The 13 Best Self-Help Books for Women for a More Fulfilling Life in 2022
Self-help is a huge field that can touch on anything, from our most intimate desires for sex and love, to how to become a boss in the business world. While a lot of these wants and needs are universal, we live in a world where not everything is created equal. Whether it’s due to social conditioning, institutional sexism, or simply different biology, a woman’s path to fulfillment often looks slightly different than a man’s. So do the tools she needs to get there.
So we’ve made a list of 13 self-help books to help women get what they want – whether it’s a better relationship with their body and their partner, or to become a self-made millionaire. Some of these books are psychological deep-dives written by highly qualified doctors and experts, and others offer perspective and inspiration based on the author’s own life experience. Many fall somewhere in between.
Most of these books are specifically meant for women but a couple of them are written for a more general audience, though they deal with topics women will certainly find relevant. Importantly, we’ve only selected books written by women, which means a woman’s perspective is central to how it came to be and the guidance that it gives.
Best Self-Help Books on the Body, Sexuality, and Pleasure
In the Flo by Alisa Vitti
In the FLO
- 21 min reading time
- audio version available
We live our whole lives in our bodies, so getting in harmony with our physical selves is one of the most important things we can do to boost our overall wellbeing. In The Flo gives women a comprehensive guide to the female hormonal cycle and the many processes that depend on it – as well as the myriad ways modern life can disrupt your biology and cause you misery. By learning to work with your hormones, rather than against them, Vitti contends that you can harness a biological advantage that will benefit your health, relationships, and your work.
Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski
Since it was first published in 2015, Come as You Are has become the essential book for understanding female sexuality and pleasure – and what can stop it in its tracks. Thinking of women’s sexuality in terms of men’s is scientifically misguided, she argues and leaves many women feeling defective, robbing them of the satisfaction they are capable of. Her mission is to give women (and men) the tools to understand female sexuality on its own terms, so they can create the conditions that will lead them to the greatest pleasure and joy.
Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by Adrienne Maree Brown
Pleasure Activism
- 20 min reading time
- audio version available
Somewhere between a political manifesto and a guide to better living, Pleasure Activism argues that seeking pleasure, joy, and fulfillment is in itself a political act. Part of the purpose of oppression is to deny marginalized people these things, so reclaiming them can be empowering and even subversive. Brown, an activist and doula, blends her own essays with the wisdom of other Black feminists, giving us a guide to pursuing our emotional and erotic needs as we work for a better world.
Best Self-Help Books for Better Relationships
Hold Me Tight by Dr. Sue Johnson
Hold Me Tight
- 15 min reading time
- audio version available
Rooted in attachment theory and drawing on the widely practiced Emotionally Focused Therapy model Dr. Johnson developed in the 1980s, Hold Me Tight is a guide to understanding yourself (and your partner) better so you can build better relationships. Using case studies and practical exercises, Johnson brings her program straight to the reader so they can reestablish safety and trust with their partner, and create the richest possible emotional bond.
Fair Play by Eve Rodsky
Fair Play
- 19 min reading time
- audio version available
In the bestselling Fair Play, Eve Rodsky explores how the gender-based breakdown of domestic labor is harmful to mothers and offers radical solutions on how to address these inequalities in heterosexual relationships. The pandemic has newly exposed how housework and caregiving drives women out of the workforce at higher rates than men, so there’s no better time to take steps towards equality at home, so we can see more of it in the world.
Best Self-Help Books for a More Creative Life
Find Your Unicorn Space by Eve Rodsky
Taking some of the ideas in Fair Play a step further, Find Your Unicorn Space is all about how making space for creativity leads to a more fulfilling life. Balancing the domestic workload may ease the burden on women, but all that new “free time” can get eaten up fast, leaving little time for pleasure and play – and our mental health suffers for it. In this new book, Rodsky offers tips on how to set aside some “Unicorn Space” to pursue the things that make you feel like you.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
The Artist's Way
- 14 min reading time
- audio version available
The Artist’s Way has been an essential self-help book for artists since the 1990s, and its lessons are vital to anyone who wants to tap into their creativity, even just as a hobby. Drawing heavily on her experiences as both an artist and a teacher, Cameron offers a six-week program to face down your self-doubt, find a sweet spot between discipline and play, and make creativity an essential part of your everyday life.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Big Magic was a big hit when it was published in 2015 – who wouldn’t want to read a guide to realizing your dreams by the author of Eat, Pray, Love? Like the Artist’s Way, Big Magic offers tips for overcoming your insecurities and reconnecting with your creative side. But while Cameron’s book is structured around a specific six-week program to help you make art, Gilbert is more about changing your overall approach to life to find more freedom, playfulness, and joy.
Best Self-Help Books for Confidence and Success
You Are a Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
With You Are a Badass, success coach Jen Sincero has written a concrete how-to guide for overcoming self-sabotage so that you can build your best life. Broken into 27 small chapters and written in a fun and “feisty” style, the lessons in this book will help you believe in yourself and put that belief into action, so you can get more out of everything you do.
Brave, Not Perfect by Reshma Saujani
Women, in particular, are taught to strive for perfection and to please others starting at a very young age. But according to Saujani, this conditioning can hold women back in a world where risk-taking is what gets you ahead. Brave, Not Perfect, offers an alternative path where bravery, and with it, the possibility of failure, becomes the key to achieving your dreams.
Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis
Women apologize a lot when they haven’t actually done anything wrong. Women are conditioned to be polite and please people and daring to speak out, take up space, and want things often somehow feels wrong. Bestselling author and businesswoman Rachel Hollis has some advice on how to stop defining yourself in terms of other people’s wants and needs – so you can believe in yourself and live the life of your dreams.
Best Self-Help Books for Money and Career
The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
Kay and Shipmen think that one of the main reasons why men still dominate in the workplace, even as women become more and more qualified, is because men project confidence that women often struggle to access. They combine real-life anecdotes with scientific research on gender, genetics, behavior, and cognition to explore this confidence gap and offer women practical advice on how to close the gap and grow their careers.
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
We Should All Be Millionaires is a step-by-step guide for women on how to achieve financial success in a world where only 10% of millionaires are women. Rodgers covers it all: from advice on how to beat imposter syndrome and ask for more money, to how to make better decisions on spending, saving, and investing, to understanding the social structures that have traditionally barred women and people of color from wealth accumulation. A self-made millionaire herself, Rodgers wants to create a world where women wield equal economic power.
The Artist’s Way has been an essential self-help book for artists since the 1990s, and its lessons are vital to anyone who wants to tap into their creativity, even just as a hobby. Drawing heavily on her experiences as both an artist and a teacher, Cameron offers a six-week program to face down your self-doubt, find a sweet spot between discipline and play, and make creativity an essential part of your everyday life.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Big Magic
- 12 min reading time
- audio version available
Big Magic was a big hit when it was published in 2015 – who wouldn’t want to read a guide to realizing your dreams by the author of Eat, Pray, Love? Like the Artist’s Way, Big Magic offers tips for overcoming your insecurities and reconnecting with your creative side. But while Cameron’s book is structured around a specific six-week program to help you make art, Gilbert is more about changing your overall approach to life to find more freedom, playfulness, and joy.
Best Self-Help Books for Confidence and Success
You Are a Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
You Are a Badass
- 12 min reading time
- audio version available
With You Are a Badass, success coach Jen Sincero has written a concrete how-to guide for overcoming self-sabotage so that you can build your best life. Broken into 27 small chapters and written in a fun and “feisty” style, the lessons in this book will help you believe in yourself and put that belief into action, so you can get more out of everything you do.
Brave, Not Perfect by Reshma Saujani
Women, in particular, are taught to strive for perfection and to please others starting at a very young age. But according to Saujani, this conditioning can hold women back in a world where risk-taking is what gets you ahead. Brave, Not Perfect, offers an alternative path where bravery, and with it, the possibility of failure, becomes the key to achieving your dreams.
Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis
Women apologize a lot when they haven’t actually done anything wrong. Women are conditioned to be polite and please people and daring to speak out, take up space, and want things often somehow feels wrong. Bestselling author and businesswoman Rachel Hollis has some advice on how to stop defining yourself in terms of other people’s wants and needs – so you can believe in yourself and live the life of your dreams.
Best Self-Help Books for Money and Career
The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
Kay and Shipmen think that one of the main reasons why men still dominate in the workplace, even as women become more and more qualified, is because men project confidence that women often struggle to access. They combine real-life anecdotes with scientific research on gender, genetics, behavior, and cognition to explore this confidence gap and offer women practical advice on how to close the gap and grow their careers.
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
We Should All Be Millionaires is a step-by-step guide for women on how to achieve financial success in a world where only 10% of millionaires are women. Rodgers covers it all: from advice on how to beat imposter syndrome and ask for more money, to how to make better decisions on spending, saving, and investing, to understanding the social structures that have traditionally barred women and people of color from wealth accumulation. A self-made millionaire herself, Rodgers wants to create a world where women wield equal economic power.
With You Are a Badass, success coach Jen Sincero has written a concrete how-to guide for overcoming self-sabotage so that you can build your best life. Broken into 27 small chapters and written in a fun and “feisty” style, the lessons in this book will help you believe in yourself and put that belief into action, so you can get more out of everything you do.
Brave, Not Perfect by Reshma Saujani
Women, in particular, are taught to strive for perfection and to please others starting at a very young age. But according to Saujani, this conditioning can hold women back in a world where risk-taking is what gets you ahead. Brave, Not Perfect, offers an alternative path where bravery, and with it, the possibility of failure, becomes the key to achieving your dreams.
Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis
Girl, Stop Apologizing
- 22 min reading time
- audio version available
Women apologize a lot when they haven’t actually done anything wrong. Women are conditioned to be polite and please people and daring to speak out, take up space, and want things often somehow feels wrong. Bestselling author and businesswoman Rachel Hollis has some advice on how to stop defining yourself in terms of other people’s wants and needs – so you can believe in yourself and live the life of your dreams.
Best Self-Help Books for Money and Career
The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
Kay and Shipmen think that one of the main reasons why men still dominate in the workplace, even as women become more and more qualified, is because men project confidence that women often struggle to access. They combine real-life anecdotes with scientific research on gender, genetics, behavior, and cognition to explore this confidence gap and offer women practical advice on how to close the gap and grow their careers.
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
We Should All Be Millionaires is a step-by-step guide for women on how to achieve financial success in a world where only 10% of millionaires are women. Rodgers covers it all: from advice on how to beat imposter syndrome and ask for more money, to how to make better decisions on spending, saving, and investing, to understanding the social structures that have traditionally barred women and people of color from wealth accumulation. A self-made millionaire herself, Rodgers wants to create a world where women wield equal economic power.
Women apologize a lot when they haven’t actually done anything wrong. Women are conditioned to be polite and please people and daring to speak out, take up space, and want things often somehow feels wrong. Bestselling author and businesswoman Rachel Hollis has some advice on how to stop defining yourself in terms of other people’s wants and needs – so you can believe in yourself and live the life of your dreams.
Best Self-Help Books for Money and Career
The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
The Confidence Code
- 18 min reading time
- audio version available
Kay and Shipmen think that one of the main reasons why men still dominate in the workplace, even as women become more and more qualified, is because men project confidence that women often struggle to access. They combine real-life anecdotes with scientific research on gender, genetics, behavior, and cognition to explore this confidence gap and offer women practical advice on how to close the gap and grow their careers.
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
We Should All Be Millionaires is a step-by-step guide for women on how to achieve financial success in a world where only 10% of millionaires are women. Rodgers covers it all: from advice on how to beat imposter syndrome and ask for more money, to how to make better decisions on spending, saving, and investing, to understanding the social structures that have traditionally barred women and people of color from wealth accumulation. A self-made millionaire herself, Rodgers wants to create a world where women wield equal economic power.
Kay and Shipmen think that one of the main reasons why men still dominate in the workplace, even as women become more and more qualified, is because men project confidence that women often struggle to access. They combine real-life anecdotes with scientific research on gender, genetics, behavior, and cognition to explore this confidence gap and offer women practical advice on how to close the gap and grow their careers.
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
We Should All Be Millionaires
- 20 min reading time
- audio version available
We Should All Be Millionaires is a step-by-step guide for women on how to achieve financial success in a world where only 10% of millionaires are women. Rodgers covers it all: from advice on how to beat imposter syndrome and ask for more money, to how to make better decisions on spending, saving, and investing, to understanding the social structures that have traditionally barred women and people of color from wealth accumulation. A self-made millionaire herself, Rodgers wants to create a world where women wield equal economic power.
We Should All Be Millionaires is a step-by-step guide for women on how to achieve financial success in a world where only 10% of millionaires are women. Rodgers covers it all: from advice on how to beat imposter syndrome and ask for more money, to how to make better decisions on spending, saving, and investing, to understanding the social structures that have traditionally barred women and people of color from wealth accumulation. A self-made millionaire herself, Rodgers wants to create a world where women wield equal economic power.
