Top 9 Self-Love Books Written By Black Authors

To all of the Black women who were once young black girls, this is for you and your loved ones. 

In the days of social media and having access to everyone, the comparison game begins to take a hold on our mental health. The best way to combat the funk is to silence those negative thoughts and rediscover who you are today. Life is a journey, and your self-love and self-discovery journey should reflect the current state of your life. The best thing you can give yourself is grace.

Whether you’re feeling lost or unmotivated or searching for guidance on your next chapter, self-help books will always reinforce the importance of self-care. We have some recommendations to help you search for inner peace. Here is a list of self-help books that’ll champion you.

Personal Development Books to Read On Your Self-Care Journey

One Day My Soul Opened Up: 40 Days and 40 Nights Toward Spiritual Strength and Personal Growth By Iyanla Vanzant

Photo credit: Simon & Schuster

Iyanla Vanzant is an inspirational speaker, lawyer, author, life coach, and television personality. She is mainly known for her books, talk shows, and multiple appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show. From 2012 to 2021, she hosted The Oprah Winfrey Channel’s “Iyanla: Fix My Life.”

In “One Day My Soul Opened Up,” Vanzant provides exercises and readings that give readers the tools to achieve personal healing and transformation. The book is designed like a guided journal. Encouraging readers to write out their daily thoughts and covering topics like self-love, truth, peacefulness, and trust.

Becoming By Michelle Obama

Photo credit: Amazon

Michelle Obama is an attorney, author, and wife of the 44th and former President Barack Obama. She is the first African-American First Lady of the United States and a Princeton University and Harvard Law School graduate.

“Becoming” is Obama’s memoir. It takes the reader on an inside look into her journey. She recounts the experiences that have shaped her, from her childhood as a young Black girl from the South Side of Chicago to her years. As an executive juggling the obstacles of motherhood and career to her time spent at the infamous White House. Using her unwavering honesty, she describes her highest and lowest moments, both in the public eye and private, that she has lived through in her own undiluted truth.

Clever Girl Finance By Bola Sokunbi

Photo credit: Amazon

Bola Sokunbi is a finance expert, four-time best-selling author, and founder of Clever Girl Finance. More than a book series, Clever Girl Finance is a community. Sokunbi has created a platform that allows women to learn about finances and provides them with free courses and resources. Clever Girl Finance is a good book to help take your financial goals more seriously. 

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

Shonda Rhimes is a television producer, screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland. She became known for her work on the long-running medical dramas Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal. She is the first Black woman to create television shows that reached the 100-episode mark.

In “Year of Yes,” Rhimes details her life before her Year of Yes. From being a bookworm in her childhood to creating television characters that depicted what she saw in her everyday life.

With three hit primetime television shows and three kids at home, it was easy for Rhimes to devise every excuse in the book. But truthfully, she was scared. One Thanksgiving dinner, her sister told her, “You never say yes to anything.” From that moment on, she decided to challenge herself and say yes to everything that scared her.

The book also details what happened after her Year of Yes and how she became her truest form of self-love. This is truly an inspirational book that will help you through your life journey. 

The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose By Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is a talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and owner of Oprah Magazine. Her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011.

In “The Path Made Clear,” Winfrey shares how to become the best version of yourself. In the book, Winfrey shares this by showing the groundwork needed for creating a life of achievement and significance. The ten chapters are laid out for the reader to realize the important milestones on the road to self-discovery. Laying out what is needed to be at peace with yourself and what life’s many paths are there to teach.

She dives into each chapter by sharing her life lessons and personal experiences that helped her on her journey. She also enlists her industry peers to share their own experiences of achieving success in their lives. If you are a visual person, this book is ideal for you. It features over 100 inspiring photographs to help the reader understand the message and a life filled with living in your purpose.

More Than Enough By Elaine Welteroth

Elaine Welteroth is a journalist, editor, author, and television host. In April 2016, Welteroth was editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. This made her the second African-American to hold the position in Conde Nast’s 107-year history. Her promotion to editor at 29 makes her the second youngest editor in Conde Nast’s history, right behind former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples Wagner, who started at 28.

In “More Than Enough,” Welteroth made her own name in the media and fashion industry, breaking barriers along the way. In this memoir, she details lessons she learned on race, identity, and success during her journey to the top, from struggles she faced as the child of an interracial marriage in a small town in California to being a changemaker on the frontlines of a movement for the next generation.

As the only Black woman in the room and a young boss, she’s had enough of the world letting her and other women know that they’re not enough. She encourages readers to see that they are more than enough.

The Black Girl’s Guide To Financial Freedom by Paris Woods

Paris Woods is a first-generation Harvard University graduate and an educator. Her debut book teaches readers how to be financially responsible while living a life they will enjoy. Using her experience as a teacher, Woods breaks down hard-to-understand financial topics into digestible advice that anyone can follow.

During her years in education, she wanted to find a way to achieve wealth without changing careers or going down the real estate or business path. Through years of research and her own stories, she teaches the reader to build generational wealth, avoid common financial traps, earn your next degree debt-free, achieve economic independence, retire early, and design a dream life you can start living today.

All Hope Is Found: Rediscovering The Joy of Expectation By Sarah Jakes Roberts

Sarah Jakes Roberts is a New York Times bestselling author, businesswoman, pastor, and media personality.

In “All Hope Is Found,” Jakes Roberts uplifts readers by letting them know that while hope is hard to find, it will never be out of reach in their time of need. Throughout the chapters, she shows how hope can be broken, reframed, put to work, and spread in their lives. She motivates the audience to keep going toward hope and teaches them to discover new hope daily.

Jakes Roberts wants readers to follow these guidelines rather than upend their lives. She pushes readers to leave their comfort zone and actively pursue the uncomfortable, where the uncomfortable becomes the new norm.

You Owe You: Ignite Your Power, Your Purpose, and Your Why by Eric Thomas

Eric Thomas is a motivational speaker, author, consultant, and minister. He first gained attention on YouTube, where his speeches have gained traction.

“You Owe You” urges the reader to stop waiting for the right moment and immediately take control of their lives. A message he wishes he had been given in his youth while being a young Black man in America.

The opportunities were endless once he freed himself from thinking about his situation like a victim and truly understood his power. He gives the reader the tools to flip the system and change their life. 

With encouragement, he understood his gift of being able to use speech to captivate a room due to his experiences. He considers himself thankful to speak to large and diverse audiences. Often holding the attention of celebrities, kids having a hard time in school, and young men in prison who need a new start.

His secrets to success are chronicled throughout the book. Including how to understand yourself and the society around you, find your why, and constantly strive to be better. If you are unsure of the next steps, Thomas can help you reach the goal.

What books have helped you on your self-love journey? Comment below.

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