A lot of the ideas I talk about didn’t originate with me.
They came from conversations I’ve had, experiences I’ve lived, and books that made me stop, underline something, get mad with the author, or see a something from a completely new perspective. I want to share those books with you here.
This isn’t meant to be a definitive reading list about burnout. These are simply books I’ve actually read and found useful, interesting, challenging, and, more often than not, transformative.
Some are about medicine. Some are about work, attention, relationships, psychology, or meaning. They all have helped me understand more deeply the experience of being a person who cares deeply about what they do.
I’ll keep adding to the shelf as I find books worth sharing.
Some links on this page are affiliate links through Bookshop.org. If you purchase a book through one of them, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Bookshop.org also supports independent bookstores, which is one of the reasons I chose to use it.
The Books
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We Are All Perfectly Fine
{ by Jillian Horton, MD } This is a story about a physician retreat, and not one she felt like going to. But the story was so hard to put down!
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Mind Over Grind
{ by Guy Winch, PhD } Is it actually being on vacation if you check in with work email or Epic? This one’s for you!
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From Strength to Strength
{ by Arthur Brooks } What happens to us in our profession as we age and can’t do the things we used to be able to do? There is another kind of strength each of us has, and figuring that out can help answer the question: what should the next part of my life be?
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Think Again
{ by Adam Grant} How good are people at changing their minds? Adam Grant makes the case for treating our beliefs less like facts we must defend more like hypotheses that we need to reconsider.
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Range
{ by David Epstein } I used to think being a “Jack of all trades, master of none” was a character flaw. This great read explores the value of broad experience to develop ways that aren’t always straightforward
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Stolen Focus
{ by Johann Hari } What impact does distraction have on our wellbeing? Turns out a big amount. It matters in medicine where we’re constantly trying to pay attention to patients, inboxes, alerts, emails, meetings and documentation. This book was a fascinating exploration into this topic.
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When Perfect Isn’t Good Enough
{ by Martin M. Antony and Richard P. Swinson} Perfectionism can look like excellence from the outside, so it’s often rewarded in the workplace. But perfectionism isn’t sustainable. This book explains how to loosen the grip of perfectionism without giving up on the things you care about doing well.
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Self-Compassion
{ by Kristin Neff } We are so good at showing compassion to everyone else but ourselves. This book challenges the idea that being hard on ourselves is what’s necessary for professional achievement.