Books That Could Change Your Life
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” — Viktor E. Frankl, MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING
On Monday, April 28, 2025, I quite unexpectedly had an aggressive malignant brain tumor removed from my left frontal lobe. Although this could have been scary, it was a relief as I thought I had dementia.
As I meet with doctors regarding radiation and chemo therapies, I have decided to work on the granular level, as my brother Edward said. To that effect I am rounding up all the “books that could change your life” that I have read or been recommended to me for over 40 years. (Yes, I first read WHEN I SAY NO I FEEL GUILTY in Philadelphia before Mitch and I moved here in the summer of 1980, and I still use the concept every single day.)
I hope that one or more of these books might help you in your work, your personal life, or both. (None of the below links is an affiliate link.) One purpose only: To follow my long-term marketing mantra of “making it as easy as possible for your targeted audience to say yes to you.”
And, yes, this is a combination of book citation styles — one designed to be the clearest:
CAUTIONARY WARNING: Some of the older medical-related books might not have the most recent information. Thus they should be read with a grain of salt. The same can be said about the use of inappropriate language such as in Twyla Tharp’s book THE CREATIVE HABIT in which she uses a derogatory word for “cheating.” (This may have been corrected in the 2006 edition below.)
And, yes, there will be discrepancies for a book’s publisher/year information. For example, my 1992 co-written Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION was originally published by Perigee. When the rights reverted per the contract, co-author Rabbi Karen L. Fox and I self-published the book through BookSurge. The Amazon listing shows BookSurge as the publisher with the date of 2008.
In cases where there is more than one edition (particularly in books such as CHANGE YOUR QUESTIONS CHANGE YOUR LIFE), for the most up-to-date information make sure you get the current edition. (For the reissue of a deceased author’s book — you can get whatever is on offer.)
Discrepancies also sometimes exist between publisher of the book’s hardcover and paperback or the year of such publication, which is frequently not the same, etc.
IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY AUTHOR’S LAST NAME:
Marilee Adams, CHANGE YOUR QUESTIONS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE, 4th Edition: 12 Powerful Tools for Leadership, Coaching, and Results (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2022).
Blaise Aguirre, I HATE MYSELF: Overcome Self-Loathing and Realize Why You’re Wrong About You (Wiley, 2025). (May 2025 UCLA Friends of Semel Institute webinar of author can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YQvBSjHOxY)
Daniel G. Amen, HEALING ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 7 types of ADD (Berkley revised edition, 2013).
Aaron T. Beck, COGNITIVE THERAPY AND THE EMOTIONAL DISORDERS (Plume, 1979).
Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles (foreword by Harvey Mackay), RAVING FANS: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service (William Morrow, 1993).
David D. Burns, FEELING GOOD: THE NEW MOOD THERAPY — The Clinically Proven Drug-Free Treatment for Depression With Preface by Aaron T. Beck (Harper Collins, 1999).
Joshua Coleman, RULES OF ESTRANGEMENT: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict (Harmony, 2024).
M.T. Connolly, THE MEASURE OF OUR AGE: Navigating Care. Safety, Money and Meaning Later in Life (Public Affairs, 2023).
Elliot Cosgrove, FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS: ON BEING JEWISH TODAY (Harvest, 2024).
Kim Davies, THE DIRECTORY OF YOUR BACK, YOUR BONES & THINGS THAT ACHE (Chartwell Books, 2004).
Carol S. Dweck, MINDSET: The New Psychology of Success (Ballantine Books, 2007).
Pete Egoscue with Richard Gittines, THE EGOSCUE METHOD OF HEALTH THROUGH MOTION: A Revolutionary Program That Lets You Rediscover the Body’s Power to Protect and Rejuvenate Itself (William Morrow Paperbacks, 1993).
Lajos Egri, THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives (Touchstone, 1972).
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D, EAT YOUR ICE CREAM: SIX SIMPLE RUES FOR A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE (W. W. Norton & Company, 2026).
Brian Eno and Bette Adriaanse, WHAT ART DOES: An Unfinished Theory (Faber & Faber, 2025).
Bruce Feiler, LIFE IS IN THE TRANSITIONS: MASTERING CHANGE AT ANY AGE (Penguin, 2020).
Karen L. Fox and Phyllis Zimbler Miller, SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION: A Contemporary Guide to the Joys, Practices, and Traditions of the Jewish Holidays (Perigee, 1992)
Viktor E. Frankl, MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING (Beacon Press, 2006).
John Gardner, THE ART OF FICTION: Notes on Craft for Young Writers (Vintage, 1991).
Michael E. Gerber, THE E-MYTH REVISITED: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It (Harper Business, 2004).
Natalie Goldberg, WRITING DOWN THE BONES: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala, 2016).
John Gray, MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex (Harper, 2012).
Dennis Greenberger and Christine A. Padesky With Foreword by Aaron Beck, Mind Over Mood Second Edition (The Guilford Press, 2016).
Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey, DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION: Recognizing and Coping With Attention Deficit Disorder (Vintage revised, 2011).
Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey, DELIVERED FROM DISTRACTION: Getting the Most Out of Life With Attention Deficit Disorder (Ballantine Books, 2005).
Eric Hoffer, THE ORDEAL OF CHANGE (Hopewell Publications, 2006). Originally published by Harper & Row, Publishers, in 1963.
Eric Hoffer, THE TRUE BELIEVER: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2010). Originally published by Harper & Row, Publishers, in 1951.
Robert L. Klapper and Lynda Huey, HEAL YOUR KNEES: How to Prevent Knee Surgery and What to Do If You Need It (M. Evans & Company, 2004).
Robert L. Klapper and Lynda Huey, HEAL YOUR HIPS: How to Prevent Hip Surgery – and What to Do If You Need It (Trade Paper Press, 1999).
Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau, ADD-FRIENDLY WAYS TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE: Strategies That Work From an Acclaimed Professional Organizer and a Renowned ADD Clinician (Routledge 2nd edition, 2016).
James Kustow, HOW TO THRIVE WITH ADULT ADHD (Vermilion, 2024).
Anne Lamont, BIRD BY BIRD: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Bantam Doubleday, 1994).
Harvey Mackay, DIG YOUR WELL BEFORE YOU’RE THIRSTY (Crown Currency, 1999).
Erin Meyer, THE CULTURE MAP: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business (Public Affairs, 2014).
Arthur Miller, INCIDENT AT VICHY: A Play (Penguin, 1985).
Olga Naiman, SPATIAL ALCHEMY: Design Your Home to Transform Your Life (Artisan, 2025)
Dan Olsen, THE LEAN PRODUCT PLAYBOOK: How to Innovate With Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback (Wiley, 2015).
Beth Pinsker, MY MOTHER’S MONEY: A Guide to Financial Caregiving (Crown Currency, 2025).
Eric Ries, THE LEAN STARTUP: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses (Vikin, 2011).
Sheryl Sandberg, LEAN IN: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (Knopf, 2013).
Jason M. Satterfield, Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Techniques for Retraining Your Brain (Great Books, 2015).
Michael Shurtleff, AUDITION: Everything An Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part (Bloomsbury USA, 2003).
Manuel J. Smith, WHEN I SAY NO I FEEL GUILTY (Bantam Books, 1979).
Deborah Tannen, YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND: Women and Men in Conversation (William Morrow, 2007).
Deborah Tannen, THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships (William Morrow, 2011).
Twyla Tharp, THE CREATIVE HABIT: Learn It and Use It for Life (Simon & Schuster, 2006). Note: When I read this book — published in 2006 — my only hesitation at recommending it was the author’s use of the degratory word “gypped” in discussing something. The word is a form of Gypsy (now known as Roma, Sinti, etc.) and has negative stereotypical implications.
Sun Tzu, THE ART OF WAR: Sun Tzu’s Classics, Military Strategy History, Ancient Chinese Military Strategist (Sirius, 2023)
Judith Voight, MAKING THE BEST OF WHAT’S LEFT: WHEN WE’RE TOO OLD TO GET THE CHAIRS REUPHOLSTERED (Simon & Schuster, 2025).
Jennifer Breheny Wallace, MATTERING: THE SECRET TO A LIFE OF DEEP CONNECTION AND PURPOSE (Portfolio, 2026).
Harry Weisman, THE 18% SOLUTION: Lose 18 Percent of Your Weight in 18 Weeks (iUniverse, 2007)