

Okay, John O’Leary is not a female writer and this is not a book geared specifically towards women or families. However. I can’t even tell you how much I love On Fire.

I first heard about author John O’Leary on Ruth Soukup’s podcast (see above) when she interviewed him (Episode 93 if you want to listen to it).

I’m not even kidding when I tell you that I found myself in full-on, have to re-do your makeup kind of tears on my commute to work as I listened to the interview and ingested his story.

John suffered burns on literally 100% of his body when he was in a horrific accident at 9 years old. Doctors were surprised he survived. He did, but it took him months of excruciating recovery, to include having his fingers amputated.

And he has said he’d do it all over again because it gave him a “radically inspired life.” And he has devoted his life to inspiring others. His is truly a remarkable journey and his optimistic and spirited outlook is contagious.

The Box: An Invitation To Freedom From Anxiety, by Wendy Tamis Robbins

Statistics show that stepmoms face a much higher instance of anxiety and depression than biological moms. Wendy Tamis Robbins is a stepmom who suffered from severe anxiety for most of her life. A very personal story of overcoming her anxiety, she has crafted a book that will help stepmoms (or anyone) who is in pain.

Whether or not you suffer from anxiety, Wendy’s story is compelling and she’s got some great advice and resources.

Daily Devotionals and Journals

 By now you probably know I’m a big fan of Gratitude Journals. So much so that I created my own, which you can get HERE. And you will love it. This gratitude journal is a great tool, with pages for each week, inspirational quotes, and prompts to help you start your gratitude practice.

If you’re going to do something on the daily, it doesn’t have to take a ton of time. A Year of Self-Love will give you daily quotes and easy reads that you can look at in a minute or two each day.

As we talk about self-care for women and putting ourselves first every once in a while – it starts with taking just a minute or two for yourself. A book like this will get you off to a great start.

I hope I’ve given you some good ideas for self-care books for women. For more books I recommend, check out my resources HERE.

Please drop any self-care books you’ve loved in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!

xo,

Cameron