Exploration Time Book List

Welcome to the Exploration Time book list! Exploration Time is a list of books that invoke little to no caveats (this book is great but...) on a wide range of topics related to mental health, identity, sexuality, and living in this world. Each link will take you directly to the author's book page or a page with more information about the book

Why did I create this list?

I often get requests for recommendations for books, and I find myself getting stuck. So many books are hard to navigate for many people. They may be rooted in dominant paradigm ideas: heteronormative, white, colonial, classist, sizeist, ableist, racist, neurotypical, monogamous, religious. They might have pathologizing, violent, provocative, prescriptive, or just misaligned-to-the-reader titles and examples. Maybe they have a listicle, do X things and solve all your problems approach to huge life experiences, or they set unattainable expectations for the book or the reader. Sifting through barriers and expectations can make reflection, self-discovery, and adaptation loaded, tiring, and overwhelming, even if the text has some really good ideas.

This is a list of books that can be referenced without a huge list of caveats. This list includes authors from diverse backgrounds: gender expansive people, people of color, people with lived experience of the subjects, and all types of authors and styles and theories are included here. The book titles and content reflect a whole person, with little or no shocking imagery, overly comical approaches to real experiences, or minimization of different ideas and experiences.

This list aims to be free of books written by people who have a known or publicized history of abuse or assault.

Are these books going to meet every need? NO!

No book can speak to every story, need, and experience. But they CAN include a range of people and acknowledge a variety of experiences so more readers feel included.

  • It is organized alphabetically, grouped by subject as much as is possible. While I don’t always use diagnostic language, common terms like depression are used here for ease of search. Each book may not have been read in full, but is reviewed for content and approach.

    If your favorite book isn’t listed here, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t fit. This list remains a work in progress and titles will be added and modified regularly. This list is not exhaustive and there are a lot of great works that haven’t made it here yet.

    Have a book to recommend? Have some content to dialogue about? Send me an email and let’s discuss.

  • An abbreviated title and author for all new books will be added to the list to track what is new.

    This list was last updated on:

    5/25/2026

    1. Added ADHD, Burnout, OCD, and Neurodivergence sections

    5/19/2026

    1. Added Psychosis and Workbook sections

    2. Added multiple titles to the Trauma, boundaries, disability, community, supporting loved ones, and understanding mental health sections

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