Books That Shaped 2025: Essential Reads for Difference Makers with Lori Adams-Brown

As 2025 comes to a close, this episode is a love letter to difference makers everywhere—those navigating change, courage, career pivots, and complex workplaces. Lori Adams-Brown reflects on the books that shaped her thinking this year and deeply resonated with listeners across the globe.

From leadership in the age of AI to psychological safety, toxic workplaces, courage, presence, and recovery after trauma, these books don’t just inform—they invite you to live and lead differently. Many of the authors joined the podcast this year; others quietly transformed Lori’s thinking behind the scenes. Together, they form a powerful reading list for anyone committed to doing good work without losing themselves in the process.

This episode is also a reminder: your voice matters. Whether you’re job searching, leading a team, serving your community, or recovering from burnout, these books offer language, courage, and perspective for the road ahead.

In this episode, we explore:

• How leadership is evolving in the age of AI—and why authenticity matters more than ever

• What psychologically safe workplaces actually require (beyond values on a wall)

• Courage, agency, and presence in times of uncertainty

• Navigating toxic workplaces without sacrificing your dignity

• Why being “nice” can keep us stuck—and what real change requires

Featured authors and books include:

• AI for the Authentic Leader

• Any Dumbass Can Do It

• Courage Over Fear

• Navigating a Toxic Workplace for Dummies

• The Price of Nice

• Perceptive

• The Psychological Safety Playbook

• Unforgettable Presence

• Navigating Your Career

• All the Cool Girls Get Fired

• Becoming the Pastor’s Wife

• The Well-Trained Wife and I Belong to Me

Key Moments:

• 00:01 – Why books matter to difference makers

• 00:03 – Leadership, AI, and early voices at the table

• 00:06 – Courage, agency, and toxic workplaces

• 00:10 – Psychological safety and inclusive leadership

• 00:14 – Career pivots, presence, and visibility

• 00:18 – Religious trauma, recovery, and hope

• 00:19 – A message of encouragement for those navigating uncertainty

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