Book Recommendations

Top 5 Books for Self Healing

(Trauma, Emotional Pain, Chronic Pain, Auto-Immune Disease, Mental Health)

You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter
By Dr. Joe Dispenza

He presents documented medical examples of how healing happens when our mind believes it is possible as well as the opposite – how we can negatively impact the natural healing abilities of our bodies through our mind alone. A powerful book that I have included as an assigned reading to my students at William and Mary College when I taught there years ago. It is written for general public with footnotes that provide ample documentation if one wishes to look up each case that he mentions.

The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter, and Miracles
By Bruce H. Lipton

This was another one on my required reading list while I taught at William and Mary College and it was groundbreaking when it first appeared in great part because it also coincided with the author’s ability to reach large groups of people through his accessible presentations on Youtube, which appeared at the same time as the first edition of this book. This link leads you to the updated version, released 10 years later, with some additional information that is not contained in the first edition.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
By Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.

A richly illustrated discussion on how trauma affects body and brain. He discusses innovative treatments, the new research on neuroplasticity of the brain, and presents a range of innovative treatments of trauma, including many things that a person can do by themselves.

When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection
By Gabor Mate, M.D.

This book explores the role of the mind-body link in conditions and diseases such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, IBS, and multiple sclerosis. It draws on medical research and the author’s clinical experience as a family physician. The author discusses the seven principles of healing and the prevention of illness from hidden stress.

Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel The Way You Feel (The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine)
By Candace B. Pert

I consider this the one that started it all. In the late 1990s when this book was first published, the field of psychoneuroimmunology was still largely known only to a select few in the medical profession. This was one of the first books to discuss – from a scientific perspective but in an accessible language – the biomolecular loops that form between our experiences, our emotions and our health. The original title of the book was Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel The Way You Feel.

Top 5 Books for Self Healing

(Trauma, Emotional Pain, Chronic Pain, Auto-Immune Disease, Mental Health)

Genes and DNA do not control our biology – is the premise of this book. Instead – it was discovered that DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell, including the energetic messages emanating from our positive and negative thoughts. This was another one on my required reading list while I taught at William and Mary College and it was groundbreaking when it first appeared in great part because it also coincided with the author’s ability to reach large groups of people through his accessible presentations on Youtube, which appeared at the same time as the first edition of this book. This link leads you to the updated version, released 10 years later, with some additional information that is not contained in the first edition.

This book explores the role of the mind-body link in conditions and diseases such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, IBS, and multiple sclerosis. It draws on medical research and the author's clinical experience as a family physician. The author discusses the seven principles of healing and the prevention of illness from hidden stress.