Best 10 Books About Body Image

1. More Than A Body

By Lexie Kite, Lindsay Kite

With insights drawn from their extensive body image research, Lindsay and Lexie—PhDs and founders of the nonprofit Beauty Redefined (and also twin sisters!)—lay out an action plan that arms you with the skills you need to reconnect with your whole self and free yourself from the constraints of self-objectification.

In the process, they show how facing your feelings of body shame or embarrassment can become a catalyst for personal growth.

2. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Body Image Dissatisfaction

By Adria Pearson PhD, Michelle Heffner Macera PhD, Victoria Follette PhD

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Body Image Dissatisfaction is a manual for practitioners seeking to help clients let go of self-judgment and preoccupation with body image.

This book presents a clear plan for showing clients how to clarify their values to help broaden their lives and refocus on what is most meaningful and vital to them.

It presents a clear ACT protocol, complete with sample scripts, therapy exercises, case studies, and worksheets, for treating body image dissatisfaction.

3. Breaking Free from Body Shame

By Jess Connolly

Jess Connolly is a bestselling author, sought-after speaker, and trusted Bible teacher who knows this inner conflict all too well, and this book details her journey–and yours–of setting out to discover how to break free from the broken beliefs we all hold about our bodies that hold us back from our fullest life.

This book will help you believe it with your whole self, as Jess guides you through an eye-opening, empowering process of:

• Renaming what the world has labeled as less-than
• Resting in God’s workmanship
• Experiencing restoration where there has been injury
• And becoming a change agent in partnering with God to bring revival to a generation of women 

4. Wisdom of Your Body

By Hillary L. PhD McBride

The Wisdom of Your Body offers a compassionate, healthy, and holistic perspective on embodied living. Weaving together illuminating research, stories from her work as a therapist, and deeply personal narratives of healing from a life-threatening eating disorder, a near-fatal car accident, and chronic pain, McBride invites us to reclaim the wisdom of the body and to experience the wholeness that has been there all along. End-of-chapter questions and practices are included.

5. Compared to Who?

By Heather Creekmore

Author Heather Creekmore has fought the body image battle and won. With lots of grace and laugh out loud humor, she’s ready to help you do the same. Compared to Who includes chapter questions for individual or small group study to help you transform your body image and find new freedom and confidence to live out your God-given purpose.

6. embody: Learning to Love Your Unique Body

By Connie Sobczak

Embody guides readers step by step through five core competencies:- Reclaim Health- Practice Intuitive Self-Care- Cultivate Self-Love- Declare Your Own Authentic Beauty- Build Community

Anyone can practice these fundamental skills on a daily basis to honor their innate wisdom and take good care of their whole selves.

Research on the Be Body Positive Model indicates that embodying The 5 Competencies significantly improves people’s ability to regulate eating, decreases depression and anxiety, and increases self-compassion.

7. Overcoming Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors

By Charles S. Mansueto PhD, Sherrie Mansfield Vavrichek LCSW-C, Ruth Goldfinger Golomb LCPC

In this evidence-based resource, three renowned experts and clinicians offer powerful CBT skills to help you move past BFRB. You’ll learn why you engage in these behaviors, and how to identify your own sensory “triggers”—places, things, or experiences that cause your behavior to become worse.

Finally, you’ll learn strategies to use when faced with these triggers, and develop your own customized “plan of action” for moving beyond BFRB for good.

8. The Body Image Workbook

By Thomas Cash PhD

The Body Image Workbook offers a comprehensive program to help you stop focusing on your perceived imperfections and start feeling more confident about the way you look.

As you complete the helpsheets in this book, you’ll learn to celebrate your body instead of feeling ashamed of it.

9. The Body Positivity Card Deck

By Judith Matz, Amy Pershing

This deck contains 53 unique healing strategies that will guide you to build self-confidence and respect for the body that you have – and help to create a more inclusive world.

The cards are divided into four easy-to-navigate categories:

• Self-Compassion Relate to yourself with kindness and care
• Body Image Cultivate acceptance, appreciation, and respect
• Mindfulness Notice thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the present without judgment
• Self-Care Practice positive, sustainable behaviors for physical and emotional wellbeing

10. Positive Body Image Workbook

By Nichole Wood-Barcalow, Tracy Tylka, Casey Judge

This clear and easy-to-use workbook provides clinicians, clients, and those interested in self-improvement with a practical guide to understanding and improving body image through the latest research findings and clinical tools.