Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity, by David Whyte

My all-time favorite read in 2001, written by a poet and Fortune 500 consultant who believes "you cannot choose either the artist or the pragmatist inside you. There's a place for both." He maintains that our greatest opportunity for discovery and growth is in the thing we most often want to get away from: our work. "Crossing the Unknown Sea is about reawakening the sleeping captain in us before that soul crashes on the rocks." It's profound, captivating, inspiring, and exquisitely written.

Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box, by The Arbinger Institute

This has nothing and everything to do with "rethinking careers." As one of the jacket reviewers says, "Don't be fooled by the title - this book is for everyone. I can't think about my life the same way again." Self-deception is the box we put ourselves in that keeps us from having alternative viewpoints and perspectives about people, problems, risks, opportunities - everything. Easy reading, very thought provoking.

The Addictive Organization, by Anne Wison Schaef

"This book finally names the irrational behavior in organizations…a dynamic and welcome addition to the the lives of all those who have come to believe that somehow they, themselves, were the crazy ones." If you think you might be part of a 'sick' organization, read this and see why.

Are you a Corporate Refugee?, by Ruth Luban

A specialist is transition and behavioral health provides a step-by-step program that addresses the five emotional stages of job loss and change. Practical and creative strategies, especially or people facing unexpected downsizing, layoffs.

Changing Careers For Dummies, by Carol McClelland, PhD

I resisted wanting to like this book because of the overworked "dummies" concept. But of all the many good career transition/advice books available, this is an amazingly comprehensive reference - my current favorite. Practical, creative, very up-to-date, easy-to-read format with superb exercises and tips. Highly recommended for 'wannabe' and committed career leavers/changers.

Coming Up For Air: How to Build A Balanced Life in a Workaholic World, by Beth Sawi

I know this author personally: she knows of what she speaks. As the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at a $3 billion investment company, she was a self-confessed workaholic who changed her ways when her children were born. She gives straightforward advice, suggestions, exercises, and dozens of examples from real life. The book lends needed dignity to the concept of 'work/life balance' in the successful corporate setting.

From Making a Living to Having a Life: A Book For the Working Challenged, by Gloria Dunn

Should you quit? Reasons to stay? Do your core beliefs keep you stuck in the wrong job? This author uses her own story and dozens of examples from people she's interviewed to illustrate the strategies that work for redesigning careers and finding fulfilling work. Organized in a practical "what to do first" format.

The Inventurers: Excursions in Life and Career Renewal, by Janet Hagberg and Richard Leider

"Inventuring" is a process of balancing the need to plan and realize goals with the need to spontaneously live life as it unfolds. This book has been around a while (1988) but it's still useful. Used copies are available and worth having if only because of its introduction of the Life Cycle and renewal concept (developed further in Frederick Hudson's work. See books in the Transitions section).

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Inc. Your Dreams: For Any Woman Who is Thinking About Her Own Business, by Rebecca Maddox

The author is a former corporate senior executive and now a successful entrepreneur who founded Capital Rose, Inc., a company that focuses exclusively on promoting and supporting women in business. This book is full of motivation and inspiration for any woman who's ever dreamed of starting her own business and wants to build her career around her own values, what she loves to do, and a personal definition of success.

When Money Is Not Enough: How Women Are Finding the Soul of Success, by Connie Glaser and Barbara Smalley

This book is a "mentor in a new package…"At a time when so many external signposts seem to measure only material accomplishments, the authors prove that for many of us there are alternative that are far more enduring and infinitely more fulfilling."…"A thoroughly inspirational jouney which provides insight into the lives of women who have found amazing success - on their own terms…." Excellent resource guide, too.

When Work Doesn't Work Anymore: Women, Work, and Identity, by Elizabeth Perle McKenna

With passion and eloquence, the author "exposes the unlivable bargain women have made in order to have meaningul work in a world whose rules are still designed to suit men." Well written, personal, and candid. Should be required reading for any woman doubting her identity at work.

The Women Who Broke all the Rules, How the Choices of a Generation Changed Our Lives, by Susan Evans and Joan Avis

One of my coaching clients who HAS broken all the rules in the "good girl" handbook told me about "the first book to celebrate the ordinary but extraordinary women who made decisions that have changed every woman's life." Sample chapters: I Was A Foot Soldier In The Sexual Revolution; I've Become The Person My Mother Hoped I'd Marry; I've Grown; What's His Problem? If you are one of the 18 million women born in the first years of the baby boom, you are one of these women. Read this and feel deep pride in the unprecedented life choices we've made and keep making.

Taking Charge: Every Woman's Action guide to Personal, Political & Professional Success, by Joan Steinau Lester

Basically, this is a "why and how to" book about getting over being 'nice' - not an easy task for most of us. The tool kit approach makes it a great reference for women who struggle with how to take strong directive action in their professional and personal lives.

Work of Her Own: A Woman's Guide to Success off the Career Track, by Susan Wittig Albert

More than any other reading I did while considering my own departure from my corporate job, I credit this one with giving me the courage I needed to start my own business. Says the author: I wrote this book to document the efforts of courageous women who have chosen to free themselves from its demands and reclaim their work. Their experiences can help you understand your own career commitments--and perhaps change the way you see your worklife. It certainly did that for me. I love this book.

Women and the Leadership Q; The Breakthrough system for Achieving Power and Influence, by Shoya Zichy

Using a diagnostic self-test, the author has devised an intriguing assessment and categorization methodology based on the Myers-Briggs and applied specifically to women in leadership. It can provide an insightful look to your weaknesses and strengths as a leader and offers good exercises and profiles as examples. Interesting…

Be Your Own Mentor: Strategies from Top Women on the Secrets of Success, by Sheila Wellington

"This book reveals the issues everyone faces in the workplace - getting promoted faster, making more money, balancing your work and life. It is a practical and honest guide that tells you how to control your own success, written from a woman's perspective for women." If you can't have a leadership coach, this is a pretty good alternative.

You Can Go Home Again: the Career Woman's Guide to Leaving the Workforce, by Pamela Piljac

"Can a woman have a fulfilling lifestyle without struggling up the corporate ladder?" The controversial and emotional issue of women leaving their successful careers to experience life at home is addressed with the insistence that all women should feel free to experience both choices. Sample chapters: Making the Decision; Beginning A New Life; Living With Less Money; Expanding Your World.

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Transitions: Making Sense Of Life's Changes, by Bill Bridges

By far the very best book I know of to help make sense of the unfamiliar emotional territory we enter as something ends and we await what's next. No need to feel defensive or second-guess the turning point decisions we make if we understand that the discomfort we feel during the "in-between" times of our lives is a GOOD thing. Required reading for career leavers.

Taming Your Gremlin: A Guide To Enjoying Yourself, by Richard Carson

I give a copy of this book to all my new coaching clients and encourage them to share it with family members. The single most powerful deterrent to any kind of important change in life is fear. Fear is just one of the many "gremlins", or narrators in our head…that tell us you we are, what to do, how to feel. This chorus of critics that keeps defining and interpreting every experience needs to be silenced! If you have a low tolerance for self-help books, but still appreciate profound awareness presented in a creative way, read this.

LifeLaunch: A Passionate Guide To the Rest of Your Life, by Frederick Hudson

Hudson has developed a model he calls the "Renewal Cycle" that is very useful in helping to understand the natural evolution of change during our various life chapters. The four stages of change (1.Fo For It; 2. Doldrums; 3. Cocooning; 4. Getting Ready) bring characteristic challenges that, when understood and accepted, can be turned into terrific opportunities. Essential for anyone anticipating retirement, but great for all major life transitions.

Seasons of Change: Using Nature's Wisdom to Grow Through Life's Inevitable Ups and Downs, by Carol L. McClelland, Paul Pearsall

Change is a constant, and we often feel overwhelmed by it, yet our culture provides us with very little information about how to deal with transitions in a graceful, healing way. Designed as a practical tool to help readers negotiate the seas of change, The Seasons of Change describes how important it is to view change as a naturally occurring process that is a catalyst, rather than a threat, to success.

The Dark Side of the Light Chasers: Reclaiming Your Power, Creativity, Brilliance, and Dreams, by Debbie Ford

I really don't like books with titles like this. It asks a great question, though: "What are you hiding from yourself?" An honest inventory would lead me to confess, for example, that I try to hide my arrogance and judgmental viewpoints about bookcovers! By accepting and understanding the source of our shadow or dark sides (on more serious matters, of course), we can see the gifts of these aspects of our true nature. (Re. book covers: I am discerning, articulate, and have high standards. Wink…)

The Power Of Now: A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment, by Eckhart Tolle

There are bazillion good guides to spiritual growth available; I think this is one of the best. Tolle's message is simple: living in the now is the truest path to happiness and enlightenment. And while this message may not seem stunningly original or fresh, Tolle's clear writing, supportive voice, and enthusiasm make this an excellent manual for anyone who's ever wondered what exactly "living in the now" means.

Practicing the Power of Now, also by Eckhart Tolle

This is the companion workbook that makes it all come alive. Helpful to have read The Power of Now, but not necessary.

The Path Of Least Resistance: Learning To Become The Creative Force In Your Own Life, by Robert Fritz

From the jacket: "We may not know it, but most of us long to create something in our lives. It may not be a painting or a novel…it could be a beautiful functional kitchen, or good health. Achieving these end results requires the same skills…"I read this book about 10 years ago and its fresh approach to catalyzing creativity in step-by-step processes is still helpful and insightful.

Listening to Midlife: Turning Crisis into a Quest, Mark Gerzon

"Gerzon prompts middle-agers to resist change, postpone procrastination, get untrapped, and reveal their hidden selves. He insists that the only way out of crisis is through it. The book offers practical and convincing methods for the sandwich generation to deal with changes in relationships, careers, family, body, mind, and spirit. Aging must be a time during which we produce life, not merely prolong it. We must age deeply not just slowly. Middle-agers whose lives need a kick in the pants should follow their noses to this book."