Since its inception in 1996, Books for a Better Life has recognized more than 650 self-improvement authors and has raised $2 million for the New York City - Southern New York Chapter’s comprehensive support services and educational programs for people living with MS, their friends and families. The Awards recognize self-improvement authors whose messages are aligned with the chapter’s mission of inspiring people to live their best lives.

On March 11, 2013, the Southern New York Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society presented the winners of the 17th Annual Books for a Better Life Awards during a ceremony at The TimesCenter in Manhattan. Hosted by television personality Meredith Vieira, the evening also inducted George Slowik, Jr., president of Publishers Weekly, and Gail Sheehy, speaker and bestselling author of 16 books, into its Hall of Fame. Winners were chosen from five nominees in each of the 10 self-improvement categories.

To learn more about the Books for a Better Life Awards or the Multiple Sclerosis Society, please visit: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/nyn/fundraising/books-for-a-better-life/index.aspx.

2012 Winners

Childcare/Parenting
The circumcision decision by Susan Terkel and Lorna Greenberg (Carrot Seed Publishing, LLC

Cookbook
Crazy Sexy Kitchen by Kris Carr (Hay House)

First Book
brain on fire by Susannah Cahalan (Free Press)

Green
the american way of eating by Tracie McMillan (Scribner)

Inspirational Memoir
the end of your life book club by Will Schwalbe (Alfred A. Knopf)

Motivational
daring greatly by Brene Brown (Gotham Books)

Psychology
Far from the tree by Andrew Solomon (Scribner)

Relationships
happily even after by Carole Brody Fleet (Viva Editions)

Spiritual
Seven Thousand Ways to Listen by Mark Nepo (Free Press)

Wellness
The Best Care Possible by Ira Byock (Avery)

2012 Finalists

Childcare/Parenting
Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman (The Penguin Press)
The Circumcision Decision by Susan Terkel and Lorna Greenberg (Carrot Seed Publishing, LLC)
The Drama Years by Haley Kilpatrick (Free Press)
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott with Sam Lamott (Riverhead Books)

Cookbook
The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz (Chelsea Green)
Crazy Sexy Kitchen by Kris Carr (Hay House)
Deliciously G-Free by Elisabeth Hasselbeck (Random House)
The New Way to Cook Light by Editors of Cooking Light (Oxmoor House)
True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure by Dr. Andrew Weil (Little Brown)

First Book
Before the World Intruded by Michele Rosenthal (Your Life After Trauma, LLC)
Bloom by Kelle Hampton (HarperCollins)
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan (Free Press)
The Defining Decade by Meg Jay, Ph.D. (Twelve)
Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman (Simon & Schuster)

Green
The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillan (Scribner)
Change Comes to Dinner by Katherine Gustafson (St. Martin’s Press)
Conscious Money by Patricia Aburdene (Beyond Words Publishing)
Garbology by Edward Humes (Avery)
The Great Animal Orchestra by Bernie Krause (Little Brown)

Inspirational Memoir
An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski (Howard Books)
King Peggy by Peggielene Bartels and Eleanor Herman (Doubleday)
Oddly Normal by John Schwartz (Gotham Books)
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (Alfred A. Knopf)
The Rules of Inheritance by Claire Bidwell Smith (Hudson Street Press)

Motivational
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown (Gotham Books)
Guitar Zero by Gary Marcus (The Penguin Press)
The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle (Random House)
One Good Deed by Erin McHugh (Abrams)
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon (Workman Publishing)

Psychology
Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon (Scribner)
Monkey Mind by Daniel Smith (Simon & Schuster)
The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction by Rebecca E. Williams, Ph.D. and Julie S. Kraft, M.S. (New Harbinger Publications)
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg (Random House)
Quiet by Susan Cain (Random House/ Crown)

Relationships
All There Is by Dave Isay (The Penguin Press)
Happily Even After by Carole Brody Fleet (Viva Editions)
The Journal of Best Practices by David Finch (Scribner)
Marriage Rules by Harriet Lerner (Gotham Books)
No One Has To Die Alone by Lani Leary, Ph.D. (Beyond Words)

Spiritual
Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? by Rhoda Janzen (Grand Central)
Miracles Happen by Brian L. Weiss and Amy Weiss MSW (HarperCollins)
Seven Thousand Ways to Listen by Mark Nepo (Free Press)
To Heaven and Back by Mary C. Neal, M.D. (WaterBrook/ Random House)
Wherever I Wind Up by R.A. Dickey with Wayne Coffey (Blue Rider Press)

Wellness
The Best Care Possible by Ira Byock (Avery)
The Blood Sugar Solution by Mark Hyman M.D. (Little Brown)
Drop Dead Healthy by A. J. Jacobs (Simon & Schuster)
The End of Illness by David B. Agus (Free Press)
The First 20 Minutes by Gretchen Reynolds (Hudson Street Press)