Habit Change

• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

• Alison’s 2025 Daily Habit Tracker - excel spreadsheet

• Bracelet practice for habit change (Alison’s video)

• The Karma of Love and The Diamond Cutter by Geshe Michael Roach - he gives lots of little ideas for microbehavior and attitude changes that will create different results in you life. The microhabit tracker is how you can track habit change in your journal. Pick a small habit and every night, talley up your wins and losses in practicing that new habit.

Trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and Healing

• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD

• The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté, MD

• The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self by Alice Miller

• The Deepest Well: Healing the Long Term Effects of Childhood Adversity by Nadine Burke Harris, MD

• Trauma & Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror by Judith Herman, PhD

• My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menekem

• The Still Face Baby Experiment (video)

• Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith

• Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker

• What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo - listen to the audiobook because she shares recordings of her therapy sessions

• Alison’s review of What My Bones Know

• The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce Perry, MD

• What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience and Healing and By Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey (and the Super Soul Sunday video on YouTube)

• Waking the Tiger and Healing Trauma by Peter Levine

• Healing Trauma: Restoring the Wisdom of the Body by Peter Levine

• Cracked Up (film) about actor Darrell Hammond’s awakening to his childhood trauma through the fog of schizophrenia and addiction

• Cracked Up: The Evolving Conversation (event series Alison produced to promote the film’s Netflix launch)

• The Adult Child’s Guide to What’s ‘Normal’ by John and Linda Friel

• No Bad Parts Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard Schwartz

• Elaine Miller-Karas’ Community Resiliency Model - skills-based interventions such as resourcing, grounding, and becoming present so that they can get unstuck from fear and flight, fight, freeze

Addiction

• In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté, MD

• Alison’s Blog: Escaping the Hungry Ghost Realm: Celebrating 20 Years of Freedom from Drug Addiction

• The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease by March Lewis, PhD

• The Truth by Neil Strauss (sex/relationship addiction)

Childhood Emotional Neglect

• Running on Empty: Overcoming Childhood Emotional Neglect by Jonice Webb

• Running on Empty No More: Transform Your Relationships with Your Partner, Your Parents and Your Children by Jonice Webb

• Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents By Lindsay Gibson, PsyD

• The Emotionally Absent Mother by Jasmin Lee Cori, MS LPC, et al

Parenting

• Parenting from the Inside Out by Dan Siegel, PhD

• Big Little Feelings

Community Building

• How to Start Your Own Friend Cult, Latchkey Urchins & Friends (Alison’s Podcast)

• The Like Switch by Jack Schafer, PhD and Marcin Karlins, PhD

• How to Be a Power Connector by Judy Robinett

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Notes from Alison about community building and meeting new people with healthy habits: pick activities that involve talking with and interacting with other people:

• CrossFit

• Running Club

• Partnered dance classes

• Trivia Night

• Camping or beach bonfires with your friends

• Hiking with friends

• Interactive workshops like eye gazing

• Joining a coworking office instead of working from home

• Throwing a fun, themed house party

• Joining a travel excursion where you’re in a group with new people

• Reading a book at a coffee shop instead of at home

• Volunteering

• Toastmasters public speaking practice

• Cooking or pottery workshop

• Class at a community college

• Group coaching program

Spirituality

• The Celestine Prophecy: A Concise Guide to the Nine Insights Featuring Original Essays & Lectures by the Author by James Redfield (also about intuitively connecting with people)

• When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön

Poetry

• Poetry Unbound podcast with Padraig O Tuama

• David Whyte

Body Healing

• Women, Food, and God by Geneen Roth

• In the Body of the World by V (Eve Ensler)

• Alison’s 8-Week No Sugar Challenge (trauma informed)

Communication

• The Power of Discord: Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships Are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust by Claudia and Ed Tronick

• Alison’s interview with Claudia and Ed

• What Every Body is Saying by Joe Navarro

• How to Hold a Conversation Like a Man (works for women too!) (video)

Western Culture and Nurturance Lack

• The Evolved Nest: Nature's Way of Raising Children and Creating Connected Communities by Darcia Narvaez, PhD

• Alison’s interview with Darcia about the Evolved Nest (Latchkey Urchins & Friends Podcast)

• Restoring the Kinship Worldview: Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth by Darcia Narvaez, PhD

• Alison’s interview with Darcia about The Kinship Worldview (YouTube)

People Pleasing

• When the Body Says No: The Hidden Cost of Stress by Gabor Maté, MD

• Believing Me: Healing from Narcissistic Abuse and Complex Trauma by Ingrid Clayton (she has a great Instagram as well)

• Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty... And Start Speaking Up, Saying No, Asking Boldly, And Unapologetically Being Yourself by Aziz Gazipura, PsyD

• The Power of No by James and Claudia Altucher

Self-Compassion

• Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach

• Self-Compassion: The Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin Neff

Relationships

• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find--and Keep--Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

• Wired for Dating: How Understanding Neurobiology and Attachment Style Can Help You Find Your Ideal Mate by Stan Tatkin

• Wired for Love: How Understanding Your Partner's Brain and Attachment Style Can Help You Defuse Conflict and Build a Secure Relationshipby Stan Tatkin

• Passionate Marriage: Keeping Love and Intimacy Alive in Committed Relationships by David Snarch

• You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For by Richard Schwartz

• Slow Love by James Powell

• The Man's Guide to Women: Scientifically Proven Secrets from the Love Lab About What Women Really Want by the Gottmans (talks about the prevalence of violence against women)

The Brain/Psychology

• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

• Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Dr. Anna Lembke