The Coping Club Book Corner is a curated list of reads meant to offer distraction, comfort, and moments of mental rest for those coping with grief, loss, stress, or heavy seasons of life. These books aren’t here to fix anything. They’re here to give your mind a place to breathe.
Book Corner (January's list is in the Blog)
Sometimes healing doesn’t come from answers.
Sometimes it comes from getting lost in something else for a while.
Some are gentle.
Some are immersive.
Some simply help the hours pass more softly.
Read when you need a break.
Read when silence feels loud.
Read when coping looks like turning the page.
Book Key:
🌿 Gentle | 🌙 Thoughtful | 😌 Light | 🖤 Intense | 🌱 Grounding
🌿 Gentle / Cozy
Soft, immersive reads for low energy days.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches — Sangu Mandanna 🌿
Before the Coffee Gets Cold — Toshikazu Kawaguchi 🌿
The Secret Garden — Frances Hodgson Burnett 🌿
A Psalm for the Wild-Built — Becky Chambers 🌿
🌙 Thoughtful, Quiet, and Human
Emotionally rich without being overwhelming.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven — Mitch Albom 🌙
Anxious People — Fredrik Backman 🌙
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry — Gabrielle Zevin 🌙
Small Things Like These — Claire Keegan 🌙
😌 Light / Distracting
For when your brain needs relief more than depth.
The Rosie Project — Graeme Simsion 😌
The Authenticity Project — Clare Pooley 😌
The Uncommon Reader — Alan Bennett 😌
Nothing to See Here — Kevin Wilson 😌
🖤 Intense / Dark Romance & Emotional Intensity
For when you need feeling — passion, darkness, longing — without explaining yourself.
Corrupt — Penelope Douglas 🖤
Den of Vipers — K.A. Knight 🖤
Praise — Sara Cate 🖤
Little Stranger — Leigh Rivers 🖤
These stories are intense and immersive. Read at your own pace. Take breaks when needed.
🌱 Comforting Non-Fiction (No Fixing Required)
Reflective, grounding, and gentle.
It’s OK That You’re Not OK — Megan Devine 🌱
How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed — Megan Devine 🌱
Bittersweet — Susan Cain 🌱
When Your Attention Span Is Gone
For days when finishing a chapter feels like too much.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold — Kawaguchi
A Psalm for the Wild-Built — Becky Chambers
The Uncommon Reader — Alan Bennett
Small Things Like These — Claire Keegan
Open it. Close it. That still counts.
A Gentle Reminder
You don’t have to finish these.
You don’t have to remember them.
If a story gives you 30 minutes of relief, it did its job.
Sometimes coping looks like reading about someone else’s world for a while. That counts. These books helped us through hard days. We hope they help you too.
