Books From Your Therapist

This month, we’re diving deep into shame, mother wounds, and the stories women are finally telling out loud.We sit down with author Melissa Petro to talk about her powerful debut, Shame on You. With fearless honesty, Petro unpacks the social systems that teach women we’re never enough. Blending investigative reporting, science, literature, and raw personal stories—including her own—she challenges the narrative of inadequacy and offers a bold, liberating way forward.We also explore Mother Hunger by Kelly McDaniel, a groundbreaking look at how unmet childhood needs shape our adult relationships. McDaniel names and destigmatizes the pain of being “under-mothered,” connecting the dots between early trauma and destructive patterns—and, more importantly, offering practical tools for healing, self-understanding, and healthier love.You can find us:Instagram, Threads, TikTok & YouTube: @booksfromyourtherapistPodcast: Acast, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen!Work with Amanda (California residents)Follow Tara on Substack

This month we talk with Christine Droney, LCSW about grief, dealing with loss and life after death. The books we discuss are Moving On Doesn't Mean Letting Go by Gina Moffa and When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.After nearly two decades of clinical experience and her own journey after losing her mother to cancer, Gina Moffa knows all too well how disorienting, painful, and lonely grief can be. In Moving on Doesn’t Mean Letting Go, she offers a heartfelt, practical map through loss—one that can shift the pain of your grief even when things feel unpredictable and overwhelming.At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. When Breath Becomes Air is a profoundly moving memoir chronicling both his life and death.You can find us:Instagram, Threads, TikTok & YouTube: @booksfromyourtherapistPodcast: Acast, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen!Work with Amanda (California residents)Follow Tara on Substack

This month we talk with Oona Metz, LICSW about divorce, starting over and discovering yourself again. We discuss Oona's newly released book, Unhitched: The Essential Divorce Guide for Women and Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage by Heather Sweeney.In Unhitched, nationally recognized divorce expert and therapist Oona Metz provides a compassionate yet practical roadmap through every stage of the divorce process. Filled with key takeaways, reassuring insights, and inclusive stories tailored for women in both heterosexual and LGBTQ+ relationships, Unhitched offers a reassuring guide to life before, during, and after divorce.Camouflage is about a woman’s journey from being overshadowed by her husband’s military career to rediscovering her identity as a single mother entering a new stage in life. After camouflaging her identity to conform to the expected role of the supportive military spouse, Heather Sweeney emerged from the shadows of her husband’s Navy career to rediscover herself.You can find us:Instagram, Threads, TikTok & YouTube: @booksfromyourtherapistPodcast: Acast, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen!Work with Amanda (California residents)Follow Tara on Substack

This month we talk with Jenet Dove, LPC about overcoming imposter syndrome and building shame resilience. We discuss Jenet's book Turn the Volume Down on Imposter Syndrome Journal and I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't) by Brené Brown. In the Turn Down the Volume on Imposter Syndrome Journal, Jenet unpacks seven key components on overcoming imposter syndrome & shares personal anecdotes and guidance alongside space for you to explore your own experiences. Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on shame, why we encounter it and how we can build up resilience to it. You can find us:Instagram, Threads, TikTok & YouTube: @booksfromyourtherapistPodcast: Acast, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen!Work with Amanda (California residents)Follow Tara on Substack

This month we talk with Zoë Hall, LMFT & LPCC about the intersection of spirituality and mental health. We focus on two books: The Awakened Brain by Lisa Miller and Of Water and the Spirit by Malidoma Patrice Somé.The Awakened Brain is a groundbreaking exploration of the neuroscience of spirituality and a bold new paradigm for health, healing, and resilience. In Of Water And The Spirit, is the story of a renowned healer and shaman’s life-changing journey of discovery, healing, and wisdom.You can find us:Instagram, Threads, TikTok & YouTube: @booksfromyourtherapistPodcast: Acast, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen!Work with Amanda (California residents)Follow Tara on Substack

In this episode, Tara and Amanda dive deep into the theme of love — all kinds of love — through the lens of two iconic books: All About Love by bell hooks and Just Kids by Patti Smith. From radical self-love and friendship to art, grief, and romantic longing, they reflect on how these works have shaped their understanding of what it means to love and be loved. It’s an honest, layered conversation about how we give and receive love — and the stories that stay with us.You can find us:Instagram, Threads, TikTok & YouTube: @booksfromyourtherapistPodcast: Acast, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen!Work with Amanda (California residents)Follow Tara on Substack