Recommended reading

A selection of books that I’ve found thought provoking, valuable or informative over the years - across topics related to ADHD/neurodivergence, alcohol, family dynamics and intergenerational patterns, complex trauma and more.

Note: these are not sponsored links

  • Complex PTSD: from Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker - an absolute must read for anyone who may have experienced a turbulent or chaotic childhoods. Pete Walker is a therapist who’s lived it and who brought cPTSD into public awareness. Lots of ah-ha moments, deeper understanding of yourself and your patterns and Pete provides lots of exercises that will, over time, reduce the responses that you come to know as being driven by cPTSD.

  • Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw

  • ADHD 2.0 by Ned Hallowell

  • Driven to Distraction by Ned Hallowell

  • Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft - He says he loves you. So...why does he do that?In this groundbreaking bestseller, Lundy Bancroft—a counselor who specializes in working with abusive men—uses his knowledge about how abusers think to help women recognize when they are being controlled or devalued, and to find ways to get free of an abusive relationship.

  • Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers by Dr Kerryn McBride - The first book specifically for daughters suffering from the emotional abuse of selfish, self-involved mothers, Will I Ever Be Good Enough? provides the expert assistance you need in order to overcome this debilitating history and reclaim your life for yourself. Drawing on over two decades of experience as a therapist specializing in women's psychology and health, psychotherapist Dr. Karyl McBride helpsyou recognize the widespread effects of this maternal emotional abuse and guides you as you create an individualized program for self-protection, resolution, and complete recovery.

  • In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate

  • Easy Way to Control Alcohol by Allen Carr

  • ACOA (Adult Child of Alcoholic) Trauma Syndrome - The Impact of Childhood Pain on Adult Relationships by Tian Dayton PhD

  • Trauma and Addiction by Tian Dayton Phd

  • Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers

  • The Body Keeps the Score - Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk

  • The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

  • The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

  • They F*ck You Up - How to Survive Family Life by Dr Oliver James

  • Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl

  • The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck

  • Affluenza by Dr Oliver James

  • Codependent No More by Melody Beattie

Currently reading (as at Feb 2026):

A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair smiling, wearing a black top, shown in a circular frame. To the right is a personal biography about overcoming challenges related to alcohol, anxiety, and ADHD, and working in psychology and coaching, with the website www.fayelawrence.com.au at the bottom.