A Massage Therapist's Booklist

Because people keep asking, here is a partial list of the non-fiction that I have read for “work” They appear in no particular order,
but I have tried to group them with similar titles. 

I can’t recommend any title above any other because each is helpful in its own way. If I’ve reviewed a title, I will link the review. 

Enjoy!

Understanding the Human

  • Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving by Celeste Headlee
  • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
  • When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
  • Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian
  • Uncultured: A Memoir by Daniella Mestyanek Young
  • Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
  • Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
  • The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
  • Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brene Brown
  • Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power, and Use It For Good by Kimberly Ann Johnson
  • The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
  • Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski
  • Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is You Hidden Strength by Laurie A. Helgoe
  • Feelings Buried Alive Never Die… by Karol K Truman
  • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S Dweck
  • SQ21: The Twenty-One Skills of Spiritual Intelligence by Cindy Wigglesworth
  • Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
  • The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People with Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss in Later Life by Nancy L Mace & Peter V Rabins
  • The Apartheid of Sex: A Manifesto on the Freedom of Gender by Martine Rothblatt
  • The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman
  • S*x Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body by Jennifer Ackerman
  • The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker
  • Why Women Have S*x: Understanding S*xual Motivations-From Adventure to Revenge by Cindy M Meston & David M Buss
  • Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown

Massage Therapy

  • Explain Pain by David S Butler
  • Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
  • Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers by Barbara Ehrenrich & Deirdre English
  • Movement Matters: Essays on Movement Science, Movement Ecology, and the Nature of Movement by Katy Bowman
  • Reconceiving My Body: Take Two, from the Heart by Gil Hedley
  • Alignment Matters: The First Five Years of Katy Says by Katy Bowman
  • Your Inner Physician and You: CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release by John E. Upledger
  • Human Tuning by John Beaulieu
  • Sound Bath: Meditate, Heal and Connect Through Listening by Sara Auster
  • A Little Book of Self Care: Breathwork by Nathalia Westmacott-Brown
  • Breema by Jon Schreiber
  • Whole Body Barefoot: Transitioning Well to Minimal Footwear by Katy Bowman
  • Educated by Tara Westover
  • Barefoot Shiatsu: The Japanese Art of Healing the Body Through Massage by Shizuko Yamamoto & Patrick McCarty
  • Move Your DNA by Katy Bowman
  • Massage Is Weird by Ian Harvey
  • Press Here! Ayurvedic Head Massage for Beginners: A Practice for Overall Health and Wellness by Hillary Arrieta
  • Roll Model: A Step-by-Step Guide to Erase Pain, Improve Mobility, and Live Better in Your Body by Jill Miller
  • The Mystery of Pain by Douglas Nelson
  • What Lies Beneath: The Under-Realized Effects of Breast, Abdominal, & Pelvic Surgeries by Jenice Mattek & Sara Fisher
  • Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine by Candace B. Pert
  • Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief: The New Science of Healthy Feet by Katy Bowman
  • The Guide to Modern Cupping Therapy: Your Step-by-Step Source for Vacuum Therapy by Shannon Gilmartin CMT
  • Somatics Reawakening The Mind’s Control of Movement, Flexibility, and Health by Thomas Hanna
  • Healing from Within with Chi Nei Tsang: Applied Chi Kung in Internal Organs Treatment by Gilles Marin & Mantak Chia
  • The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process: Transcend Your Toughest Times by David Berceli
  • Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever by Clinton Ober
  • One Rope, Two Feet and Healing Oils by Prabhat Menon
  • Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff
  • Chi Nei Tsang: Chi Massage for the Vital Organs by Mantak Chia
  • The Walrus on My Table: Touching True Stories of Animal Healing by Anthony Guglielmo & Cari Lynn
  • Overcoming Repetitive Motion Injuries the Rossiter Way by Richard H Rossiter
  • Bodymind by Ken Dychtwald
  • Save Your Hands! Injury Prevention for Massage Therapists by Lauriann Greene & Robert A Greene
  • Touch for Health: A Practical Guide to Natural Health With Acupressure Touch by John F Thie & Matthew Thie
  • The Ultimate Body Rolling Workout: The Revolutionary Way to Tone, Lengthen, and Realign Your Body by Yamuna Zake & Stephanie Golden
  • Mosby’s Pathology for Massage Therapists by Susan Salvo & Sandra Kauffman Anderson
  • Mosby’s Essential Sciences for Therapeutic Massage by Sandy Fritz & James Grosenbach
  • Mosby’s Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage by Sandy Fritz
  • Compendium of Dr. Vodder’s Manual Lymph Drainage by Kathryn McKillip Thrift
  • Kinesiology: The Skeletal System and Muscle Function by Joseph E Muscolino
  • Built to Move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully by Kelly Starrett

Herbal Interests

  • The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  • The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
  • Clinical Applications of Herbal Medicine by Paul Barney
  • Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland by Lisa Schneidau
  • The Witch’s Herbal Apothecary: Rituals & Recipes for a Year of Earth Magick and Sacred Medicine Making by Marysia Miernowska
  • Power of the Seed: Your Guide to Oils for Health & Beauty by Susan M Parker
  • Food Fix: How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet-One Bite at a Time by Mark Hyman
  • A Prescription for Nutritional Healing: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals Herbs & Food Supplements by James F Balch & Phyllis A Balch
  • Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide by Rosemary Gladstar
  • The Secret Life of Plants: Fascinating Account of he Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Relations Between Plants and Man by Peter Tomkins & Christopher Bird
  • The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines by Matthew Wood
  • The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Process from Around the World by Sandor Ellix Katz
  • Native Plants, Native Healing: Traditional Muskagee Way by Tis Mal Crow
  • Seven Herbs: Plants as Teachers by Matthew Wood
  • Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals by Robert Tisserand & Rodney Young
  • Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Bach Flower Remedies by Edward Bach
  • Women, Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth
  • The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
  • Herbs for Colds & Flu by Nalda Gosling
  • Shrubs: An Old-Fashioned Drink for Modern Times by Michael Dietsch
  • Radical Remedies: An Herbalist’s Guide to Empowered Self-Care by Brittany Ducham

Social Issues

  • One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
  • The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore
  • Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality by Debbie Cenziper & Jim Obergefell
  • Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win by Jessica Valenti
  • The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
  • Hail the Traveler: On Walking My Mother Home by Mark J DeMaio
  • Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell
  • How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith by Mariann Edgar Budde
  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • poyums by Len Pennie
  • The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Life is Good: The Book by Bert Jacobs
  • Memories From a Different Time by Ricky Halbrooks
  • Walking Sipsey: The People, Places, and Wildlife by Jim Manasco
  • Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
  • Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
  • The Funny Thing Is… by Ellen DeGeneres
  • Revenge of the Paste Eaters: Memoirs of a Misfit by Cheryl Peck
  • Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp by Stephanie Klein
  • The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
  • Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola EstesOne 

Self-Improvement

  • Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution by Brene Brown
  • The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders
  • Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
  • Radically Content: Being Satisfied in an Endlessly Dissatisfied World by Jamie Varon
  • How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
  • The Magic Touch: How to Make $100,000 Per Year as a Massage Therapist by Meagan R. Holub
  • Life’s Missing Instruction Manual: The Guidebook You Should Have Been Given at Birth by Joe Vitale
  • Untamed by Glennon Doyle
  • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
  • You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
  • Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull & Amy Wallace
  • Fascinate: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist by Sally Hogshead
  • Get Rich, Lucky Bitch: Release Your Money Blocks and Live a First Class Life by Denise Duffield-Thomas
  • You Can Buy Happiness (and It’s Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her LIfe and How You Can Too by Tammy Strobel
  • Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
  • The No A$$hole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t by Robert I Sutton
  • Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writers’ Manual by Rita Mae Brown
  • The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews
  • Mystic Cool: a Proven Approach to Transcend Stress, Achieve Optimal Brain Function, and Maximize Your Creative Intelligence by Don J Goewey
  • The Dark Side of the Light Chasers: Reclaiming Your Power, Creativity, Brilliance, and Dreams by Debbie Ford

Spirituality

  • Awakening to the Spirit World: The Shamanic Path of Direct Revelation by Sandra Ingerman & Hank Wesselman
  • Meditation Made Easy by Lorin Roche
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • The Healer Within: The Four Essential Self-Care Methods for Creating Optimal Health by Roger Jahnke
  • The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner
  • Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates & Katrina Kenison
  • Coyote Medicine: Lessons from Native American Healing by Lewis Mehl-Madrona
  • Becoming Enlightened by Dalai Lama XIV
  • Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
  • Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don’t by Michael J. Losier
  • Simple Wicca by Michele Morgan
  • The Wiccan Way: Magical Spirituality for the Solitary Pagan by Rae Beth
  • Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chodron
  • The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
  • The Law of Attraction, Plain and Simple: Create the Extraordinary Life That You Deserve by Sonia Ricotti