Best Resilience Books — 79 Honest Reviews
Every book below was read and judged on one question: will it change what you do on Monday morning? Each review tells you who should read it, who should skip it and the three ideas worth keeping.
Transitions
William Bridges · Resilience
Wise, calm and underrated; the book to read when nothing else makes sense yet.
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The Dip
Seth Godin · Resilience
An hour-long essay that makes one decision clearer; worth it for that.
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Who Moved My Cheese?
Spencer Johnson · Resilience
A short, simple parable; harmless as a read, grating as a corporate mandate.
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Can’t Hurt Me
David Goggins · Resilience
Raw and extreme; powerful for the right reader, counterproductive for the wrong one.
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Grit
Angela Duckworth · Resilience
Thoughtful, balanced and useful; a research book that respects its reader.
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Man’s Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl · Resilience
One of the essential books of the last century; nothing on this list is more important.
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The Obstacle Is the Way
Ryan Holiday · Resilience
Accessible Stoicism for hard moments; a gateway book that does its job.
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The Tools
Phil Stutz and Barry Michels · Resilience
Unusual and practical; pick the one or two tools that fit and ignore the cosmology.
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Greenlights
Matthew McConaughey · Resilience
Entertaining and sincere; a memoir, not a manual.
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The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk · Resilience
Essential, serious and not light reading; a book, not a treatment.
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Relentless
Tim S. Grover · Resilience
Intense and narrow; a window into obsession, not a recommendation of it.
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Be Useful
Arnold Schwarzenegger · Resilience
Straightforward and surprisingly good; a strong motivational memoir.
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Antifragile
Nassim Nicholas Taleb · Resilience
Brilliant, bloated and worth the effort for serious readers.
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Failing Forward
John C. Maxwell · Resilience
Encouraging and familiar; a good read after a setback.
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Necessary Endings
Henry Cloud · Resilience
Clear and wise; the best book on quitting things properly.
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David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell · Resilience
Provocative and uneven; worth reading for the reframe.
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Option B
Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant · Resilience
Honest and practical; a good book for hard times.
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The Upside of Stress
Kelly McGonigal · Resilience
Careful and reassuring; a useful reframe with real evidence.
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Emotional Agility
Susan David · Resilience
Grounded and practical; an excellent book on handling emotions.
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Rising Strong
Brené Brown · Resilience
Practical and compassionate; a good book for after the fall.
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Discourses and Selected Writings
Epictetus, translated by Robert Dobbin · Resilience
The source; demanding and worth it.
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The Coddling of the American Mind
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt · Resilience
Provocative and important.
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On Grief and Grieving
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler · Resilience
Warm and clarifying.
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Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn
John C. Maxwell · Resilience
Gentle and structured.
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Chop Wood Carry Water
Joshua Medcalf · Resilience
Simple and sincere; a good gift for a young athlete or apprentice.
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Bounce Back
Susan Kahn · Resilience
Practical and grounded; a useful workplace resilience guide.
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Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life
Eric Greitens · Resilience
Thoughtful and classical; substantive on a crowded subject.
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Fail Fast, Fail Often
Ryan Babineaux and John Krumboltz · Resilience
Light and encouraging; a nudge for planners.
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Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice
Brené Brown · Resilience
A short reflective companion; for existing readers.
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Master of Change
Brad Stulberg · Resilience
Wise and practical on change; a good book for unstable seasons.
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Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing
Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman · Resilience
Your response to pressure, explained.
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Tough Times Never Last, but Tough People Do!
Robert H. Schuller · Resilience
Faith-based resolve for a crisis.
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