When Life Happens: The Mindset Shift You Need to Manage Stress, Build Confidence, and Break Free - Hardcover

Goldman, Rachel L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1394358563 ISBN 13: 9781394358564

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2026

Synopsis

“In the end, this book, like the author, leads with compassion and a healthy dose of reality. It doesn’t offer gimmicks, hacks, or easy fixes. It’s a playbook that understands how the human mind works–in all of its complexity and tendency toward survival, and sometimes self-sabotage―so we can work with it instead of against it.” ―Pilar Guzmán, Editorial Director of Oprah Daily

Reclaim your power and live a life of purpose and joy

In When Life Happens: The Mindset Shift You Need to Manage Stress, Build Confidence, and Break Free, renowned clinical psychologist and speaker Dr. Rachel L. Goldman delivers an inspiring, approachable, and practical strategy guide to helping women reclaim their confidence, reshape how they see themselves―inside and out, and build resilience before stress knocks at their door. Dr. Rachel explains how to eliminate feeling “stuck” and how you can gain greater control over your life.

Whether you’re feeling professional burnout, struggling with identity changes as you enter a new phase of your life with new challenges, or encountering obstacles as you balance it all, Dr. Rachel offers a compassionate roadmap to reclaiming your power and living a life of purpose and joy. Equipped with her insights, you will gain coping tools necessary to effectively manage any of life’s stressors.

You’ll also find:

• Strategies for recovering from personal and professional setbacks, allowing you to build resilience and find meaning
• Techniques for those seeking personal growth, including lifelong tools to manage stress
• Ways to navigate burnout and dissatisfaction, as well as tools to manage stress and eliminate limiting beliefs

Perfect for women seeking personal growth and an effective path to self-improvement, When Life Happens is also an essential resource for people struggling with anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem looking for a useful tool to use as an adjunct to therapy.

About this title

About the Author

RACHEL L. GOLDMAN, PHD, FTOS, FASMBS-IH, is a renowned clinical psychologist specializing in women’s mental health and well-being. In addition to her private practice, she is a Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her expertise has been featured in The New York Times, TIME magazine, CNN, and more. She has appeared on prominent stages and podcasts, including events with Oprah and Reese Witherspoon, as well as The Mel Robbins Podcast. Women’s Health magazine named her one of the most inspiring women to follow, and she has been recognized as a Top 100 Mental Health Influencer and a Top 40 CBT Influencer.

From the Back Cover

Praise for When Life Happens

“Dr. Rachel gets it. She knows exactly what it feels like to be stuck, overwhelmed, and burned out by the pressure to do everything. When Life Happens isn’t another self-help book―it’s the reset that snaps you out of the spiral and gets you moving forward with confidence.”
―MEL ROBBINS, New York Times bestselling author of The Let Them Theory and host of The Mel Robbins Podcast

“When Life Happens is a compassionate and practical guide for anyone navigating stress, burnout, or major life transitions. Dr. Rachel provides us with a clear roadmap, giving strategies and tools along the way to help us skillfully navigate the peaks and valleys we face on the way to personal growth. This book is refreshing, relatable, and exactly what we all need when life gets messy.”
―YUNG PUEBLO, New York Times bestselling author of Lighter

“Dr. Rachel reminds us that resilience isn’t about avoiding challenges―it’s about how we meet them. This book will leave you feeling empowered, understood, and ready to take action, no matter what life throws your way.”
―JESSICA ZUCKER, PhD, psychologist and award-winning author of Normalize It and I Had a Miscarriage

“Both insightful and practical. Dr. Rachel not only inspires you to change―she shows you how.”
―DR. JULIE SMITH, clinical psychologist; New York Times and Sunday Times million-copy bestselling author

From the Inside Flap

Women are constantly told to “do it all”―and many of us really are doing it all. With so much on our plates, it can be hard to pause long enough to actually enjoy the lives we’ve worked so hard to create. When Life Happens is here to help ease that tension. This research-backed guide blends cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and wellness strategies to help readers reclaim joy, navigate life transitions, and build lasting resilience.

In this book, leading psychologist Dr. Rachel L. Goldman offers women a path to reclaiming their power. She explores how our habits and mindsets can hold us back, and she offers proven tools women can use to create positive change in their lives. Dr. Rachel understands that even when we appear put-together, our internal challenges can feel overwhelming. In When Life Happens, she guides readers as they navigate career pressures, identity shifts, hormonal changes, and life’s unexpected curveballs, offering practical tools to help them find fulfillment and make daily life feel more manageable.

After exploring how to reduce stress, shift unhelpful thinking patterns, and build a healthier relationship to our bodies, Dr. Rachel shows readers how to integrate these tools into their daily lives, without uprooting everything. These simple, practical tools help women create a structure that will allow them to achieve their goals and sustain their mental health. With this can-do focus, When Life Happens is a book that can really benefit readers over the long term.

Society asks a lot of today’s women, and we all face challenges and transitions that can lead to burnout. Career, motherhood (and the social pressure to have kids), empty nesting, perimenopause and menopause―these phases can be rewarding, but they can also lead to intense stress and self-doubt. The strategies and tools in this book help readers build self-acceptance and a growth mindset, so they can move past limiting beliefs and begin to create the lives they’re meant to live.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1394358563
• ISBN 13: 9781394358564
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304