Dr. Eileen O’Grady’s Resources,Evidence Base and Favorites

Parent Encouragement Program (PEP Parent) Start with a course on discipline or encouragement. Courses based on Alfred Adler’s theory of giving kids a strong sense of belonging, competence and self-regulation.

Health Blogs I Read

Found My Fitness by Dr. Rhonda Patrick- A gifted communicator who distills research on depression, sleep, nutrition, and all things longevity-related.

SHORTform Key Insights from over 1,000 non-fiction books

Book notes by Derek Sivers. A remarkably thoughtful and personal key takeaways from hundreds of non-fiction books.

The Daily Stoic 2,500 Year old wisdom for our modern world.

Farnum Street Brain Food Beautiful summary of mental models to help us make better decisions.

Greater Good Science @ Berkeley A distillation of the evidence on positive psychology, wellbeing and how to make society better.

TED Talks and Other Videos

Dan Goleman on FOCUS: The Secret to High Performance and Fulfillment
John O’Dohohue on Being
John O’Donohue on Beauty and Landscape
Interview with David Whyte on Conversations and Leadership
BJ Miller: TED Talk on Whats Important
Janette Khan: TED Talk on Simple Innovations
Brene Brown Extended Interview on Bravery and Authenticity
TD Jakes on Owning Your Own Happiness
George Vaillant: TED Talk on Human Development
Clayton Christianson: TED Talk on Success
Seth Godin: TED Talk on Broken
Benjamin Zander: TED Talk on Music
Peter Attia, MD: TED Talk on fighting the wrong health war
Peter Attia MD, on carbohydrates, performance and weight
Evolutionary Biologist Daniel Lieberman interview on stone age diets and adaptability
Eric Westman, MD @ Duke University and President of American Society of Bariatric Physicians
Mary Vernon, MD. President of American Society of Bariatric Physicians
How BAD do you WANT it? (to cultivate focus)

Favorite Documentaries

Atlas of the Heart
College Behind Bars
The Social Dilemma
The Weight of Gold
Wild Wild Country
The Biggest Little Farm
Kareem: Minority of One
Brene Brown: The Call to Courage
Valley Uprising (see first) then, Free Solo
Three Identical Strangers
Lipstick and Liquor
If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
The Magic Pill
Defining Hope
13th
Icarus
The Gamechangers
Embrace
Shane McGonkey
The Perfect Human Diet
In Defense of Food
Happy. The Movie
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Fed Up
Misery Loves Comedy
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Man on Wire
The Search for General Tso

Books (I have cut this down to those I cannot live without!)

Allen, David. (2015). Getting Things Done : The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Penguin Books.
Arloski, M. (2009). Wellness Coaching for Lasting Lifestyle Change. Whole Person Associates
Baumeister, R. & Tierney, J. (2011). Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. Penguin Press.
Berger, W. (2014). A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. Bloomsbury.
Brach, Tara. (2003). Radical Acceptance. Bantom Books.
Brown, Brene, (2021) Atlas of the Heart. Random House.
Brown, Brene. (2017). Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. Random House.
Brown, Brene. (2012). Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. Gotham Books.
Brown, B. (2010). The Gifts of Imperfection. Hazeldon.
Buettner, Dan.(2009). The Blue Zones. National Geographic Society. www.bluezones.com
Chodron, P. (2009). Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears. Shambhala Publications.
Chodron, P. (2001). Start Where You are: A Guide to Compassionate Living. Shambhala Publications
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Penguin Random House
Csikzentmihalyi, Mihaly. (1991). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper-Perennial.
Doyle, G. (2020). Untamed. Penguin Ransom House. :
Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: How We Can Lean to Fulfill our Potential. Random House
Fairburn, C. (2013). Overcoming Binge Eating. 2nd ed. Guilford Press.
Garvey-Berger, Jennifer (2012). Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders for a Complex World. Stanford Business Books.
Garvey-Berger, Jennifer (2019). Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity. Stanford University Press.
Goleman, D. (2013). Focus. Harper Publishers.
Gorman, S. & Gorman, R. (2017). Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts that Will Save Us. Oxford University Press.
Gowdat, Mo. (2018). Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy,. North Star Way.
Hicks. D. (2011). Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict. Yale University Press.
Holiday, Ryan (2016). Ego is the Enemy. Penguin
Holiday, Ryan ( 2014). The Obstacle is the Way. Penguin
Halvorson, H. (2012). Succeed: How we can Reach our Goals. A Plume Book.
James, A. (2012). A**holes: A Theory. Anchor Books.
Kegan, R. & Lahey, L. (2016). An Everyone Culture. Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization. Harvard Business Review Press.
Kegan, R. & Lahey, L. (2009). Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and your Organization. Harvard Business Review Press.
May, Michelle. (2005). Am I Hungry? Nourish Publishing.
Norcross, J. (2013). Changeology. Simon & Schuster
Pillemer, K. (2011). 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans. Hudson Street Press.
Porath. C. (2016). Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace. Grand Central Publishing.
Pressfield, S. (2002). The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win your Inner Creative Battles. Black Irish Entertainment.
Roth, G. (2010). Women, Food and God. Scribner.
Siegel, D. (2010). Mind-sight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Mind Your Brain, Inc.
Seligman, Martin. (2002). Authentic Happiness: Free Press
Seligman, Martin. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. Free Press.
Siegel, D. (2010) Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Mind Your Brain, Inc.
Taubes, Gary. (2011). Why we Get Fat and What to do About it. (2011) Knopf Publishers.
Thaler, R. & Sunstein, C. ( 2009). Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Penguin Books.
Tippett, Krista. (2016). Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. Penguin Press.
The School of Life. (2017). The School of Life Dictionary: The Language of Emotional Intelligence. The School of Life.
Trzeciak, S. & Mazzarelli, A. (2019). Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference. Struder Group LLC.
Wakeman, Cy. (2017). No Ego: How Leaders can cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement and Drive Big Results. St. Martin’s Press.
Wesorick, Bonnie. (2016). Polarity Thinking in Healthcare. HRD Press, Inc.
Whyte, D. (2009). The Three Marriages: Re-imagining Work, Self, and Relationship. Riverhead Books.

Favorite Meditation Teacher and APP

Suggest experiment with the 30 -day daily guided meditation: Waking up with Sam Harris

Listen to samples: on The Power of Regret and Gratitude

To assess core strengths

Authentic Happiness: Values in Action (VIA) Strengths Test at the University of Pennsylvania, Authentic Happiness/Positive Psychology Website. The test is free but you have to register on the website to take it and get your scores. It takes about 40 minutes .

Other Resources

Eileen’s Resources/Evidence-Base/Favorites on Well-Being

Favorite Wellness Podcasts

Parenting Courses that Will Change your Life (for the better)