Boundaries: the one thing that could instantly transform every area of your life in 2023, and Natalie Lue is the perfect guide to putting them in place. Witty, insightful and wise, Lue describes how, at the age of 28, when faced a medical treatment that wasn’t working, she employed the word ‘no’ for possibly the first time in her life; a ballsy move when faced with a medical authority. It was then that Lue realised that her need to accommodate other people’s demands before her own was affecting her love life, work, family and sense of self – a theme that’ll resonate with many women especially. 

So, in this smart book, unpick why we’re often brought up to be people-pleasers, how it can affect your ability to advocate for yourself and how to change long-held patterns. Once your boundaries are in place, everything else will follow… (out 19 January)

Shop The Joy Of Saying No by Natalie Lue (Harper Horizon) at Bookshop, £18.04

Feeling anxious? Burned out? Overstimulated? Isolated? When Katherine May found herself reeling and unable to articulate just what was discombobulating her, she began to think about how she felt as a child. She recalled trudging down muddy lanes or taking the ‘pretty way’ by car and thought about how these fleeting experiences could conjure up wonder in her nine-year-old mind. This is her epiphany, May explains: small connections with the world around us – finding the perfect stone that sits in your hand or watching the sky for a shooting star – are what we need to restore ourselves. It can also be achieved via this slender book. May’s gorgeous descriptions of the natural world are just as arresting as those moments of awe she’s searching for. Read it and find yours (out 9 March).  

Shop Enchantment by Katherine May (Faber) at Bookshop, £16.99

Chlöe Pierre is the brains behind the Instagram account @thy.self, which she describes as a “disruptive wellness brand, challenging the norms of what wellness looks like, diversifying the wellness industry and actualising self-care and self-love in an inclusive and relatable way”. Inspired by her personal knowledge, iconic women and professional experiences, Pierre has created a ‘Black wellness manifesto’ that explores what wellness means (from physical to environmental), the history of Black self-care, practical coping mechanisms (routine, meditation and therapy), mental health, grieving, proverbs and essential wisdom for listening to your inner self. Essential reading for 2023 (out now). 

Shop Take Care by Chlöe Pierre (Headline) at Bookshop, £20.90

“I study audiences for a living… Whether it’s a play by Bertolt Brecht or a political phenomenon such as the Brexit referendum, I’m endlessly fascinated by how people can watch the same event unfolding but come to understand it in such totally contradictory ways.” This sentence by cultural scholar Kirsty Sedgman lies at the heart of On Being Unreasonable, which explores why we’re living in such an age of division. 

Whether it’s applying reparations for slavery, Bolsonaro and Trump supporters trying to overturn democratic elections, your grandma’s thoughts on Meghan and Harry or make-up in public, it feels like the biggest and smallest of topics will unleash opposing arguments in every area of life. So why are we like this? How do we build belief systems and what can we learn from this process? And what can we do to move forwards? And – crucially – do we sometimes need to be unreasonable to create much-needed change? This is an excellent way to navigate our confusing times (out 2 February). 

Shop On Being Unreasonable by Kirsty Sedgman (Faber) at Bookshop, £14.99

If we can get a handle on our emotions, then we can navigate everything from family and job decisions to politics and love, right? Not so, explains neuroscientist Dean Burnett, who set out to write a book about the science of emotions only to find himself confounded at every turn and coping with his own grief after his dad died unexpectedly from Covid during lockdown. So Burnett takes us on a journey that uncovers a fundamental revelation: it’s probably less about us controlling our emotions and more about our emotions having an effect on us physically, mentally and, well… emotionally. So take some time out with this brilliant book to acknowledge that without emotions we wouldn’t be able to grieve, regret, celebrate or love – or to put it simply – be wonderfully human (out 12 January). 

Shop Emotional Ignorance by Dr Dean Burnett (Guardian Faber) at Bookshop, £14.99

Stuck in a rut? You’re not alone. According to research by the University of Birmingham, 6.5 million workers in the UK plan to quit their jobs in search of better positions in 2023. Even as we navigate the cost of living crisis, a post-pandemic world, hybrid working and the end of the side hustle, there is still a sense that there’s more out there than we’re currently enjoying. Which is heartening. Development coach Rachel Schofield’s book is hitting the zeitgeist perfectly, offering a doable plan to make changes that’ll stick. From retraining your brain and making a move from your current safe space to actively detailing how you’d like your new job to look, this is the only book you need to take the leap (out 19 January). 

Shop The Career Change Guide by Rachel Schofield (Penguin) at Bookshop, £17.99

Every cell in your body has an electric voltage creating your body’s ‘electrome’. In this ground-breaking book, the electrome is explained simply and easily for the first time as science and technology writer Adee investigates how biology and electricity converge in our bodies (bioelectricity) and the impact this could have on future medical breakthroughs. From its origins in the 18th century (and its subsequent dismissal as quackery) to the implications current bioelectricity research could have for cell regeneration and ageing, it’s a book that’ll make you fundamentally rethink what you know and appreciate about your body (out 2 February). 

Shop We Are Electric by Sally Adee (Canongate) at Bookshop, £20

“A McKinsey & Company study from 2015 found that if women were to participate in the economy on equal terms to men, they could add as much as the combined size of the economies of the United States and China today to the world’s GDP.” It’s not news that women are facing a giant gender economy gap but it’s good to remind yourself every now and again that floundering in the current climate is a systemic issue, and not a personal one (and that’s before we even get to the issues trans women, people with disabilities and migrant and women of colour face). So with that in mind, this practical guide to money from Female Invest is a reassuring and non-patronising read that can help you review your finances and achieve goals for the year ahead (out now).

Shop Girls Just Wanna Have Funds by various (Dorling Kindersley) at Bookshop, £14.99

Managing motherhood and career is an age-old conundrum that doesn’t seem to be getting any easier, but this smart and tactical book by Tobi Asare, founder of My Bump Pay, tackles all the issues that women (and their partners) face when navigating a workplace as parents. It covers negotiating promotions and pay rises while going on maternity leave, sharing parental leave, the best childcare for your needs and budget, and how to return to the workplace while never sugar-coating the reality of the situation in the UK (where 43,000 women have dropped out of work to look after their families in the last year). It gives you hope (out 9 March). 

Shop The Blend by Tobi Asare (Headline) at Bookshop, £16.99

Shop Good Relations by Janet Reibstein (Bloomsbury) at Bookshop, £18.99