For those who’ve been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), or suspect they have it, it’s natural to want to find out more about the condition. Likewise, those who have people in their lives with BPD will also want to educate themselves on the condition so that they better understand their loved ones and what they’re going through.

While websites such as this one can provide a great deal of information about BPD, it’s not always as easy to go as in-depth in an article as is possible in a book. Also, it’s often much more enjoyable to snuggle up in bed with a book rather than a laptop or tablet!

Thankfully, there are a large number of books available on the topic of Borderline Personality Disorder, covering the condition from all sorts of angles. Indeed, there are so many books about BPD that it can be difficult to know where to start. This is why we’ve created this article to guide you to some of our favorite books about BPD. We aren’t attempting to rank the books, merely share the books that we’ve found particularly well-written and helpful.

This piece is intended to be a living, breathing article which we will update when we come across new books about BPD that we love.

Note: We don’t make any money from these recommendations.

The Borderline Personality Disorder Workbook by Daniel J. Fox

The Borderline Personality Disorder Workbook is a guide that integrates skills from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Interpersonal Therapy to help its readers gain insights into their emotions, develop healthier relationships, and improve overall quality of life.

Daniel J. Fox writes in a clear, concise manner which makes complex psychological concepts easy to understand for readers without prior knowledge in the field of mental health. There’s a lot to take in and many worksheets to complete, so plan to really take your time with this one.

You will learn a lot about yourself reading this book AND develop new skills that help you not only cope with BPD but begin to move beyond it.

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, Jeffrey Brantley

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook isn’t a book to rush through. It’s a comprehensive guide to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) replete with worksheets that will teach the reader important skills in mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance.

DBT is the most successful form of therapy used to treat BPD and this book is incredibly useful whether you’re currently undergoing DBT or are looking to work on yourself.

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook is a fantastic introduction to DBT and a must-read for anyone with BPD who’s looking to better themselves.

Talking About BPD by Rosie Cappuccino

Drawing from her own experiences of living with Borderline Personality Disorder, Rosie Cappuccino smashes the stigma that surrounds BPD while offering practical advice on how to live a calmer, more stable life.

The author does a fantastic job of recounting her struggles and personal experiences in a way that will be highly relatable to anyone living with BPD. This makes it a great read if you need to bask in the warmth of someone who knows what you’re going through and offers you a little pick-me-up. Or, if you have a loved one with BPD, this is one of the best books that will help you understand some of what they’re going through.

There are also insights throughout the book from mental health professionals, giving it a well-rounded feel.

Loving Someone With BPD by Shari Y. Manning

As the title suggests, Loving Someone With BPD is aimed more at people who have loved ones in their lives with BPD; however, it can also be a powerful read for someone with BPD.

The book addresses common challenges in relationships affected by BPD, such as intense emotional outbursts, unpredictable behavior, and relationship instability, while offering advice on fostering healthy communication, maintaining boundaries, and how to support someone with BPD without sacrificing your own well-being.

Manning strikes a balance between showing compassion for the person with BPD and emphasizing the importance of self-care for their loved ones.

As mentioned earlier, we believe that people with BPD can also benefit from this book as it can help the reader develop a deeper understanding of what things are like from the perspective of their friends and family.

The Buddha and the Borderline by Kiera Van Gelder

The Buddha and the Borderline is a compelling memoir that chronicles Kiera Van Gelder’s tumultuous life, marked by her first attempt at suicide at the age of twelve.

The book details her experiences with intense emotions, self-destructive behaviors, and the search for identity and meaning. Through the practice of DBT and the principles of Buddhism, Van Gelder finds a way to manage her symptoms and achieve a sense of peace and stability.

Kiera Van Gelder does an amazing job of detailing the decisions she made throughout her life and the dark influence that BPD had on those choices.

This is a fantastic read for people with BPD or for those with loved ones suffering from BPD and shows that there is a light you can reach for.

Remnants of a Life on Paper by Pamela Tusiani, Bea Tusiani, Paula Rusiani-Eng

Remnants of a Life on Paper is an emotionally powerful account of the struggles of living with BPD, as experienced by Pamela Tusiani and her mother, Bea Tusiani.

The book is a compilation of Pamela’s journals, poems, and letters. These pieces are interwoven with Bea’s narrative, detailing the turbulent journey they endured together. The love between a mother and her troubled daughter jumps off the page and makes this a wonderful yet challenging read.

The complexities of BPD are revealed in the most real ways possible.

Remnants of a Life on Paper may not be suitable for everyone due to just how emotionally intense it can be, but this heart-wrenching memoir provides a deep insight into many aspects of BPD. It also serves as an important reminder that not everyone gets their happily ever after.

Jailbreak: The Making and Breaking of Our Invisible Prisons by Angela Huebner

While not strictly about BPD, Jailbreak is an exploration of the psychological and emotional prisons that we trap ourselves inside. There will be plenty of times you recognize certain prisons that Angela Huebner describes throughout the book.

While Huebner dives into the origins and impacts of these invisible prisons, she also offers practical advice on how to escape these prisons and take control of your life.

With the wide range of these invisible prisons that are discussed in Jailbreak, I think everyone (not just those of us with BPD) will experience at least a couple of lightbulb moments.

Because Jailbreak: The Making and Breaking of Our Invisible Prisons isn’t specifically about BPD, it can make a really good gift for someone who you might suspect has BPD, or anyone going through mental health problems.