Motherhood – Lisa Marchiano
This is absolutely not a book about ‘parenting hacks’. Lisa Marchiano is a Jungian analyst, and in this book she writes so beautifully about the identity shifts that can happen during motherhood. Throughout the book she weaves psychology, mythology and fairy tales together with personal stories. It’s all about discovering who we are under the surface, and how our stories and experiences can shape the way we move through motherhood. As a parent myself, and a Clinical Psychologist working with parents, I found this book resonated on so many levels with my own experiences and those of people I work with. The book also has self-guided exercises at the end of each chapter which I really love in a book like this.
The Life of Dad – Dr Anna Machin
This is another deep and meaningful book that moves well away from parenting tips and tricks. Dr. Anna Machin is an evolutionary anthropologist at Oxford and has decades of research behind her. She brings together genetics, brain science, and the voices and stories of dads to show us how fatherhood changes and challenges men. She does such an important job here of moving past outdated narratives about what it means to be a dad, by validating dads’ emotional journeys and bringing their experiences into conversations about attachment and family dynamics. It’s a book which I recommend often, to anyone who is, or knows, a dad!
The Family Experience of PDA – Eliza Fricker
Eliza Fricker is so brilliant at bringing honest and meaningful illustrations and storytelling in all of her work. This is one of my favourite books of hers, and is Eliza Fricker’s own story of parenting. I love it because it captures so much of what it can feel like to parent in a family where PDA is part of your child’s experience (“Pathological Demand Avoidance” – often renamed more compassionately as a Pervasive Drive for Autonomy). It does this in such an accessible way, with very few words and very powerful pictures. I recommend it a lot to both parents and professionals, and as a parent figuring out our own PDA family dynamics, I found this book really validating and comforting to read.
The Whole-Brain Child – Daniel Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson
Ok, this one does slip into the category of ‘parenting strategies’ and I almost left it off my list, but this is one of those books that I keep coming back to. And really, it’s not even a parenting book. Fundamentally, it’s a book about interactions between adults and children. One of the things I love is how well it explains what might be happening under the surface when children and young people are struggling. It’s got so much helpful science and psychology throughout it, but it breaks this down in a way that makes sense and is very practical. It captures the ups and downs of real life interactions with children, without any blame or shame, and is one of the books I frequently recommend to teachers.
A Different Way to Learn – Naomi Fisher
Dr. Naomi Fisher is a Clinical Psychologist, and I first read this book as my child was beginning to face significant struggles at school. I know I’m not alone in saying that, as a parent, it’s easy to feel blamed when things aren’t going well in education. Naomi Fisher has written several books but this one, in particular, stands out for me as an incredibly valuable resource for families of children who are struggling in education, or who are exploring the possibility of home education, or already on that journey. She has a wonderful way of writing about her insights on parenting, psychology, and education in a way that’s especially helpful for those supporting neurodivergent children and young people. I used to recommend this book to both parents and teachers. However, more recently, a new book (listed below) has been released that speaks more directly to educators and professionals. As a result, I now tend to recommend that one more often :)
What Can We Do When School’s Not Working? – Naomi Fisher, Abigail Fisher & Eliza Fricker
This book is a brilliant resource for schools, with loads of practical advice for understanding and supporting school refusal or distress. It’s written by a Clinical Psychologist (Namoi Fisher) and an Educational Psychologist (Abigail Fisher), and illustrated by Eliza Fricker (the author of the PDA book I mentioned above!) They bring mental health, education and personal stories together in a way that is not at all preachy or judgmental, it’s just honest, grounded in science, and makes space for thinking about children’s experiences in education. I’ve found that this book has helped me have more open and creative conversations with both families and schools about education and our expectations of children and young people. It calls for school leaders and teachers to take a step back and think about small adjustments in the classroom and the way we connect with children, as well as more radical changes. It’s also a great resource for parents who are advocating for their child’s needs in education.
Square Pegs – Fran Morgan & Ellie Costello
This is a chunky, large book full of detail and inspiration for anyone working in or with education. It is a call for significant educational change, by thinking about children who “don’t fit in” and the families and educators trying to support them. It brings together chapters written by a huge range of contributors including teachers, psychologists, medical professionals, members of parliament, alternative education providers and more. It has theory, research and science alongside inspirational stories from schools who are working hard to make sure that fitting “square pegs” into the education system means adapting the system around them rather than damaging the peg by trying to squeeze it into a round hole. It’s practical, solution-focused, and all about compassionate inclusion. It’s a great resource for anyone passionate about truly inclusive educational reform.
