We all can use a bit of guidance as we create the life we dream of in today’s busy world. At the Sutter Institute for Health and Healing, we have our favorites. These books inspire people, but they are also grounded in science. Browse this list for books that can help inform you — and also nourish your mind, body and soul.

Nutrition, Fitness and Overall Well-Being

• Eat, Drink and Be Healthy - Walter Willett, M.D.
• Reversing Heart Disease - Dean Ornish, M.D.
• The Good Food Book - Jane Brody
• The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston, M.D.
• Healthy Women, Healthy Lives - Susan Hankinson, Sc.D., et al
• Nutrition Action Newsletter - Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Any book by Bob Greene, Oprah Winfrey's trainer
• Eating Well for Optimum Health - Andrew Weil, M.D.
• Superfoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life - Steven Pratt, MD
• The Anti-Inflammatory Zone - Barry Sears, Ph.D.
• Fight Fat After Forty - Pamela Peeke, M.D., M.P.H.
• Body for Life - Pamela Peeke, M.D., Ph.D. or Bill Phillips

Weight Loss

• The Ultimate Weight Solution - Phil McGraw, Ph.D.
• Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and a Fork - Gov. Mike Huckabee
• Do I Look Fat in This? Get Over Your Body and Get on With Your Life - Rhonda Britten
• Body Intelligence: Lose Weight, Keep It Off, and Feel Great About Your Body Without Dieting - Edward Abramson, Ph.D.
• When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair - Geneen Roth
• Eating in the Light of the Moon - Anita Johnston
• The Rules of Normal Eating - Karen Koenig

Creating Happiness and Compassion

• Loving What Is - Byron Katie
• Learned Optimism - Martin Seligman, Ph.D.
• Authentic Happiness - Martin Seligman, Ph.D.
• Learning to Love Yourself - Gay Hendricks, Ph.D.
• Getting the Love You Want - Harville Hendrix, Ph.D.
• When Things Fall Apart - Pema Chodron
• Start Where You Are - Pema Chodron
• The Joy Diet - Martha Beck
• Radical Acceptance - Tara Brach, Ph.D.
• Be Here Now - Ram Dass

Creating the Life You Dream Of

• Hiring the Heavens - Jean Slatter
• The Art of Possibility - Rosamund and Benjamin Zander
• Ask and It Is Given - Esther and Jerry Hicks
• Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway - Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.
• Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life - Greg Levoy
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
• Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out - Phil McGraw, Ph.D.
• The Hell I Can't! - Terry McBryde
• Inspiration - Wayne Dyer, Ph.D.
• The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success - Deepak Chopra, M.D.
• The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz, M.D.
• Gently Down the Stream: 4 Unforgettable Keys to Success - Matt Weinstein and Luke Barber
• The Secret - movie

Mind-Body-Spirit Medicine

• Molecules of Emotion - Candace Pert, Ph.D.
• How Biography Becomes Biology - Bruce Lipton, Ph.D.
• Mind As Healer, Mind As Slayer - Kenneth Pelletier, Ph.D.
• Anatomy of An Illness - Norman Cousins
• Fire In The Soul - Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.
• Consciousness and Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine - Schlitz, Amorok and Micozzi
• What the "Bleep" Do We Know? - movie
• The Secret - movie

Creating Great Relationships with Yourself and Others

• The Dance of Anger - Harriet Lerner, Ph.D.
• Feeling Good - David Burns, M.D.
• Loving What Is - Byron Katie
• The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
• Love and Survival - Dean Ornish, M.D.
• Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life - Greg Levoy
• The Dark Side of the Light Chasers - Debbie Ford
• Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life - Steven Hayes, Ph.D.
• There is Nothing Wrong With You - Cheri Huber
• The Key - Cheri Huber

Spirituality and Prayer in Healing

• Healing Words - Larry Dossey, M.D.
• Recovering the Soul - Larry Dossey, M.D.
• Emptiness Dancing - Adyashanti
• The Marriage of Spirit - Leslie Temple Thursten
• Prayers for Healing: 365 Blessings, Poems & Meditations from Around the World - Larry Dossey, M.D., Maggie Oman and the Dalai Lama
• The Battlefield of the Mind - Joyce Meyer

Forgiveness

• Forgive for Good - Fred Luskin, Ph.D.

Writing as a Path to Healing

• Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions - James Pennebaker, Ph.D.
• Writing to Heal - James Pennebaker, Ph.D.
• Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms our Lives - Louise DeSalvo

Becoming Stress Resilient

• The Healthy Mind Healthy Body Handbook - Time-Life Medical Books
• Full Catastrophe Living - Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.
• Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers - Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D.
• Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway - Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

Guided Imagery

• Healing Yourself - Martin Rossman, M.D.
• Imagery In Healing - Jean Achterberg, Ph.D.

Inspirational Stories

• Chicken Soup for the Soul - all of these books contain inspiring stories
• Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart - Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield
• No Small Miracles - Norris Burkes
• Oprah magazines and DVDs

Past-Life Explorations

• Many Lives, Many Masters - Brian Weiss, M.D.

Humor

• Any book by Loretta LaRoche - managing stress with humor!
• Videos/DVDs - Johnny Carson, Jerry Seinfeld, Saturday Night Live or your favorite funny movie

Menopause

• Mind Over Menopause - Leslee Kagan, M.S., Bruce Kessel, M.D. and Herbert Benson, M.D.
• Dr. Susan Love's Hormone Book - Susan Love, M.D.
• The Wisdom of Menopause - Christiane Northrup, M.D.  

Sexuality

• Hot Monogamy - Pat Love, Ed.D.
• How to Have Magnificent Sex - Lana Holstein, M.D.
• Intimate Communion - David Deida
• Passionate Marriage - David Schnarch, Ph.D.

Musculoskeletal Health

• Healing Back Pain Naturally - Art Brownstein, M.D.
• Healing Back Pain - John Sarno, M.D.
• Strong Women Stay Young - Miriam Nelson, Ph.D.
• The Acupressure Warm-Up - Marc Coseo
• Treat Your Own Neck - Robin McKenzie
• Treat Your Own Back - Robin McKenzie
• Babymoves - Marianne Hermsen-van Wanrooy
• Why Motor Skills Matter - Tara Losquadro Liddle, MPT

Getting Older

• Successful Aging: The MacArthur Foundation Study - John Rowe, M.D. and Robert L. Kahn, Ph.D.

Dealing with Cancer

• Kitchen Table Wisdom - Rachel Remen, M.D.
• My Grandfather's Blessings - Rachel Remen, M.D.
• Choices In Healing - Michael Lerner, Ph.D.
• Living Beyond Limits - David Spiegel, M.D.
• Cancer as a Turning Point - Lawrence LeShan, Ph.D.
• Getting Well Again - O. Carl Simonton, M.D.
• The Healing Path - Marc Ian Barasch
• Remarkable Recovery - Caryle Hirshberg and Marc Ian Barasch