*This post was originally published in February 2020 and has been updated to include additional titles.
Here is a list of health and wellness books by Black women that are designed to uplift and restore you. In this listing, you’ll find titles related to overall health, spirituality, wellness, healthy eating, fitness, and self-care.
Vibrate Higher Daily: Live Your Power – By
Every day, by making choices that help us feel good, we raise our vibration. This book is a guide to help us live our lives in a way that helps us grow and be happy. It has poems, chants, and affirmations that will help us feel more confident and powerful.
Own Your Glow: A Soulful Guide to Luminous Living and Crowning the Queen Within – By Latham Thomas
Own Your Glow is an inspiring and helpful guide to living a healthy and successful life. Celebrity wellness and lifestyle guru, Latham Thomas provides soulful advice on how to examine life’s challenges and find your path to greatness while embracing your feminine qualities. This guide is perfect for anyone who wants to see their own life change for the better and contribute to the good in the world.
Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats: Tasty Plant-Based Recipes for Every Day – By Rachel Ama
Vegan Eats is a book that offers amazing plant-based dishes that make cooking and eating vegan food a breeze—and definitely fun! No boring or bland dishes here, and forget all-day cooking! Rachel takes inspiration from naturally vegan dishes and cuisines as well as her Caribbean and West African roots to create great full-flavor recipes that are easy to make and will inspire you to make vegan food part of your daily routine. Rachel’s recipes are quick and easy to follow, and often one-pot. Ingredients lists are short and supermarket-friendly, and dishes can be prepped ahead. Most importantly, Vegan Eats includes a song with each recipe so you can have a banging playlist to go alongside every plate of delicious food!
Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body – By Jessamyn Stanley
This book is a great source of inspiration for beginners of all shapes and sizes. If Jessamyn could achieve the same level of success as she does, so can you. This book is designed as a guide for readers who are already practicing yoga, who want to refresh their practice, or find new ways to stay motivated. This book is also a how-to book, with easy-to-follow directions to 50 basic yoga poses and 10 sequences that can be practiced at home. Finally, this book challenges the larger issues of body acceptance and the meaning of beauty, by illustrating that yoga isn’t limited to how one looks.
Self-Care for Black Women: 150 Ways to Radically Accept & Prioritize Your Mind, Body, & Soul – By Oludara Adeeyo
Between physical and mental health problems at school, at work, and everywhere else, it can be tough to prioritize your own well-being as a Black woman. With The Self-Care for Black Women, you’ll find more than 150 exercises that will help you radically put yourself first. Whether you need a quick boost in the middle of the day, you’re struggling with feelings of burnout, or you’re dealing with a microaggression, this book has everything you need to feel more at peace.
Microjoys: Finding Hope (Especially) When Life Is Not Okay – By Cyndie Spiegel
Microjoys are little joys that can be found anywhere. They’re small, but they mean a lot. By training our eyes to look for them, we can always find joy. There are many different kinds of microjoys, including things like pretty things, kind gestures, happy memories, and simple pleasures. They’re all around us, waiting to be discovered.
Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability – By Stephanie Y. Evans
This book looks at the difficulties and strengths of Black women’s mental health, and how it has been studied in a variety of different fields. It brings together different authors to examine topics like stress, parenthood, sexual assault, self-care, and contemplative practice. The book creates a new paradigm for understanding Black women’s mental health and offers practical solutions by combining theory and practice with personal stories and public policy. Health professionals can use this book to recognize and care for Black women.
Blessed Health: The African-American Woman’s Guide to Physical and Spiritual Well-being – By Angela T. Ebron
Blessed Health is a personal health and spirituality manual for Black women at every stage of life, written by renowned OB/GYN and respected journalist Melody T. McCloud M.D. Important details about how your body functions and how to prevent or treat common health issues, including pelvic infections and fibroid tumors. How to deal with illness successfully from a religious standpoint. How to take care of your breasts and reproductive systems to lower your chance of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and a host of other diseases.
Emotional Self-Care for Black Women: Discover How to Raise Your Self-Esteem, Eliminate Negative Thinking and Heal from Past Traumas Even if Your Life is Chaotic Right Now – By Alicia Magoro
This book is about understanding and using your emotions. It will teach you how to use them to create a life you love, and the reasons why we sometimes feel the way we do. It will also show you how your body and brain create your emotions, and how to use this information to improve your mood. Finally, it will discuss some common thought distortions that can negatively affect your life, and how to stop them.
The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help you Deserve – By Rheeda Walker PhD
There is a Black mental health crisis happening in the world today, and it’s been made worse by racism and other problems. If you’re feeling bad, there’s a lot you can do to get help. In this guide, psychologist Rheeda Walker teaches you everything you need to know about Black mental health and how to get the mental health care you need. This book will help you understand your condition, find helpful resources, and fight for your rights. If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health, this book is a valuable resource.
She’s Still There: Rescuing the Girl in You – By Chrystal Evans Hurst
If you find yourself feeling like your life is different from how you wanted it to be, She’s Still There can help. Chrystal Evans Hurst shares practical advice on how to connect with God and renew your promises to yourself. She teaches you how to adjust your dreams and goals to match your current situation, and how to let go of things that no longer work for you. You can start living the life you want right now, no matter how bumpy it may be.
The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women – By Marita Golden
In this book, you’ll learn about the myth of the “Strong Black Woman” and how this type of thinking can have negative health impacts. It also discusses how a skewed culture can make it difficult for Black women to express their emotions and be themselves.
