A woman with short dark hair smiling, wearing a sleeveless white top, holding a blue and gray ceramic mug, standing in front of a white shelf with a decorative beige vase.

I’m often asked for book and podcast recommendations related to youth mental health, parenting, and growing up — including the shift into early adulthood and life after high school.

This page is a place where I share some of what I’ve been reading and listening to — resources that may be interesting, helpful, or thought-provoking for adolescents, young adults, and their parents.

Inclusion here isn’t an endorsement, but rather an invitation to explore ideas that might resonate.

Currently reading…

Goodnight Mind for Teens: Skills to help you quiet noisy thoughts & get the sleep you need by Colleen Carney, PhD.

The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents by Lisa Damour, Ph.D.

Always on my bookshelf…

Kids These Days by Will W. Dobud & Dr. Nevin J. Harper

Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties

Brainstorm by Dan Siegel, M.D.

The New Adolescence by Christine Carter, Ph.D

The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.

What to say when nothing seems to work: A practical guide for parents and caregivers by Adele Lafrance, Ph.D. and Ashley Miller, M.D.

Words Can Change Your Brain by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman

Opening up by writing it down: How expressive writing improves health and eases emotional pain by James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D. and Joshua M. Smyth, Ph.D.

Podcasts worth checking out…

  • Ask Lisa

  • Aha! Moments

  • Good Inside with Dr. Becky

  • MindShift

  • Raising Good Humans

  • Talking to Change

  • The Child Psych Podcast

  • The Coping Toolbox

  • The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

  • The Harvard Edcast

  • Beyond the Bell by SMCDSB

  • What it’s like to be… with Dan Heath