Weekly Book Recs 38-2025: Self-Help & Women's Fiction

WEEKLY BOOK RECS: 6 book suggestions every week

We've got a fun mix for you this week. We're slowly moving through the submissions we've gotten in, and are back to six a week to be able to create better themes. This week has a mix of leadership, personal development slash self help, and women's fiction books (it's a real term, we were as surprised as you are). We've got some good ones with this edition!

1. “Bridging the Confidence Gap” by Sheena Yap Chan

Tropes/Genre: Non-fiction, leadership, personal development

Bridging the Confidence Gap: How Empowered Women Change the World is a startlingly insightful and inspiring discussion of female leadership by celebrated executive, business leader, and author Sheena Yap Chan.

Yap Chan delivers a transformative and fresh take on the challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities women face when they reach for the reins of leadership in business. She walks you through how to navigate those challenges and realize those opportunities with powerful observations drawn from a lifetime in business.

2. “The Art of Navigating Mom Guilt” by Imke Kauta

Tropes/Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Female Empowerment

Are you a mother struggling with mum guilt? This is a heartfelt collection of stories and experiences from women who have navigated the emotional challenges of motherhood. This book is like sitting down with a close friend for a comforting and insightful chat, allowing you to feel understood and supported.

Through candid narratives and real-life experiences, you'll find solace in knowing you are not alone in your journey. The second half of the book offers practical tools and strategies to help you raise your children with grace and compassion, empowering you to embrace your role as a mother with confidence and love.

Discover your inner strength and power as a mother. This book is a reminder that, despite the challenges, you are doing an incredible job. Embrace the journey of motherhood with love and compassion.

Perfect for mothers at any stage; this book is your companion in navigating mum guilt and nurturing a loving, compassionate relationship with your children.

3. “The Map I Draw: A Memoir of Travel as a Passport to Self” by Heidi K. Brown

Tropes/Genre: Travel Memoir

Roam. Write. Heal. Age powerfully.

Seven years pre-pandemic, in a sticky parking lot in South Florida in the United States, Heidi’s father—an Episcopal minister—lays down a gauntlet: “You’re not going to find your soul in Rome.” What begins as a quest to prove her pious parents wrong—that she’s not irreparably broken, lost, unworthy—morphs into an adventure of relationship-trauma-recovery through the lens of travel.

Heidi hops on the back of a carabiniere police officer’s motorcycle in Rome, bangs a shaman’s drum inside an Indigenous sweat lodge in Vancouver, climbs a precarious mountain peak in Peru, jumps up and down at U2 concerts in multiple countries, and snorkels with a reef shark in Australia. She untangles fears, discerns unhealthy attachment patterns, expunges decades of misplaced shame, and erases property lines drawn by others (family, toxic law firm bosses, men) on her body, mind, and soul.

The pandemic temporarily robbing Heidi of one of her four well-being pillars (travel, boxing, writing, and U2’s music), she finally books a one-way ticket to Croatia, one of only two European countries accepting vaccinated Americans without quarantine. She reboots her mojo in Split, rewilds in Spain’s Canary Islands, then resurges anew in Rome, celebrating her fiftieth birthday a year late.

Throughout these adventures, Heidi identifies travel as her utensil of agency and rebellion. In exploring the world, she reconstitutes her soul’s DNA. She deletes a life soundtrack of criticism, rejection, and management of her body by others. She nurtures a love of languages, learning, and lushness of mid-life femininity.

4. “Shoperapy” by Stephanie Scott

Tropes/Genre: Women’s Fiction

Where shopping meets therapy… Shoperapy

Sometimes, what we really need isn’t just a new outfit — but a new outlook.

• A story for every woman who’s ever needed a little comfort to carry on.

• Because second chances matter — especially the ones you give yourself.

• Love often shows up in unexpected places — so keep hoping, always.

Meet Ellie Edwards, the best friend everyone needs in their life.

5. “Leadership Lessons from Classic Literature: The Odyssey” by Andrew W. Reitmeyer

Tropes/Genre: Non-fiction, leadership, personal development

Leadership has always been a topic of interest, and now, there is a new book that explores the topic from the perspective of antiquity. This book will take you on a journey through time, exploring the leadership styles of some of history's most influential figures.

From the strategic brilliance of Homer to the perils of Odysseus, this book will show you how these figures used their power to shape the world. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in leadership, classic literature, history, or personal development.

It will teach you valuable lessons that you can apply to your own life, whether you are a leader in your company, a parent, or simply someone who wants to improve their own life.

6. “Divas of Dutchess” by Erica-Faye Williams

Tropes/Genre: Contemporary fiction/women’s fiction

WELCOME TO DIVAS-where the fashion is fierce, the drama is designer, and the employee discount doesn’t cover therapy!

When twenty-one-year-old Jaliyah Whitfield snags a job at DIVAS, the mall’s clubwear hotspot, she thinks she’s leveling up. But the moment she steps behind the counter, she realizes she’s in for way more than she bargained for. The coworkers? Shady. The shoplifters? Bold. And the manager? Let’s just say she’s mixing business with plenty of after-hours pleasure. Between the chaos at work, her nonstop family drama, and those never-ending car payments, Jaliyah’s still dreaming of finding a love story worth clocking out for.

Fast-paced, hilarious, and full of jaw-dropping twists, Divas of Dutchess is a retail rollercoaster through the early 2000s, where the gossip never sleeps, the heels are sky-high and the drama is always in stock!

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