Are you ready to take your health and wellness to the next level? From exercising daily to seeking therapy to making nutritious dishes that would rival the top chefs, black women are setting phenomenal trends in healthy living.
We have compiled a reading list of health and wellness books to add to your Black Girl Magic reading collection. We are inspired by these black women who have shared their knowledge to world. These brilliant women are making moves in the health and wellness industry by inspiring Black women to live their best lives.
1. Rock the Stage: A Girls Favorite Guide On Pageant Fitness by Brook Marie Eneas
How to Rock the Stage by Brook Marie Eneas is a "must have" guide for anyone who wants to have the best experience in pageant fitness preparation or any woman who is ready to rock the stage at life's important moments. Brook has coached hundreds of high visibility clients to the best mental and physical shape of their lives leading to national status and acclaim including the past two Miss USA's, TV hosts and models. She hosts Ready, Set, Slay, an online fitness program for women who are ready to get off the cosmetic roller coaster and live a lifestyle of health, wellness, and purpose.
2. Slim Down Sister by Roniece Weaver, Fabiola Gaines, and Angela Ebron
The first weight-loss book written especially for African-American women, Slim Down Sister offers a comprehensive, get-down-to-it program of diet and exercise that empowers sisters to take control of their weight and health. This unique book is written by experts in the fields of health and nutrition.
3. Lose Your Final 15: Dr. Ro's Plan to Eat 15 Servings A Day & Lose 15 Pounds at a Time by Rovenia M. Brock, PhD
Tired of diet plans that leave you hungry? Ready to ditch that juice cleanse? Popular doctor of nutritional sciences and weight-loss specialist Dr. Rovenia Brock has the answer.
Dr. Ro is the nutrition coach who helped Sherri Shepherd of The View lose more than 40 pounds and viewers of The Dr. Oz Show shed more than 5 million pounds. In Lose Your Final 15, she reveals her best-ever program to help you lose 15 pounds in 15 days by eating 15 servings a day.
4. Blossoming Hope: The Black Christian Woman's Guide to Mental Health and Wellness by Tonya D. Armstrong, Ph.D, M.T.S.
As daughters of the Diaspora, we encounter negative stereotypes and denigrating images imposed upon us by others. As Christians, we can be tempted to overspiritualize our lives to the detriment of our wholeness. These realities can leave us merely surviving our fragmented lives, when in reality, we want to blossom! Well, Blossoming Hope: The Black Christian Woman's Guide to Mental Health and Wellness was written to help do just that.
As a licensed psychologist, minister, and seminary administrator, Dr. Tonya Armstrong attends in Blossoming Hope to the need to transcend everyday stressors, difficulties of the past, and even mental health challenges to reach the highest purpose for which God created us.
5. Health First: The Black Woman's Wellness Guide by Hilary Beard and Eleanor Hinton Hoytt
The story of Black women in America is one of triumph and grace, even with odds stacked high against them. Health First! The Black Woman’s Wellness Guide provides you with a comprehensive guide to your #1 resource: yourself.
Today, as Black women face an unprecedented health crisis, denial and self-neglect are no longer viable options. This groundbreaking volume is rooted in the pioneering work of the Black Women’s Health Imperative, the nation’s only nonprofit organization devoted to advancing the health and wellness of Black women and girls. It offers a core health philosophy—too long denied Black women—based on putting your health first.
Health First! explores Black women’s most critical health challenges, connecting the dots through honest discussions with experts and the uncensored stories of real women—from adolescence through elderhood.
6. Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy
Dr. Sharon Malone's Grown Woman Talk flips the script on women's health conversations. Instead of warnings and lectures, this book centers empowerment—what women of color truly need when navigating an increasingly complex healthcare system.
Blending medical insight with real stories and practical guidance, Dr. Malone writes with warmth and directness about how to live better, age better, and advocate for yourself in medical settings. The core message is simple but powerful: you already have the power; you just need to build your confidence to use it.
Whether you're managing health concerns, feeling dismissed by doctors, or simply wanting clearer answers, Grown Woman Talk breaks the silence around women's health and gives you the tools to take control of your own care.
7. High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy
High-functioning depression is real, but it often goes unrecognized. You might be succeeding at work, managing your home, and showing up socially yet feeling numb, restless, or empty underneath it all.
In High Functioning, Dr. Judith Joseph reveals what this hidden form of depression looks like and offers the Five V's - a practical framework to help you understand your emotional health and reclaim your joy. Through validation, venting, identifying your values, monitoring your vital signs, and envisioning your future, you'll move from merely surviving to truly thriving.
Drawing on research, real client stories, and her own experience, Dr. Joseph shows you how to break free from self-sacrifice and self-sabotage, calm your inner turmoil, and live with purpose and joy.
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What health and fitness books written by Black female authors are on your reading list?
