A selection of books authored by our conference speakers.
We’ll continue to add to this page to create a complete resource of books on Stoicism authored by women.
Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience
Nancy Sherman
How do we find calm in times of stress and uncertainty? How do we cope with sudden losses or find meaning in a world that can easily rob us of what we most value? Drawing on the wisdom of Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and others, Nancy Sherman’s Stoic Wisdom presents a compelling, modern Stoicism that teaches grit, resilience and the importance of close relationships in addressing life’s biggest and smallest challenges.
A renowned expert in ancient and modern ethics, Sherman relates how Stoic methods of examining beliefs and perceptions can help us correct distortions in what we believe, see, and feel. Her study reveals a profound insight about the Stoics: They never believed, as Stoic popularizers often hold, that rugged self-reliance or indifference to the world around us is at the heart of living well. We are at home in the world, they insisted, when we are connected to each other in cooperative efforts. We build resilience and goodness through our deepest relationships.
Bringing ancient ideas to bear on 21st century concerns from workers facing stress and burnout to first responders in a pandemic, from soldiers on the battlefield to citizens fighting for racial justice Sherman shows how Stoicism can help us fulfil the promise of our shared humanity.
In nine lessons that combine ancient pithy quotes and daily exercises with contemporary ethics and psychology, Stoic Wisdom is a field manual for the art of living well.
Wise Up: Irreverent Enlightenment from a Mother Who’s Been Through It
Karen Duffy
A New York Times bestselling author shares wryly funny and heartwarming lessons on life, motherhood, and python attacks.
Named one of Oprah Daily’s 50 Most Anticipated Books of 2022
From becoming an iconic MTV VJ to starring in Dumb and Dumber to being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, Karen Duffy has been through a lot. But it was only when she became a mother that she realized she had some pretty solid life lessons to pass down. In her new book, she offers advice on building a friend group that is weasel free, finding the love of your life, and determining how much to tip the waiter (as with everything—be generous!). With dry humour and maternal warmth, she shows how we all can learn from unexpected philosophers, even from Bulgarian dancing bears.
There are times in life when we should turn to the wisdom of great thinkers. And there are times when you need the kind of enlightenment that only a former Coney Island Mermaid Queen can give. Wise Up offers wisecracks—and some profound insights—in a unique book of parental inspiration.
The Voice of Virtue: Moral Song and the Practice of French Stoicism, 1574-1652
Melinda Latour
The Voice of Virtue illuminates the musical practices at the heart of the Neostoic movement that spread across French lands during the Wars of Religion in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Guided by twin reparative traditions granting music and philosophy therapeutic power, composers and performers across the embattled Catholic and Protestant confessions turned to moral song as a means of repairing personal and collective virtue damaged by the ongoing conflict. Moral song collections enlarged interest in Stoic philosophy by circulating its ethical program to a broader audience through attractive paraphrases of Stoic maxims set to music. Even more importantly, this skillfully composed repertoire of polyphonic song offered a multi-sensory moral practice that would have resonated powerfully for those well-versed in the paradoxes of the Stoic tradition. Bringing together a repertoire of little-known music prints, a rich visual culture, and an impressive body of literary and philosophical sources, The Voice of Virtue not only illuminates the influence of Stoicism on music, but also reveals that we cannot fully understand Neostoicism as an intellectual or cultural movement without accounting for its vibrant musical sounds. Virtue, as voiced in these Stoic practices, proves to be both rational and fully invested in the sensory processes of the singing body.
Journal Like a Stoic: A 90-Day Stoicism Program to Live with Greater Acceptance, Less Judgment, and Deeper Intentionality (Includes Teachings of Marcus Aurelius)
Brittany Polat
Bring Stoicism to your daily life with this guided journal based on the teachings of great Stoic thinkers. Explore why leaders, artists, and athletes have relied on these principles to achieve success for thousands of years.
While Stoicism offers age-old wisdom, it is hardly a relic of the past. Today, people from all corners of the globe look to Stoicism to find solace, curb reactivity, and achieve their greatest ambitions. In Journal Like a Stoic, Stoicism researcher and expert Brittany Polat, PhD, provides 90 days of journaling for the modern Stoic to ground themselves as they deepen their self-exploration, find discipline, cope with grief, or simply seek change (or to endure it). Whether you’re coming to Stoicism for the first time or returning to its guidance, this course will support your path to fulfilment with practical, empathic wisdom that’s endured for millennia.
- Follow a 90-day guided course to take you from awareness to acceptance and eventually impact.
- Discover Stoic origins with a historical refresher on the philosophy’s beginnings, tenets, and thinkers who have changed history.
- Receive advice from the greats, including Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus.
- Reflect on insightful prompts that encourage you to choose virtue above all else and to find peace through rationality.
365 WAYS TO BE MORE STOIC
Tim LeBon with Kasey Pierce
HAPPINESS, SERENITY AND FULFILMENT ARE ALL WITHIN YOUR CONTROL
365 WAYS TO BE MORE STOIC is a full year’s worth of daily inspiration, tools, stories, actions, and rituals that will guide you to a meaningful life, filled with happiness. It is a simple, list-driven, practical guide that will allow you to immediately begin putting Stoic wisdom into practice in your daily life. Each short chapter makes Stoicism fun to read about and easily digestible, presenting ideas in engaging, bite-size chunks.
Immerse yourself in stoicism right from the first chapter, through prompts, concepts, challenges, inspiration, quotes, examples, quizzes and case-studies. You’ll learn to navigate through the controllable and inevitable. You’ll develop constructive ways to handle frustration, adversity and even your own mortality. You’ll learn habit-forming strategies, pick up helpful concepts, and uncover tips for lasting change. This fun and engaging manual will help you live like a Stoic in the modern world.
365 WAYS TO BE MORE STOIC focuses on the small stuff you can do every day to live a happier and wiser life. Because when you get the little things right, the big things follow.
The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness
Sharon Lebell
Epictetus was born into slavery about 55 CE in the eastern outreaches of the Roman Empire. Once freed, he established an influential school of Stoic philosophy, stressing that human beings cannot control life, only their responses to it. By putting into practice the ninety-three witty, wise, and razor-sharp instructions that make up The Art of Living, readers learn to meet the challenges of everyday life successfully and to face life’s inevitable losses and disappointments with grace.
Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain without Turning into One
Karen Duffy
An inspirational, powerful, and funny manual for coping and living with devastating pain.
For two decades, Karen Duffy —New York Times bestselling author, former MTV VJ, Revlon model, and actress— has managed to live an enriching life despite living in a state of constant pain. In this powerful, inspirational, funny, and important manual for surviving pain, Duffy draws on her experience as a patient advocate, certified recreational therapist, and hospital chaplain to illuminate gratifying methods people can use to cope with chronic pain and reinforces the sentiment that “circumstances determine our lives, but we shape our lives by what we make of circumstances” (Sir John Wheeler Bennet).
Backbone offers a salve of self-sufficiency, spunk, and perseverance. With a light tone, deft wordplay, and interactive gems such as the Bill Murray Pain Scale, Mastectomy Paper Dolls, and a crown to wear just for getting out of bed, Duffy’s serious—and seriously funny—book is for the massive population living with chronic pain who are eager to be understood and helped, and sends the message that despite the pain, there is a way to a good life.
Tranquility Parenting
Brittany Polat
Parenting is stressful. For many parents, who are always busy, usually tired, and probably not trained in dealing with children, the words “tranquility” and “parenting” do not go together. Don’t you just wish there was some technique out there that could help you become calm, content, and confident parent? Well, there is something. Modern Stoicism has straightforward answers to all these questions, as well as practical techniques for achieving eudaimonia (the Greek word for “human flourishing”). As a mother of three young children, Polat used to constantly doubt her parenting abilities. She felt anxious, frustrated, and guilty about her perceived failings as a parent. Now, as a practicing Stoic, she gained the confidence and calm she was craving and has more energy to be fully engaged and happy with them. So if you are willing to invest time and energy in applying Stoic insights, you may find that tranquility parenting is not only possible, but truly the best option for you and your family.
Stoic Spiritual Exercises
Elen Buzaré
In this short essay, Elen Buzaré examines ancient sources for clues to how Stoics of the Roman era used psychological techniques for turning doctrine into practical daily living, securing for themselves lives that flourished, free from troubles, enjoying an unshakeable peace of mind. With the help of this short guide, modern readers can similarly train themselves to live as Stoics, making progress towards the same ‘good flow of life’ and serenity, and develop a mindfulness that is immune to all harm, joyous in response to all that fate might bring. Especially suited to those who have already introduced themselves to the basics of Stoic doctrine, this little book will serve as inspiration and guide for anyone wanting to advance further on the Stoic way.
From Fear to Freedom
Alkistis Agio
Socrates, Plato and the Stoics.On the outside, you may appear strong, successful and confident, but on the inside you often feel frustrated, anxious and even angry or resentful, overwhelmed by life’s relentless onslaught of details, problems and obstacles. What if there was a way to feel certainty – to be unshakable – no matter what the external challenges? In this book, Alkistis Agio, an experienced management trainer and TEDx speaker, with expertise on Self-Leadership, and one of the world’s most inspiring ambassadors of Greek philosophy, presents a unique and effective method for facing life’s most difficult challenges in a calm and confident manner.Integrating timeless wisdom and modern, scientific, evidence-based coaching techniques, it can assist you to take charge of your life, your career, your relationships and most importantly, yourself. You can expect to Manage conflict better, Harness your greatest fears and weaknesses, Become an influential and effective leader, Embody and articulate your values, purpose and vision, Make positive, balanced decisions, and Achieve authentic happiness & success (Eudaimonia).
Paths to Flourishing 