Why Do I Feel Like This?: Understand Your Difficult Emotions and Find Grace to Move Through

Psychologist Amadi debuts with a soothing guide that aims to reassure readers that, no matter how one is feeling, “it’s okay that you feel this way.” Amadi begins with the concept of “spiritual bypassing,” or the use of Christian platitudes to avoid deep emotional work. Yet difficult emotions need healing and healing takes work, she argues, and that is done through self-love: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a mental health professional, it’s that you can’t hate yourself into healing. You have to love yourself right on through it.” She bolsters her insights with stories from her own life, clients’ stories, biblical examples, charts, and checklists of activities to encourage growth. For instance, to overcome trauma, she recommends answering five questions to clearly define one’s experience, unearth one’s feelings, and determine one’s current needs. Especially helpful is her chapter on envy, which focuses on “enoughness” and suggests affirmations (“You are worthy”) to embolden readers. This is an excellent primer on difficult emotions and a vigorous call to work through them to heal and grow. (May)