Recommendations based on "Strong Female Character: The Sunday Times Bestseller"

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The funny, sad, super-honest, all-true story of Chelsea Handler’s year of self-discovery—featuring a nerdily brilliant psychiatrist, a shaman, four Chow Chows, some well-placed security cameras, various family members (living and departed), friends, assistants, and a lot of ediblesA SKIMM READS PICK • “This will be one of your favorite books of all time.”—Amy SchumerIn a haze of vape smoke on a rare windy night in L.A. in the fall of 2016, Chelsea Handler daydreams about what life will be like with a woman in the White House. And then Donald Trump happens. In a torpor of despair, she decides that she’s had enough of the privileged bubble she’s lived in—a bubble within a bubble—and that it’s time to make some changes, both in her personal life and in the world at large.At home, she embarks on a year of self-sufficiency—learning how to work the remote, how to pick up dog shit, where to find the toaster. She meets her match in an earnest, brainy psychiatrist and enters into therapy, prepared to do the heavy lifting required to look within and make sense of a childhood marked by love and loss and to figure out why people are afraid of her. She becomes politically active—finding her voice as an advocate for change, having difficult conversations, and energizing her base. In the process, she develops a healthy fixation on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and, through unflinching self-reflection and psychological excavation, unearths some glittering truths that light up the road ahead.Thrillingly honest, insightful, and deeply, darkly funny, Chelsea Handler’s memoir keeps readers laughing, even as it inspires us to look within and ask ourselves what really matters in our own lives.Praise for Life Will Be the Death of Me“You thought you knew Chelsea Handler—and she thought she knew herself—but in her new book, she discovers that true progress lies in the direction we haven’t been.”—Gloria Steinem“I always wondered what it would be like to watch Chelsea Handler in session with her therapist. Now I know.”—Ellen DeGeneres“I love this book not just because it made me laugh or because I learned that I feel the same way about certain people in politics as Chelsea does. I love this book because I feel like I finally really got to know Chelsea Handler after all these years. Thank you for sharing, Chelsea!”—Tiffany Haddish

*A younger reader's edition of the number-one bestselling memoir by former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. With a new introduction from Mrs Obama herself*What's important is our story, our whole story, including those moments when we feel a little vulnerable . . .Michelle Robinson started life sharing a bedroom with her older brother Craig, in their family's upstairs apartment in her great-aunt's house. Her parents, Fraser and Marian, poured their love and energy into their children. She would go on to become Michelle Obama, the inspirational First Lady of the United States of America.Now adapted for younger readers, with new photographs and a new introduction from Michelle Obama herself, this memoir tells a very personal, and completely inspiring, story of how, through hard work and determination, the girl from the South Side of Chicago built an extraordinary life.A tale of ups and downs, triumphs and failures, this is an incredibly honest account. It will take you from the early years - first kiss, first school, first love - to the wonders of the White House, and the moment Mrs Obama shook hands with the Queen of England.A book to read, share, and talk about with the adults in your life, this is a call to action and compassion, and hope for change in uncertain times, and in a scary world.You'll be inspired to help others, and understand that no one is perfect. Just like Michelle Obama, you too are finding out exactly who you want to be (and, actually, so are the adults in your life).Above all, it is a book to make you think: who are you, and what do you want to become?

Have You Ever Worried About Showing Emotion At Work, Or Panicked You've Revealed Too Much Of Your Personality? In No Hard Feelings, You'll Learn How To Navigate The Emotional Minefield That Is The Modern Workplace, And Express Your Feelings And Identity At Work. After All, The Financial Success Of The 21st Century Depends On It. Without The Ability To Communicate And Correct Stress, We Risk Burnout. Without Emotions, We Cannot Make Decisions, Influence Others, Or Be Creative. As Our Jobs Become More Collaborative, Complex, And Stressful - As Well As The Centre Of Our Identities - Effectively Embracing Emotion Will Only Become More Important. Combining Behavioural Economics And Psychology With Sharp, Funny And Colourful Illustrations, No Hard Feelings Shows Readers How To Be More Authentic, Productive, And Happy At Work. Liz Fosslien Is A Marketing And Design Consultant Who Illustrates The Webcomic Out Of The Office, And Her Work Has Been Featured By The Economist, The Freakonomics Blog, And Npr. Mollie West Duffy Is An Organizational Designer At Ideo And A Professor At Stanford University Where She Teaches Design. She Writes A Blog And Advises Companies On Start-up Culture.

J.K. Rowling, one of the world's most inspiring writers, shares her wisdom and advice.In 2008, J.K. Rowling delivered a deeply affecting commencement speech at Harvard University. Now published for the first time in book form, VERY GOOD LIVES presents J.K. Rowling's words of wisdom for anyone at a turning point in life. How can we embrace failure? And how can we use our imagination to better both ourselves and others?Drawing from stories of her own post-graduate years, the world famous author addresses some of life's most important questions with acuity and emotional force.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The hosts of the popular podcast and E! show LadyGang offer a relatable, empowering, and hilarious take on being unapologetically yourself (even if that's not always your best self) in a manifesto that redefines womanhood for the twenty-first-century lady. If you're tired of being bombarded with the curated perfection on social media and you're starving for something raw, honest, and a little bit messy, welcome to the LadyGang. Keltie, Becca, and Jac are here to clear away the bullshit and give you the confidence to live your best lady life. Unabashedly sincere, clever, and full of questionable advice, Act Like a Lady explores the complexities surrounding topics like body image, breakups, navigating a career, and adult friendships through their own embarrassing experiences. The LadyGang has your back with essays like "Maybe She's Born with It, Maybe It's Photoshop" and "If You're Happy and You Know It, Thank Your Ex." You'll learn there's a million different ways to be a lady--and that includes accidentally farting during sex or having the guts to tell your friend she's being a selfish assh*le. No matter what you're going through, you'll find a space to bond over the sloppy, heartbreaking, joyous, and often ridiculous realities of womanhood. Nothing is TMI here.

For those who are givers, carers, and empaths, a guide to focusing that energy on yourself—even if that feels frightening, from popular LGBTQ+ activist and advocate Jeffrey Marsh.Like many of us, Jeffrey Marsh was conditioned to have an outward focus—to give to others, to be a good listener, and to be the one who gave the best advice. In Marsh’s case, it was a method of survival. Growing up genderfluid in an unaccepting family, Marsh did everything they could to meet the needs of others and not have needs of their own. And ultimately, this meant Marsh put themself in the backseat of their own life.In this heartfelt and sincere book, Marsh shares their story and the lessons they learned on the path back to themselves. Whether you’re a survivor of abuse and trauma like Marsh or you’ve passively accepted that your worth ought to be defined by your usefulness to others, Take Your Own Advice will give you the confidence to lead your life on your terms, and to prioritize what’s important: you.It’s time that you learn to put yourself first, to take care of yourself, and to ask others to listen to you for a change. You do give the best advice, after all!

Audible's Best of the Year in Well-BeingYOU ARE ENOUGH EXACTLY AS YOU ARE.From the time we’re born, a litany of do’s and don’ts are placed on us by our families, our communities, and society. We’re required to fit into boxes based on our race, gender, sexuality, and other parts of our identities, being told by others how we should behave, who we should date, or what we should be interested in. For so many of us, those boxes begin to feel like shackles when we realize they don’t fit our unique shape, yet we keep trying because we crave acceptance and validation. But is “fitting in” worth the time, energy, and suffering? Actor, writer, and activist Brandon Kyle Goodman says, Hell no it ain’t!As a Black nonbinary, queer person in a dark-skinned 6’1”, 180-pound male body born into a religious immigrant household, Brandon knows the pain of having to hide one’s true self, the work of learning to love that true self, and the freedom of finally being your true self.In You Gotta Be You, Brandon affectionately challenges you to consider, “Who would I be if society never got its hands on me?” This question set Brandon on a mission to dropkick societal shackles by unlearning all the things he was told he should be in order to step into who he really is. It required him to reexamine messy but ultimately defining moments in his life—his first time being followed in a store, navigating his mother’s born-again Christianity, and regretfully using soap as lube (yes, you read that right!)—to find the lessons that would guide him to his most authentic self.Compassionate and soulful, funny and revealing, You Gotta Be You is an unapologetic call to self-freedom. It’s about turning rejection (from others and yourself) into a roadmap to self-love. It’s a guide to setting boundaries and fostering self-growth. And most importantly, it’s an affirmation that we are enough exactly as we are.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today • From the creator of Elle’s “Eric Reads the News,” a heartfelt and hilarious memoir-in-essays about growing up seeing the world differently, finding unexpected hope, and experiencing every awkward, extraordinary stumble along the way. “Pop culture–obsessed, Sedaris-level laugh-out-loud funny . . . [R. Eric Thomas] is one of my favorite writers.”—Lin-Manuel Miranda, Entertainment Weekly FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TEEN VOGUE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Marie Claire • Men’s Health R. Eric Thomas didn’t know he was different until the world told him so. Everywhere he went—whether it was his rich, mostly white, suburban high school, his conservative black church, or his Ivy League college in a big city—he found himself on the outside looking in. In essays by turns hysterical and heartfelt, Thomas reexamines what it means to be an “other” through the lens of his own life experience. He explores the two worlds of his childhood: the barren urban landscape where his parents’ house was an anomalous bright spot, and the Eden-like school they sent him to in white suburbia. He writes about struggling to reconcile his Christian identity with his sexuality, the exhaustion of code-switching in college, accidentally getting famous on the internet (for the wrong reason), and the surreal experience of covering the 2016 election for Elle online, and the seismic changes that came thereafter. Ultimately, Thomas seeks the answer to these ever more relevant questions: Is the future worth it? Why do we bother when everything seems to be getting worse? As the world continues to shift in unpredictable ways, Thomas finds the answers to these questions by reenvisioning what “normal” means and in the powerful alchemy that occurs when you at last place yourself at the center of your own story. Here for It will resonate deeply and joyfully with everyone who has ever felt pushed to the margins, struggled with self-acceptance, or wished to shine more brightly in a dark world. Stay here for it—the future may surprise you.

The must-have companion to the We Do Not Care (WDNC) Club and viral movement, from Founding Member Melani Sanders (@justbeingmelani). Part survival manual and part rallying cry, this essential handbook is your trusted guide to the hormonal mayhem of perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Hop aboard the Hot Mess Express, Sisters, and welcome to the Club! We. Do. Not. Care. Do you wake up with night sweats at 3:26 am, overstimulated, mad at anything breathing, and ready to put the world on notice? Do you forget the words you are saying as you are saying them? If you have a she-shed and no longer care about clothes that fit, half-painted big toenails, or cellulite on your legs (legs is legs!), then welcome to the club -- the We Do Not Care (WDNC) Club. You're now a card-carrying member with an exclusive invite to the biggest hormonal party in town. This Club is for all of our Sisters in perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause who are over it. Here is a list* of things We Do Not Care about today: Shaving our legs. Plucking our chin hair. Wearing the same bra all week. Wearing bras, period. Wearing PJs all day. Clothes is clothes. Being on time. Be happy that I showed up -- I don't even want to be here. People who think we have a sh*tty attitude. That's on them. Cancelled plans. We didn't want to go anywhere anyway. If you're hungry. The kitchen isn't locked. If you're cold. Don't even think about touching that thermostat. Melani Sanders, Founding Member of the WDNC, is here to tell you that it's okay not to care. You're not alone. We're all in the same boat, just out here trying to survive. This book is your life raft. Let's hold on for dear life -- and get through this together. *partial and incomplete

What if the mental health symptoms we face aren't the actual problem? What if they're signals that help us see and solve the real problem--the imbalances in our wider systems that are making us all sick? As our world clashes and collapses around us, it's no surprise that one in two of us will be diagnosed with a mental health condition by the age of 40, with one in five people affected each year. It's hard to view all our mental health symptoms as disordered if so many of us are experiencing them. Perhaps it's not that something's gone wrong in our bodies and minds, but that something's gone right: These symptoms are brilliant alarms and adaptions to survive a disordered world. Having sensitive protective functions that sound alarms or short-circuit when we're threatened isn't a design flaw. It's a design success. As a psychiatrist, professor, and mental health speaker, Joanna Cheek argues that we're not broken or doing it wrong when we're stressed or struggling. As our systems are pushed to the brink of collapse, self-improvement alone neglects the source of our suffering. Instead, to care for ourselves, we must heal the imbalances in our wider systems that keep making us all sick. In It's Not You. It's the World, Dr. Cheek offers a survival guide of mental health tools to care for both ourselves and our collectives, helping us understand and befriend our alarms so we can come together to solve the shared problems they're signaling. With a foreword by Gabor Maté, chapter-by-chapter guidance, and practical action to empower, connect, and instill hope in the reader, It's Not You. It's The World is the go‑to guide for anyone feeling depressed, anxious, enraged, despairing, numb, or sick from adapting to a world on fire.