A decorative banner with a portrait of David Larbi and small illustrations of everyday sources of comfort like a cup of tea, flowers and a candle.

Comforting Penguin books that helped us through hard times

Features

The Penguin books that helped us through hard times

Books to Destress_2205 2 (1)

Reading lists

12 books to help with anxiety, burnout and stress

Heartbroken-Book-List_Hero-Desktop_Penguin

Books to read if you’re going through a break-up

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?

Give your mind the one thing it needs in 2026 with the SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER everyone is STILL talking about, from clinical psychologist and TikTok sensation Dr Julie Smith 
 
From clinical psychologist and TikTok sensation, Dr Julie Smith 
 
'A brilliant book' Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO podcast 
 
'Full of sound, helpful advice with life skills, from building confidence to managing stress' Sunday Times 
 
AS FEATURED IN THE OBSERVER, STYLIST, EVENING STANDARD, WOMEN'S HEALTH, MARIE CLAIRE AND GRAZIA 
________ 
 
Drawing on years of experience as a clinical psychologist, online sensation Dr Julie Smith shares all the skills you need to get through life's ups and downs. 
 
Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, this is a must-have handbook for optimising your mental health. Dr Julie's simple but expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient no matter what life throws your way. 
 
Written in short, bite-sized entries, you can turn straight to the section you need depending on the challenge you're facing - and immediately find the appropriate tools to help with . . . 
 
- Managing anxiety 
- Dealing with criticism 
- Battling low mood 
- Building self-confidence 
- Finding motivation 
- Learning to forgive yourself 
 
This book tackles the everyday issues that affect us all and offers easy, practical solutions that might just change your life. 
________ 
 
'Sound wisdom, easy to gulp down. I'm sure this book is already helping lots of people. Great work, Dr Julie' Matt Haig, bestselling author of Reasons To Stay Alive 
 
'I'm blown away by her ability to communicate difficult ideas with ease, simplicity and practicality. Amazing. Go and buy it now!' Jay Shetty 
 
'It's real, it's authentic . . . Very practical and very, very helpful' Lorraine Kelly 
 
'Relatable, real and easy to digest . . . As if your wise best friend is chatting to you. An essential mental-health bible for adults and teenagers' YOU Magazine, Daily Mail 
 
'If you want to feel like you have a therapist sitting across from you, empowering you with how to be your best self, this book is for you!' Nicole LePera, New York Times bestselling author of How to Do the Work 
 
Sunday Times bestseller, June 2024 
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? has sold over one million copies across all formats, The Bookseller, January 2024

Full of sound, helpful advice with life skills, from building confidence to managing stress

The book's great. It's real, it's authentic . . . Very practical and very, very helpful

I'm blown away by her ability to communicate difficult ideas with ease, simplicity and practicality. Amazing. Go and buy it now!

A toolkit of deceptively simple strategies for life's troubles. Everyone could benefit from the wisdom of Dr Smith

This book is a goldmine. I truly treat it like a handbook now

Julie Smith is the psychology teacher you wish you'd had at school

It's so engaging that it's even led me to switch off my phone for several hours so I can read it, and in this social media-obsessed age, I don't think I can give a bigger recommendation than that

Relatable, real and easy to digest, it covers everything from understanding low mood to emotional pain, self-doubt and anxiety as if your wise best friend is chatting to you. An essential mental-health bible for adults and teenagers

Smart, insightful, and warm. Dr Julie is both the expert and wise friend we all need

Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and co-host of the 'Dear Therapists' podcast

This book is basically an inside scoop into a therapist's tool kit. Covers so many important topics such as managing anxiety, battling low mood, building self-confidence and learning to forgive yourself. It is no wonder that the author has become an online sensation with all her amazing advice

Now more than ever, people are struggling with their mental health and Dr Julie Smith delivers in a big way in Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?. Her practical tips and tools are for anyone struggling with anxiety, self-doubt, or depression. Readers will step away from this book feeling more resilient and able to take control of their own lives. If you want to feel like you have a therapist sitting across from you, empowering you with how to be your best self, this book is for you!

Nicole LePera, New York Times bestselling author of How to Do the Work

This book is a goldmine. I truly treat it like a handbook now - when I feel an unpleasant feeling brewing or come up against a tricky moment at work or in my relationships, my first thought is to wonder what Smith might suggest

A guide for optimal mental wellbeing that you can dip into whenever you need

Wise words and compassionate tone . . . Smith's work is hugely important in bringing applied psychology into the public realm

So much advice on such a wide variety of things: it's brilliant. So helpful

Smith . . . is especially adept at addressing the insecurities afflicting a younger generation raised on social media

If you have never read a self-help book before, this is the book to read

Take care of your mental health with these bite-size tips on everything from how to manage anxiety to coping with grief

Deceptively digestible and quietly life-changing

DR JULIE SMITH, SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERSTAR AND EXPERIENCED CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST, shares the ideas, insights and techniques that she has seen change her clients' lives, so that any reader can do the same. Not everyone necessarily wants, needs or can afford to consult a professional therapist, but that doesn't mean that the skills taught by psychologists can't be used by us all, to make our daily lives easier and more positive. In this practical and reassuring book, Dr Julie shows us how. 
 
This book will become your mental health toolbox, filled to the brim with different tools for different challenges. Whatever it is you're facing - stress, anxiety, low mood, lack of confidence, self-criticism or grief - you will find ideas for processing how you're feeling, ways to get new perspective and strategies to help you cope. 
 
Bite-sized entries make it easy to find the advice you need at the moment you need it, along with simple diagrams to illustrate why your mind works as it does, and practical tools, such as visualizations, breathing techniques and journal prompts. 
 
In Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? you'll find everything you need to feel calmer, stronger and more resilient, no matter what life throws your way.

DR JULIE SMITH is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author and content creator, and was the first psychology professional to use TikTok to give insights on therapy. After working for the NHS and a decade running her own private practice, Julie launched her TikTok channel with the mission of making top-quality mental health education accessible to all. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her audience grew astronomically as users related to the bite-sized self-help videos she was sharing and put her advice into practice. She now has over 9 million followers across her social media platforms. She was named by TikTok as one of its Top 100 creators. 
 
Julie’s first book, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, was an instant #1 Sunday Times Bestseller, has clocked up over 100 weeks in the UK Top Ten and become a fixture at the top of the audiobook charts. It has sold over 1 million copies in the English language and been translated into more than 40 other languages. 
 
Julie is a regular expert on ITV’s This Morning and has been featured widely across the media in the UK and further afield. Julie is an ambassador for BBC’s Children in Need and has appeared as a guest on many of the most-listened-to wellbeing podcasts, including The Diary of a CEO and Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place. Julie lives in Hampshire, England, with her husband and three children. 
 
Dr Julie Smith BSc (Hons), D. Clin. Psych., C.Psychol. 
Chartered Clinical Psychologist. 
Registered with the HCPC and BPS.

Julie Smith

Absolutely extraordinary...I needed this book 30 years ago.

Mel Robbins, #1 bestselling author of The Let Them Theory

Full of sound, helpful advice with life skills, from building confidence to managing stress

It's so engaging that it's even led me to switch off my phone for several hours so I can read it, and in this social media-obsessed age, I don't think I can give a bigger recommendation than that

This book is a goldmine. I truly treat it like a handbook now - when I feel an unpleasant feeling brewing or come up against a tricky moment at work or in my relationships, my first thought is to wonder what Smith might suggest

So much advice on such a wide variety of things: it's brilliant. So helpful

The book's great. It's real, it's authentic . . . Very practical and very, very helpful

Absolutely extraordinary...I needed this book 30 years ago

A Companion for Life’s Twists & Turns

This is a book for when you feel overwhelmed – whether you’re facing grief, fear, self-doubt, relationship issues, difficult decisions, burnout, regrets or don’t know how to ask for help. 
 
Each chapter begins with a letter from Dr Julie to the reader offering comfort and perspective. She then follows with her trademark simple and straightforward advice to help you see clearly how best to respond and act. 
 
Showing you how to re-frame life’s complex problems, Open When . . . will help you navigate any crisis or tough moment and return to a place of calmness, strength and positivity.

Julie Smith

Praise for Open When…

Absolutely extraordinary...I needed this book 30 years ago.

Praise for the author

Full of sound, helpful advice with life skills, from building confidence to managing stress

Absolutely extraordinary...I needed this book 30 years ago.

Praise for the author

Full of sound, helpful advice with life skills, from building confidence to managing stress

Absolutely extraordinary...I needed this book 30 years ago.

Praise for the author

Full of sound, helpful advice with life skills, from building confidence to managing stress

Books by Julie Smith

Articles featuring Julie Smith

The Penguin books that helped us through hard times

12 books to help with anxiety, burnout and stress

Books to read if you’re going through a break-up

Videos

Dr Julie Smith: Overcome Your Negative Thoughts With This Daily Practice

You Have To See This If You Have Anxiety

Want To Be Happy? Don't Make This Mistake | Dr Julie

What Nobody Tells You About Grief and Loss - Dr Julie #shorts

In the press

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter