Morra’s Award-Winning Books
“10 Best New
Management Books of 2024”
- Thinkers50
Coming in June 2027 from Harvard Business Review Press: The Atypical Achiever
Work the way you’re wired!!
They say all research is “me-search.” My brain is my biggest challenge and the secret to much of my success. I have bipolar II disorder, anxiety, and depression. I’m neurodivergent. And over the last 19 years of writing, research, and interviews, I've been trying to understand why work just doesn't work for so many of us.
The same themes kept surfacing in people I interviewed. Many had diagnoses — autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, OCD, depression, lifelong anxiety, or learning differences like dyslexia that made school hard. Some became perfectionists and hyper-achievers. Many knew they were smart but struggled academically, or felt like they didn't fit in. Many still battle negative self-talk and years of negative feedback, even now that they're successful and confident. They found traditional workplaces as challenging as school. It just felt like work wasn't made for them. These neurodistinct professionals bring powerful strengths to work: creativity, focus, drive, empathy, originality, and the ability to see what others miss. But those strengths often come with real challenges, including burnout, disorganization, masking, and the shame of feeling out of step with how work is “supposed” to be done.
And yet they've excelled. They share a common thread: they learned to work in the best way for them. They understand themselves, they understand their emotions, they manage stress well and they are mindful, present leaders!
In The Atypical Achiever, I show neurodistinct professionals how to stop fighting their wiring and start building happy, healthy, successful careers that fit the way their brains work.
This is not a book about fixing yourself. It’s a book about seeing yourself clearly and designing a work life that works with your brain, not against it.
The Anxious Achiever
Harvard Business Review Press
Master your anxiety and become the leader you were meant to be.
One of Thinkers50 10 Best New Management Books for 2024. Winner, “Best Leadership Book” Axiom Awards, Number 11 on “Top 50 Business Books,” Next Big Idea Club.
The Anxious Achiever was named a Financial Times Best Book of April, and has been featured in the Boston Globe, The Wall St Journal, TED, Fortune, Quartz, CNBC and more.
Praised by:
Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Whitney Johnson
SAP SVP Vivek Bapat
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson
Columbia Business School’s Rita McGrath
Bonobos CEO Andy Dunn
Wall St Journal bestselling author Dorie Clark
And more…
From Morra: Why I wrote The Anxious Achiever
Anxiety is normal. The way we hide it is not.
Although so much has been done (rightly) to promote diversity and wellness at work, there’s a giant hole in the understanding of how mental health plays into not just our daily grind, but the very trajectory of success.
We’re all in desperate need for better models of leadership - especially in a society that tell us mental health challenges like anxiety and depression are weaknesses.
I wrote this book because anxiety is a constant in today’s workplace, and people need tools to manage it. If you do nothing to address it, anxiety can seriously hamper your – or your team’s – potential for high performance. However, The Anxious Achiever shows that anxiety is actually fundamental to leadership, and with the right tools, you can harness its power to turn stress into strength. Mentally healthy workforces drive ROI: Employers see a $4 return for every dollar invested in employee mental health support and treatment.
The Anxious Achiever will help leaders and teams
Understand and manage how anxiety shows up for them at work
Lead and thrive through uncertainty
Use their leadership anxiety as an advantage
Create guardrails that protect boundaries, time, and energy
Create mentally healthy teams and culture
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY →
Leading for Tomorrow
An eye-opening collection of hands-on strategies for contemporary business leadership
In Leading for Tomorrow, a group of accomplished executives, academics, and experts deliver a collection of persuasive, insightful solutions to common and difficult workplace problems. This compilation of essays charts a pathway to an understanding of what it takes to lead people effectively in the modern era. Morra Aarons-Mele contributes "Managing AI Anxiety," because to create a future in which we have agency over AI, we need to come to grips with how we feel about AI!
You’ll explore the latest leadership styles and strategies, learning how to lead yourself, lead others, and lead organizations. You’ll also discover how to harness the principles of self-actualization, manage mental health challenges in yourself and others, and identify the qualities that help you get and stay motivated at work.
Hiding in the Bathroom:
How to Get Out There (When You'd Rather Stay Home)
Hiding in the Bathroom a roadmap for ambitious people who are introverted, anxious, or just crave a little more control over their work lives. It’s for entrepreneurs and executives alike, because if you’re driven and ambitious, conventional wisdom holds that you must network a lot. You must be always on. You must hustle and work 24-7. You must “get out there.” You must have a personal brand. You must put business first at all costs.
It’s just not true.
There is no one kind of successful person. You can be the kind of success you want to be, and you can have a powerful career that sustains you — the real you.
Built on Morra’s decade of experience as a “hermit entrepreneur” and over 120 interviews, Hiding in the Bathroom shares skills, effective strategies, and real stories from people who’ve been there, and thrived by defining their own rules. We tackle the sometimes thorny emotions that accompany a big career, and help you create a plan for success that feels great. The book is:
An Amazon bestseller
A popular keynote
Praised by:
Susan Cain
New York Times columnist KJ Dell'Antonia
Cricket Health cofounder and CEO Arvind Rajan
Harvard Business School Professor Leslie Perlow
BlogHer cofounder and CEO emeritus Lisa Stone
Publishers Weekly
Forbes
And more…
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY →
See what readers are saying:
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“I could have avoided years of anxiety with the great tips and compassionate understanding offered by Morra”
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“Loved. Loved. Loved this book. Hiding in the Bathroom isn’t just for introverts. This book is for everyone who has those nagging feelings of insecurity and anxiety when trying to conform or simply blend in.”
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“This is a page turner. Definitely buy this book!”
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“Raw, honest, and flawless”
Want to get a taste of my work?
Read my Harvard Business Review Big Idea feature story
Leading Through Anxiety:
Inspiring others when you’re struggling yourself
COURSES
Actionable, effective tools to manage anxiety, perfectionism, and thought traps at work.
Available on LinkedIn Learning & Harvard Business Review
Discover how to turn anxiety into a leadership superpower with Morra Aarons-Mele’s expert-led courses on LinkedIn Learning and Harvard Business Review (HBR).
Morra shares actionable strategies to help professionals embrace their mental health, navigate workplace challenges, and lead with confidence.