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Esther Perel's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Esther Perel recommends? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Esther Perel's favorite book recommendations of all time. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.

Three Women book cover1

Three Women

Lisa Taddeo

3.9
Journalist Taddeo reports on the risks women take to fulfill their sexual desires. The result of eight years and thousands of hours of interviews, the book describes how each of her three subjects is undone by an intimate relationship that eventually damaged her.

Maggie, a troubled 23-year-old in Fargo, N.Dak., recalls how her high school English teacher seduced her at 17 after learning she'd slep
Crime and Punishment: A Russian Realistic Novel book cover2

Crime and Punishment: A Russian Realistic Novel

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

4.5
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life book cover3

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

Marshall B. Rosenberg, Deepak Chopra

4.5
The latest edition of the communication guide that has sold more than 1,000,000 copies

An enlightening look at how peaceful communication can create compassionate connections with family, friends, and other acquaintances, this international bestseller uses stories, examples, and sample dialogues to provide solutions to communication problems both at home and in the workplace. Guidance is provided
Man's Search for Meaning book cover4

Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl

4.5
Man's Search for Meaning has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 psychiatrist Viktor Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the stories of his many patients, Frankl argues that we can
Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality book cover5

Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality

Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jethá

4.3
Sex at Dawn challenges conventional wisdom about sex in a big way. By examining the prehistoric origins of human sexual behavior the authors are able to expose the fallacies and weaknesses of standard theories proposed by most experts. This is a provocative, entertaining, and pioneering book. I learned a lot from it and recommend it highly.” — Andrew Weil, M.D.

Sex at Dawn irrefutably shows that
6

If This Is a Man • The Truce

Primo Levi, Stuart Woolf, Paul Bailey

4.7
'With the moral stamina and intellectual poise of a twentieth-century Titan, this slightly built, dutiful, unassuming chemist set out systematically to remember the German hell on earth, steadfastly to think it through, and then to render it comprehensible in lucid, unpretentious prose. He was profoundly in touch with the minutest workings of the most endearing human events and with the most conte
7

Fighting for Your Marriage: Positive Steps for Preventing Divorce and Preserving a Lasting Love

Howard J. Markman, Scott M. Stanley, Susan L. Blumberg

4.3
Fighting for Your Marriage is based on the widely acclaimed PREP® (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) approach. Groundbreaking studies have found that couples can use the strategies of this approach to handle conflict more constructively, protect their happiness, and reduce the odds of breaking up.

Based on twenty years of university research, this popular book will show you how to:
The Art of Loving book cover8

The Art of Loving

Erich Fromm

4.3
The fiftieth Anniversary Edition of the groundbreaking international bestseller that has shown millions of readers how to achieve rich, productive lives by developing their hidden capacities for love

Most people are unable to love on the only level that truly matters: love that is compounded of maturity, self-knowledge, and courage. As with every art, love demands practice and concentration, as wel
9

Can Love Last?: The Fate of Romance over Time

Stephen A. Mitchell

4.3
Common wisdom has it that love is fragile, but leading psychoanalyst Stephen A. Mitchell argues that romance doesn't actually diminish in long-term relationships—it becomes increasingly dangerous. What we regard as the transience of love is really risk management. Mitchell shows that love can endure, if only we become aware of our self-destructive efforts to protect ourselves from its risks. "Thos
10

Liquid Life

Zygmunt Bauman

4.4
'Liquid life' is the kind of life commonly lived in our contemporary, liquid-modern society. Liquid life cannot stay on course, as liquid-modern society cannot keep its shape for long. Liquid life is a precarious life, lived under conditions of constant uncertainty.

The most acute and stubborn worries that haunt this liquid life are the fears of being caught napping, of failing to catch up with fa
11

Family Healing: Strategies for Hope and Understanding

Salvador Minuchin

4.5

A Simon & Schuster eBook
12

Breaking the Male Code: Unlocking the Power of Friendship

Robert Garfield

3.9
Calling for a new men’s movement, a noted psychotherapist examines the critical role close male friendships play in helping men lead happy, healthy lives.

For much of the past century, men have operated under the rules of Male Code, a rigid set of guidelines that equate masculinity with stoicism, silence, and strength. But as men’s roles have changed, this lingering pressure to hide their emotion
The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment book cover13

The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment

Jack Morin

4.3
Challenging accepted theories about what makes for terrific sex, The Erotic Mind is a breakthrough exploration of the least understood dimensions of human sexuality—the psychology of desire, arousal, and fulfillment. Nationally known sex therapist Dr. Jack Morin offers a bold new perspective that celebrates the joys of Eros without denying its risks.

Based on an in-depth analysis of over 1,000 prov