This article offers you a treasure trove of books on getting through a divorce with your sanity intact--ranging from books on how to handle the legalities and the (potential) children, to books that will help you heal and move forward confidently.

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This includes books on how to create better relationships in the future.

It may feel like your heart has been cut out of your chest, or that everything is a confusing mess right now, but you will get through it. You will heal. And you will become a better person than you’ve ever been. These books will help you get there!

Books on Divorce

The below books on divorce will help to empower you by offering knowledge, wisdom, and a few laughs.

A Judge's Guide to Divorce: Uncommon Advice from the Bench by Judge Roderic Duncan

If you need some extra guidance, then The Divorce Sourcebook by Dawn Berry is another great option.

Getting some basic knowledge around legalities can help you feel more confident and powerful, and less like a victim to the horrors of divorce procedures.

How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed by Theo Pauline Nesto

If you want to go on a healing journey, How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed by Theo Pauline Nestor, is a great pick. It’s Nestor’s story of going from being a stay-at-home-mom to a divorcee. A divorcee who decides to dig into her own family’s track record of divorce. It’s a heartwarming read and, for most readers, a steep learning curve of what it means to face your divorce demons and overcome them.

Getting Past Your Breakup: How to Turn a Devastating Loss into the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You by Susan J Elliott JD MEd

How do you survive a split and come out better on the other side? That’s the topic for this book and with hundreds of reviews singing its praise, chances are it will help you, too.

If you can’t stop thinking about the divorce and how to get over it, this is the book you need.

And if you love this book, another book to consider is Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps to Living Happily Even After by Katherine Woodward Thomas MA MFT. It will certainly alert you to the fact that it’s possible to be happy after a breakup.

How to Survive the Loss of a Love by Peter McWilliams, Dr. Harold H. Bloomfield, and Dr. Melba Colgrove

This is a classic in the field and has sold over 4 million copies. People who have lost someone, or something, in their lives swear by it. Just browsing the customer reviews on Amazon will make you feel better.

If you still feel stuck on your ex after reading it, try This Is Me Letting You Go by Heidie Priebe. It will give you that extra push to move forward.

Books on Co-parenting

Chances are you didn’t enter parenthood thinking you’d one day get a divorce. So how do you deal with parenthood in the face of a divorce? Many people have done so. And thankfully, it’s quite possible to do it successfully. You may even find yourself becoming a better parent in the process.

The Good Divorce--Keeping Your Family Together When Your Marriage Comes Apart by Constance Ahron

This book is a great starting point, as it highlights research done showing that divorce doesn’t have to negatively impact children. It shows why and how it’s possible to keep your family together. It’s both inspirational and practical--handing out advice for how to go about things.

If you want more proof, Reconcilable Differences by Cate Cochran gives you an insight into ten marriages that fell apart successfully. The marriages ended, but the families remained intact. Take the cue and learn from their success!

The Truth About Children and Divorce: Dealing with the Emotions So You and Your Children Can Thrive by Dr. Robert E. Emery

When in the middle of a divorce, even years into the divorce, there can be a lot of emotions swirling around. Learning to deal with them is crucial if you want your children to thrive. As a therapist and mediator, Dr. Emery has made quite a name for himself as his advice is solid and often recommended by therapists. You may also want to try one of his other books--Two Homes, One Childhood.

Co-Parenting Works by Tammy Daughtry

If you’re looking for more of a roadmap, then Co-Parenting Works could be a great book for you. It spells out exactly how to create a co-parenting plan.

Moving Forward Powerfully

It’s not just about “dealing” with the divorce or even healing from it. It’s also about stepping forward powerfully as a human being. You’re standing on your own two feet now and that can be exciting, especially if you’re empowered. And the below books will certainly empower you! They’ll likely also heal you in ways you didn’t expect them to.

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

This is a classic book in personal development circles and for a good reason: it’s a great book. Don Miguel puts forth four simple principles, that if applied will change your life. They will bring you more peace, confidence, and freedom. They will improve relationships and communication. It may sound too good to be true, but chances are after reading it you’ll be another person saying “it changed my life.”

Stop Thinking and Start Living: Discovering Lifelong Happiness by Richard Carlson

The late Carlson helped clients shift their focus from what wasn’t working in their lives, to what was and how to create more happiness. Not surprisingly, people became happy and Carlson became a bestselling and very famous author. If you’re struggling to find happiness after a divorce, this book might just be the cure.

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

Jen Sincero has, somehow, managed to put together every personal development tip and trick in one book. What’s more, she’s made it into a highly enjoyable, sometimes even hilarious, read. Packed full of stories from her own and her clients’ lives, the book shows you that becoming a badass is perfectly possible. So long as you’re willing to get off the couch, that is.

Books for Creating Better Relationships

As you come out of a divorce you may feel like you failed. Like you don’t understand relationships. Maybe you don’t know what went wrong, or how to fix it.

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie is a classic. It spent three years on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s a book for anyone who takes on a role in a relationship--and most people do.

The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz

What does it truly mean to love someone? And should you really date someone you want to “fix”? Don Miguel’s take on love is both enlightening and practical--don’t buy a dog if you want a cat being one such practical advice.

The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

This is not the most well-known relationship book of all time, but it ranks pretty high up there with over 1,500 reviews on Amazon. Outspoken and sometimes outrageous, Deida puts forth his ideas of male and female polarity and how to achieve it within a relationship. While it may offend some, it may also save their next relationship from growing stagnant.

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

With more than 5 million copies sold, The Five Love Languages is one of the most popular relationship books of all time. And there’s a reason why--Gary Chapman explains one of the most essential things needed in a relationship: to feel loved. The issue? We need different things to feel love. And if you and your partner don’t know what the other one needs, it’s hard to deliver. Chances are, you don’t even know yourself what it is you need. Chapman’s book will teach you.

In conjunction with this, you may also want to read Receiving Love: Transform Your Relationships by Letting Yourself Be Loved by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt.  After all, it’s not just about being given love, but also being able to receive that love.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray

This is one of those books everyone has heard of, but have you read it? If not, get it. Simplistic? Possibly. Relevant? Absolutely.

In short, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus is about what men and women need in relationships and how those things vary. As a woman you’re prone to give a man what a woman wants and as a man, give a woman what a man wants. To prevent that from happening, read this book.

Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Dr. Sue Johnson

This book, which is another bestseller, focuses on how to create emotional safety and connection within a relationship. Just as you need to feel loved, you need to feel connected. Unfortunately, many couples don’t know how to create this kind of connection and therefore fall apart.

Entering the Dating Game

So you’re ready to date. Or you’re absolutely petrified but determined it’s time. Or, maybe you’re just curious--wanting to stack up on some information so as to get ready. Thankfully, there are plenty of books out there that will highlight the often hilarious and sometimes strange journey of entering the dating game.

The Four Man Plan by Cindy Lu

If you ever find yourself falling too fast for people, or falling for the same “type” over, then this book is for you. While written for women and based on Cindy Lu’s own experiences, men can get just as much out of it. And, if nothing else, it’s a hilarious insight into modern-day dating in Los Angeles.

And if you want to find out if you’re ready to be a good mate yourself, then read The Boyfriend Test or The Girlfriend Test by Dr. Wendy Walsh--a specialist in attachment theory.

The Game by Neil Strauss

Yes, The Game is a book about pickup skills. No, you don’t need to manipulate anyone to get to date them. Nor should pickup skills be about manipulation, but about communication. The truth is, most people are afraid of approaching someone who they find attractive. This book details how to overcome that fear and what to say and do to start a conversation and keep it going. And while there are more practical “how-to” guides that avoid even a hint at manipulation, this is the original pickup bible and a fun read.

Feel Good Books to Fuel Your Soul

The thing with life is that it tends to fall apart ever so often. Sometimes that falling apart comes in the form of a divorce, sometimes in the form of the death of a loved one, a failed friendship, or a failed business. Thankfully, it’s possible to heal your life and improve it in the process. Even if it doesn’t feel like that at the time when things are falling apart.

There are some books that honor transformation and show it’s possible. Books that may even leave you inspired to start your journey onward. A journey to something better.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

It’s hard not to have heard of Eat, Pray, Love, which is an autobiographical tale by Elizabeth Gilbert. Outwardly successful, but inwardly unfulfilled, Gilbert decided to set out on a journey that ended up transforming her. Reading about it may just help transform your own life!

Anything by Barbara O'Neal

Barbara O’Neal is a master at penning tales about women on journeys of transformation. Often, the journeys start with a tragedy of some kind. If you need some chicken soup for the soul, then these are brilliant books. Of course, there’s also the book Chicken Soup for the Soul if you want short and positive stories from real life that will invigorate your soul.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Her mother dies, her family scatters and her marriage falls apart--with nothing more left to lose, Cheryl decides to go for a hike. A very long hike along the Pacific Coast. If there is one book that outlines what it’s like to walk your way back to sanity, this is that book!

Falling Apart in One Piece by Stacy Morrison

If you think you’ve worked hard enough to earn your way to the top--a new job, a new home, a new baby--only to realize your husband wants out, this book is for you. A heartwarming look at the lessons life has to teach us if only we listen.

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

This is an autobiographical book on divorce that will make you laugh till you cry and realize that we all face hurdles--and overcome them.

Beyond Books

If you’re still struggling with healing from a divorce, or moving forward and dating again after laughing and crying your way through these books, maybe it’s time to get some help.

Life coach Maxine Clancy specializes in coaching divorcees and also offers a free download that might help get you back on track! Another top-of-the-game coach is Kimmy Seltzer. She can help you with a make-over if you want to find a new style after divorce, as well as teaching you social confidence and giving you the tools to date after a divorce.