Self Discovery Resources

Self Discovery

Bibliotherapy

Self-Help

• You are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame, Resilience, and the Black Experience by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown

• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, PhD

• You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

• The Impact of Identity by Irina Nevzlin (themes of immigration)   

• Become What You Are by Alan Watts (spiritual, draws on multiple religions)

• Finding Your Way in a Wild New World by Martha Beck

• The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson

• Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tewwab (CBT rooted)

• You Are More Than Magic: The Black & Brown Girls’ Guide to Finding Your Voice by Minda Harts

Memoirs

• Silence: In the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge

• Already Enough by Lisa Olivera (adoption themes)

• Cry Like a Man by Jason Wilson

• More than Enough by Elaine Welteroth (ethnic identity & feminist themes)

• Migrations of the Heart by Marita Golden (black american experience, ethnic identity & feminist themes)

• You Got Anything Stronger? By Gabrielle Union (black experience & infertility)

• What We Carry by Mya Shanbhag Lang (immigrant themes)

• Are You This or Are You This? by Madian Al Jazerah (ethnic identity & LGBTQIA+ themes)

• A Tale of Two Omars by Omar Sharif, Jr. (multi-ethnic & gay experience)

• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (black gay experience)

• Speak, Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki Brina (bicultural identity)

• Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden (bicultural & queer themes)

• Life Isn’t Binary by Meg-John Barker & Alex Iantffi (nonbinary/gender themes)

• Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad (juvenile chronic illness themes)

• Forward by Abby Wombach (addiction & lesbian/coming out themes)

• Untamed by Glennon Doyle (queer & feminist themes)

• Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (spiritual themes)

• Dusk Night Dawn by Anne Lamott (Christian themes)

• American Harvest by Marie Mutsuki Mockett (bicultural, nationality, & religious themes)

• If They Come For Us by Fatimah Asghar (poems; nationality & LGBTQ themes)

Novels

• What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons (grief & bicultural themes)

• Where are You From by Jaime Kim (children’s book, ethnic identity)

• We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride (racial divide in America)

• Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? By Lizzie Damilola Blackburn (bicultural & feminist themes)

Journal Prompts

• 64 Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery by PsychCentral

• 75 Self-Discovery Journal Prompts by Anneke Schmidt, PhD, highlights:

  • I am my most authentic self when…

  • What is something I have in common with someone I have difficulties with

  • How would I like to be remembered?  Am I living that way right now?

  • Who am I and how do I feel when I am alone?

• Write poetry or a story where characters have to grapple with what you are feeling or identify with who you have been or are becoming

• 99 Journal Prompts for Mental Health from Hello, Bombshell!

• True You: A Self-Discovery Journal of Prompts & Exercises to Inspire Reflection and Growth by Kelly Vincent, PsyD & Jacinta Kay

• Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration by Meera Lee Patel

• Journal of Radical Permission by Sonya Renee Taylor & Adrienne Maree Brown

• Let That Sh*t Go: A Journal for Leaving Your Bullsh*t Behind and Creating a Happy Life by Monica Sweeney

• The Self Helper: Self-Discovery Workbook & Journal by Adam Wolfe

• Essential Art Therapy Exercises by Leah Guzman, ATR-BC

Activities

• Spend some time alone to deeply think and reflect

• Eco-therapy (go on a hike/walk, camping, gardening)

• Practice hobbies and activities that keep your body moving, but leave space for your mind to wander and wonder

• Take the Enneagram (free v more accurate) or Myers-Briggs personality test

• Write or listen to music that matches your feelings or make you feel known and empowered

• Create art, however you feel comfortable, that expresses your feelings; consider a self-portrait that visualizes how you see yourself or how you want to see yourself

• Meditation: Breathe App - use Nour’s Code for a great deal

• The Free Mindfulness Project’s Free Exercises (audio files)