To mark 3 years of our book club, The Reading Nest, here are 20 books I’d recommend that will change the way you heal, parent, love and grow as a Muslim woman:
1) “The Emotionally Sensitive Person:
Finding Peace When Your Emotions Overwhelm You”
by Karyn D. Hall
— For learning how to feel deeply without drowning in your emotions.
Offers practical tools for emotional regulation, self-development, and inner peace.
2) “The Book of Boundaries:
Set the Limits that will Set You Free”
by Melissa Urban
— For anyone tired of abandoning themselves to keep others comfortable.
Offers scripts, mindset shifts, and the permission to protect your peace without guilt.
3) “Why Won’t You Apologize?:
Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts”
by Dr Harriet Lerner
— For understanding how relationships heal after hurt, betrayal, and conflict.
Offers insight into accountability, repair, forgiveness, and emotional maturity.
4) “Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?”
by Dr Julie Smith
— For understanding how relationships heal after hurt, betrayal, and conflict.
Offers insight into accountability, repair, forgiveness, and emotional maturity.
5) “Healing the Emptiness:
A Guide to Emotional and Spiritual Well-Being”
by Yasmin Mogahed
— For anyone searching for emotional healing rooted in faith.
Offers reflections on attachment, heartbreak, self-worth, and spiritual healing.
6) “Secrets of Divine Love:
A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam”
by A. Helwa
— For rebuilding your relationship with Allah ﷻ based on love instead of fear.
Offers a deeply compassionate understanding of Allah, worship, and spirituality.
7) “A Temporary Gift:
Reflections on Love, Loss and Healing”
by Asmaa Hussein
— A beautiful, tender book on grief, love, and surviving loss.
Offers comfort, validation, and reflections for anyone navigating heartbreak and bereavement.
8) “Ramadan Reflections:
30 Days of Healing from the Past, Journeying with Presence and Looking Ahead to an Akhirah-focused Future”
by Aliyah Umm Raiyaan
— For slowing down and reconnecting with yourself and Allah ﷻ during Ramadan.
Offers guided reflections, journaling prompts, and spiritual intention-setting.
9) “Communicating with Allah:
Rediscovering Prayer (Salah)”
by Bassam Saeh
— For transforming your Salah from mere routine into real connection.
Offers practical ways to build Khushu’, presence, and intimacy in prayer.
10) “The 5 Second Rule:
Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage”
by Mel Robbins
— For overcoming hesitation and taking action despite fear.
Offers a simple method for building courage, momentum, and self-reliance.
11) “The Productive Muslim:
Where Faith Meets Productivity”
by Mohammed Faris
— For building a life that’s productive without losing barakah and balance.
Offers faith-centered systems for productivity, energy management, and intentional living.
12) “Declutter Your Mind:
How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking”
by S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport
— For quieting overthinking and creating mental space to breathe again.
Offers strategies for reducing anxiety, mental clutter, and negative thought spirals.
13) “The Barakah Effect:
More with Less”
by Mohammed Faris
— For redefining success for Muslims through Barakah instead of burnout.
Offers a refreshing perspective on productivity, purpose, and sustainable living.
14) “Daring Greatly:
How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead”
by Brené Brown
— For understanding why vulnerability is strength, not weakness.
Offers powerful insights on shame, courage, authenticity, and connection.
15) “When the Body Says No:
The Cost of Hidden Stress”
by Dr Gabor Maté
— For understanding the hidden connection between stress, trauma, and illness.
Offers eye-opening insights into how emotional suppression impacts physical health.
16) “The Muslim Narcissist:
An Islamic guide to Understanding, Surviving and Healing from Narcissistic and Spiritual Abuse”
by Dr Mona Alyedreessy
— For recognizing narcissistic and spiritual abuse through an Islamic lens.
Offers validation, education, and guidance for healing from toxic relationships.
17) “The Myth of Normal:
Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture”
by Dr Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté
— For rethinking trauma, healing, and what society calls “normal”.
Offers a profound exploration of emotional health, chronic stress, and modern culture.
18) “Cycle Breaker:
From Trauma to Triumph: Learn to Heal Your Past & Parent with Joy”
by Maryam Munir
— For healing your childhood wounds so they don’t shape your parenting.
Offers compassionate guidance on reparenting yourself and raising emotionally secure children.
>>> Read My Full Review of “Cycle Breaker” by Maryam Munir <<<
19) “Children Around the Prophet:
How Muhammad ﷺ: Raised the Young Companions”
by Hesham Al-Awadi
— For rediscovering gentleness, wisdom, and emotional intelligence in parenting.
Offers beautiful examples of how the Prophet ﷺ nurtured and guided children.
>>> Read My Full Review of “Children Around the Prophet ﷺ” by Hesham Al-Awadi <<<
20) “Atlas of the Heart:
Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience”
by Brené Brown
— For putting language to emotions many of us were never taught to understand.
Offers a richer emotional vocabulary for deeper self-awareness and connection.
These are all books that have been read inside The Reading Nest these past 3 years.
The Reading Nest is not just your ordinary book club – it’s a safe space where:
- Self-help concepts are filtered through an Islamic lens.
- Highlighted passages lead to consistent, long-term change.
- Loneliness is replaced by shared sisterhood.
Here’s a beautiful testimony from one of our members from The Reading Nest:
“The Reading Nest is a space of love, care, support and of beneficial exchange. My trust issues find no place in the warm, trustful surrounding of my fellow sisters, who allow me to feel seen, heard and related to, Alhamdulillah. We pick books to read together and find beautiful wisdom in them with the support and experience of our leading life coach Khadija, who I have found to be both a great professional and the big sister I love and seek advice from. I particularly enjoy the possibility of reading a self-care book that moves me and to be hearing my sisters’ views on these passages as well – to go through the difficulty of healing with a group of fantastic women, alhamdulillah.” – H.I. (Germany)
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