Resources
Finding the right support is not always straightforward. Whether you are in the middle of something hard or simply looking to understand yourself and your experience more deeply, the resources below are a starting point.
This is a curated list of books, organizations, and tools that I find myself returning to and recommending often. It reflects the areas I care most deeply about and the women and families I am most honored to work with.
Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health
Books
Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts by Karen Kleiman. An honest and compassionate look at the intrusive thoughts many new mothers experience but rarely talk about. Normalizing and deeply validating.
What No One Tells You by Alexandra Sacks and Catherine Birndorf. A guide to the emotional side of pregnancy and new motherhood that goes beyond the physical. Warm, honest, and essential reading.
The Fourth Trimester by Kimberly Ann Johnson. A holistic guide to the weeks after birth that honors the profound transition a woman's body and mind go through.
Organizations
Postpartum Support International at postpartum.net. The leading organization for perinatal mental health support. Offers a helpline, provider directory, and online support groups.
Massachusetts Postpartum Coalition. Local resources and support for Massachusetts families navigating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
Mental Load, Relationships, and Finding Your Voice
Books
Fair Play by Eve Rodsky. A practical and validating framework for understanding and rebalancing the invisible labor in a partnership. Essential reading for any woman who feels like she is carrying more than her share.
Set Boundaries Find Peace by Nedra Tawwab. A clear and compassionate guide to understanding what boundaries actually are and how to set them without guilt.
The Emotionally Intelligent Marriage by John and Julie Gottman. Research based and deeply practical. One of the most useful books I know for couples trying to reconnect and communicate more clearly.
Anxiety
Books
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson. A personal and beautifully written exploration of living with anxiety. Not a self help book in the traditional sense. More like sitting with someone who truly understands.
The Anxiety and Worry Workbook by Clark and Beck. A practical cognitive behavioral workbook for understanding and managing anxiety. Concrete, evidence based, and genuinely useful.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Not specifically about anxiety but about the courage it takes to stop performing and start living honestly. Resonates deeply with women who have spent their lives people pleasing and keeping the peace.
Identity, Self Discovery, and Life Transitions
Books
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. A deep and nourishing exploration of the wild feminine. For women who are ready to stop shrinking and start reclaiming who they actually are.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb. A therapist's own experience in therapy. Honest, funny, moving, and one of the most humanizing books about what therapy actually is and why it works.
Grief and Loss
Books
It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine. Perhaps the most honest book about grief I have encountered. It does not try to fix grief or move you through it. It simply sits with you in it. Profoundly validating.
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. A compassionate and clear eyed look at aging, end of life, and what it means to live and die well. Essential reading for anyone navigating a parent's decline or their own mortality.
Aging Parents and Caregiving
Books
The 36 Hour Day by Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins. The definitive guide for families navigating a loved one's dementia. Practical, thorough, and deeply compassionate.
Organizations
Alzheimer's Association at alz.org. Resources, support groups, and a helpline for families navigating Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
Eldercare Locator at eldercare.acl.gov. A nationwide resource for connecting older adults and their families with local support services.
Caregiver Action Network at caregiveraction.org. Education, peer support, and advocacy for family caregivers.
Parents Navigating a Child's Mental Health or Illness
Books
The Explosive Child by Ross Greene. A compassionate and practical framework for understanding children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Reframes the struggle in a way that brings parents and children closer rather than further apart.
Raising a Moody Child by Mary Fristad and Jill Goldberg Arnold. A practical guide for parents of children with mood disorders. Clear, evidence based, and written with genuine empathy for how hard this is.
Organizations
NAMI Massachusetts at namihelps.org. Free support groups, education programs, and resources for families navigating a loved one's mental health. The Family to Family program is particularly valuable for parents.
NAMI Family Support Group. Free peer led support groups specifically for family members of people living with mental illness. You do not have to be alone in this.
CHADD at chadd.org. The leading organization for families navigating ADHD. Resources, support groups, and a provider directory.
Children's Mental Health Network at cmhnetwork.org. Advocacy, resources, and community for families navigating children's mental health.
Trauma and Healing
Books
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. The landmark book on how trauma lives in the body and what healing actually looks like. Foundational reading for anyone wanting to understand trauma more deeply.
What Happened to You by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey. A compassionate reframe of trauma that shifts the question from what is wrong with you to what happened to you. Accessible, warm, and genuinely transformative.
A Note
These resources are offered as a starting point, not a replacement for professional support. If you are struggling I encourage you to reach out, to me or to another qualified mental health professional in your area. You do not have to figure this out alone.
If something on this page resonates with you and you are ready to explore support for yourself I would love to connect.
Lyza Chin, LICSW
Therapist for Women in Massachusetts