Top 14 Self Help Books For Black Women Updated 04 /2024

We don't read self-help books or think they don't work because for a long time, the literary world has been made for and by white people.

Times have changed, and our communities have made their own places in all areas. The literary world has changed as well, and now it's a different place.

This list of self-help books written by African-American women is more important than ever.

It makes us feel like we're not alone when we hear our own stories, look at things from a different angle, or walk through a valley of pain.

“Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good (Emergent Strategy)” by Adrienne Maree Brown

In this book, both author and editor Adrienne Maree Brown shows us how our bodies, pleasure, and politics all work together again. People who read this book hope that it will show them how to get closer to different kinds of pleasure and freedom.

"Pleasure Activism" says that whether you find pleasure through sex, drugs, self-care, your wardrobe, working, or your relationship with pleasure while battling cancer, it's important to see pleasure as a measure of how free you are from other things. It helps us figure out what makes us happy and how to get more of it and less of the things we put in the way of that.

This, of course, has to be done on both a personal and a group level, which is what true activism is all about.

"Pleasure Activism" is available on Kindle, in print, and on audio.

“Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person” by Shonda Rhimes

One of the most powerful people in TV is Shonda Rhimes, the creator, writer, and executive producer of shows like Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Inventing Anna. Rhimes wrote this book about the year she decided to do things a different way. She didn't let fear make the decisions.

In this book, we learn about Shonda's experiment when she said "Yes" to things that made her nervous instead of "No" because of fear. This book is as fun to read as Shonda's show is to watch! The style of this book is so funny, poignant, and intimate that you won't be able to put it down. At the same time, as you read about Shonda's life, you will ask yourself some important questions.

“What I Know for Sure” by Oprah Winfrey

For fourteen years, "What I Know for Sure" was published in O, The Oprah Magazine. Columns that have been re-edited are meditations on things like joy and resilience and how to use the tools you need to get through the day. You can think about these things in more detail and use the tools you need to get through the day.

This is the kind of book you should read as an oracle and listen to what Oprah has learned from her own experiences, too. You can open it every day on a random page and see what you get to think about each day.

There are both Kindle and audio versions of "What I Know for Sure" that you can buy here.

“Parenting for Liberation: A Guide for Raising Black Children” by Trina Greene Brown

The fact that Black parents have to think about extra problems when they raise a child, which is a very difficult job for any parent, shows how far structural racism goes.

During this time, Triana Greene Brown was watching and analyzing her own parenting behaviors, such as asking her seven-year-old son every 10 to 15 minutes if he was still alive when he went outside to play with his friends. She also tried to figure out how these behaviors might affect her child, and how to do things differently.

The task is huge, but the reward of raising for freedom is even better.

There are Kindle and audio versions of "Parenting for Liberation" on this site, as well

“The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition: The Power of Radical Self-Love” by Sonya Renee Taylor

Poetry can change people's lives, and the Body Is Not an Apology movement shows that. Poetry may help thousands of people keep living, and the movement shows that. This is how Sonya Renee Taylor came up with the sentence "your body is not an apology." She was preparing for a poetry slam with her friend Natasha, who has cerebral palsy. A beam of light and understanding brought them together as they tried to comfort her.

“Your body is not an apology” made Natasha feel understood and gave her the safe space she needed to cry, but also made Sonya look back at herself and see she didn’t have to apologize for the size, shape, or color of her body.

Radical Self-Love is the idea that this book talks about. This was the beginning of that idea. It's also a good idea to read Sonya's poetry while you do.

The One-Week Budget by Tiffany “Budgetnista” Aliche

Tiffany is like my sister from a different mom. When it comes to budgeting, this book is for you if you're a novice. Tiffany doesn't think about how good you are at money, which is great if you need the basics of budgeting laid out for you. During the book's tone, you feel as though Tiffany is right next to you at the kitchen table. Even more: It's also number one on Amazon. There's a reason this is one of the best self-help books ever.

Sisters Are Cashing In: How Every Woman Can Make Her Financial Dreams Come True by Marilyn French Hubbard

This book isn't about worksheets or ratios that will make you rich. It's about how to live a better life. Marilyn really tries to think about wealth in a complete way. This book talks a lot about how to use your own power. She gives strategies on how to break away from negative thinking, negative beliefs, and negative influences to get you closer to the life you want.

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