Hi SOA
The two self-esteem books that helped me the most are:

'Self Esteem' by Matthew McKay & Patrick Fanning
' The Six Pillars of Self Esteem ' by Nathaniel Branden

They are both very different so were very helpful as a set.

Six Pillars is more a 'thinking & feeling' book - in addition to the six pillars, it has exceptional sections on Self-Assertiveness, Self-Acceptance that I've found very helpful in learning how to speak up when people are being dissmissive and disrespectful to me.

'Self Esteem' however is a very hands-on book - lots of exercises, and explanations eg) on cognitive distortions. Also helpful were the chapters on the roles of compassion, 'shoulds', and how you handle mistakes, in determining your self-esteem.


I cannot complain for not receiving from others, that which I've never asked them for.