'Reclaimed My Life': Psychologist Recommends 5 Life-Changing Books

Have you ever picked up a book thinking you would zoom through it really quick, and instead, it came alive, saw right through you and spoke to your soul? Here is a list of five books that resonated deeply with me. They weren’t self-help books that offered quick fixes or provisional advice. They worked in many ways. Sometimes, they gave me a warm hug; at other times they held up a mirror. At times, they were the best friend you need for some honest feedback. There were times when they sat with me in silence, simply present. Each one came to me when I needed it the most. Trust the Universe to give you what you need when you are ready to receive.

1. A Guide to Rational Living by Dr Albert Ellis — Taming the Inner Critic

I met D  Albert Ellis in my college years — back when my mind was a battlefield of “shoulds” and “what ifs.” If overthinking were an Olympic sport, I’d have been a gold medallist. Nothing wrong with that until Dr Ellis’s tough love told me that the rules, ideals and thoughts in my head were only just that – My Thoughts, not Facts!

His message was clear: most of our suffering isn’t caused by situations outside of us—it’s caused by what we tell ourselves about what happens to us. How we perceive our experiences influences our feelings and our reactions. The book reflected my mind’s irrational tendencies back at me and said, “See, these are your troublemakers!” It taught me to identify them and challenge them when they didn’t serve me.

Every time my inner critic got ready to doubt, catastrophise or judge in my head, I learnt to ask, ‘Is it true or just familiar?’ If your inner critic is loud, try this: Next time it pipes up, ask, ‘Where’s the proof?’ Chances are, it’s just making noise. You don’t have to listen.

2. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron — Reclaiming My Voice

When I picked up the book for the first time, it felt like I was going on a blind date. The next thing I knew it was love at first sight! I didn’t want my date to end. Each of us is born creative. Creativity is not limited to artistic mediums; it also reflects in the way you live your life and in your daily choices.

Cameron’s words were a heart-to-heart. They nudged me to admit I had silenced my own voice. Not just artistically, but in the way I showed up in my life. Trauma and self-doubt had built walls around my self-expression. I realised how essential tapping into creativity was for well-being and healing.

If you’ve ever said, “I’m not creative,” I hear you. But what if you are, and the world just convinced you otherwise? Go on—write, draw, dance, make a mess. See what shows up.

3. What Happened to You? by Oprah Winfrey and Dr Bruce Perry — Rewriting My Story

I’d spent years asking, “Why am I like this?” “What’s wrong with me?” The overthinking. The anxiety. The people-pleasing that felt like second nature. But the book posed a different question: “What happened to you?"

Reflect on it for a moment. What a shift! Suddenly, the shame I carried had context. My reactions weren’t flaws—they were adaptations. Trauma had wired my nervous system to survive. And while those patterns once protected me, they weren’t serving me anymore. I saw that my brain and my mind did what they had to help me make it through. 

That’s resilience, not weakness. I realised that healing is not analysing or fixing. It means listening to my body and regulating my nervous system. Self-compassion isn’t an indulgence, it is restoration. I have learned to trade judgment for curiosity. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” I now ask, “What do I need right now?”

If you carry the weight of self-blame, I want you to know this: Your reactions make sense. They were once your armour. But healing? That’s learning to take it off, one piece at a time.

4. How to Do the Work by Dr Nicole LePera — Becoming My Own Healer

If one book empowered me further to take ownership and reclaim my life, it’s this one, especially because it reminded me that healing is an inside job. It showed me how to find freedom in responsibility and how to choose differently and establish healthy rhythms. Dr
Nicole’s words implored me to see how this equipped me to build Self-Trust.

Healing isn’t a breakthrough moment. It’s a thousand tiny choices. Choose you. Every time.

5. The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer — Finding Peace in the Chaos

If Ellis was the no-nonsense coach, Michael Singer was the serene monk, gently nudging me to step back from the chaos in my mind. ‘The Untethered Soul’ was like a long exhale. It taught me that I am not the voice in my head. I am the one who hears it. This simple truth unravelled years of tangled thoughts.

That inner chatter? The constant worrying, ruminating, and self-criticising? Well, it’s not you. It’s just your mind doing what it does. And freedom? It comes when you choose not to engage.

I imbibed the practice of noticing my thoughts without reacting. Just watching. Like clouds passing through the sky. I began to ask myself, “What if I didn’t argue with this thought? What if I let it be?” When fear showed up, the book filled me with the courage to whisper back, “I see you, and I’m still choosing peace.”

The next time your mind is spinning, pause. Take a breath. And remember—you are not the storm. You are the sky.

So, which words have shifted something within you? Which books have altered the way you think, breathe, and choose yourself? Tell me. What did they say?

Saiyami Juvekar is a psychologist on a mission to empower people to heal, nurture and transform to awaken their free true joyful selves. Views expressed by the author are their own.