Worth

The New Science of Self-Esteem and Secure Attachment

Hardcover
$30.00 US
On sale Sep 15, 2026 | 240 Pages | 9798217046591

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Platonic, a groundbreaking guide exploring the promise (and limits) of secure attachment to help us feel better and boost our self-esteem

What if what you thought you knew about secure attachment was wrong? Or worse, making you more insecure?

Dr. Marisa G. Franco is the New York Times bestselling friendship expert whose advice Glennon Doyle calls “wise, concrete, and effective”—Dr. Franco literally wrote the book on how to become a securely attached friend. But since then, she’s realized that when we feel unworthy, the things we think should make us feel secure and raise our self-esteem often backfire:

  • Optimistic self-talk makes us feel worse, not better.
  • Positive feedback raises our blood pressure.
  • Compliments make us uncomfortable.
  • Positive events make us sicker.

The good news: Self-esteem is a skill that can be learned—and you can get better at it, which in turn strengthens all your other relationships. In Worth, Dr. Franco mines promising new research at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience to show us why so many of us still struggle with self-esteem (even in this self-obsessed age), and how we can build a foundation of lasting self-worth that doesn’t rely on likes or followers.

Through exercises, stories, and the cutting-edge science of memory reconsolidation, updating damaging memories to change the stories we tell ourselves, Dr. Franco shows how we can bring meaning, self-worth, and secure attachment back into our lives, from the inside out. If you feel like you’ve read every book on healing, but you are still struggling, Worth will help you finally find the transformation you’ve been looking for.
© Dante Corinaldi (@don.visuals)
Dr. Marisa G. Franco is the New York Times bestselling author of Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends. She holds a PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland and works as a professor there currently. She writes for Psychology Today and has been a featured psychologist in The New York Times, on NPR, and on Good Morning America. Dr. Franco delivers talks about connection, belonging, and worth all over the country to private companies, universities, and nonprofit organizations. Her newest talk is entitled “Self-Worth at Work: The Key to Resilience in Times of Change.” View titles by Marisa G. Franco, PhD
“Some books explain us. Some books heal us. Worth somehow does both. Dr. Marisa G. Franco offers not just brilliant science, but a deeply human invitation to stop resisting what is true and start there instead. I can’t think of anyone who won’t need this book.”
—Jen Hatmaker, New York Times bestselling author and host of For the Love

“In Worth, Dr. Marisa Franco takes us in and out of the shadows of self-worth. Being better to ourselves and others is not found in the next TikTok trend or optimization hack but in the honest lighting of our insecurities.”
—Esther Perel, psychotherapist, author, and host of Where Should We Begin

“I’ve coached so many people who do everything right and still feel unlovable. Worth explains why, and what to do about it. This is the rare book that helps you actually feel worthy of love, rather than just putting ‘securely attached’ on your dating profile.”
—Logan Ury, behavioral scientist, dating coach, and author of How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love

“We don’t feel unworthy because something is wrong with us—we feel unworthy because something happened to us. In Worth, psychologist Marisa G. Franco goes where most attachment books don’t dare: into the memories your body never finished processing. The result is a groundbreaking fusion of neuroscience, IFS, somatic therapy, and psychedelic research that doesn’t just explain why we struggle to feel secure—it shows us how to finally get there.”
—Jessica Fern, author of Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy

About

From the New York Times bestselling author of Platonic, a groundbreaking guide exploring the promise (and limits) of secure attachment to help us feel better and boost our self-esteem

What if what you thought you knew about secure attachment was wrong? Or worse, making you more insecure?

Dr. Marisa G. Franco is the New York Times bestselling friendship expert whose advice Glennon Doyle calls “wise, concrete, and effective”—Dr. Franco literally wrote the book on how to become a securely attached friend. But since then, she’s realized that when we feel unworthy, the things we think should make us feel secure and raise our self-esteem often backfire:

  • Optimistic self-talk makes us feel worse, not better.
  • Positive feedback raises our blood pressure.
  • Compliments make us uncomfortable.
  • Positive events make us sicker.

The good news: Self-esteem is a skill that can be learned—and you can get better at it, which in turn strengthens all your other relationships. In Worth, Dr. Franco mines promising new research at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience to show us why so many of us still struggle with self-esteem (even in this self-obsessed age), and how we can build a foundation of lasting self-worth that doesn’t rely on likes or followers.

Through exercises, stories, and the cutting-edge science of memory reconsolidation, updating damaging memories to change the stories we tell ourselves, Dr. Franco shows how we can bring meaning, self-worth, and secure attachment back into our lives, from the inside out. If you feel like you’ve read every book on healing, but you are still struggling, Worth will help you finally find the transformation you’ve been looking for.

Author

© Dante Corinaldi (@don.visuals)
Dr. Marisa G. Franco is the New York Times bestselling author of Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends. She holds a PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland and works as a professor there currently. She writes for Psychology Today and has been a featured psychologist in The New York Times, on NPR, and on Good Morning America. Dr. Franco delivers talks about connection, belonging, and worth all over the country to private companies, universities, and nonprofit organizations. Her newest talk is entitled “Self-Worth at Work: The Key to Resilience in Times of Change.” View titles by Marisa G. Franco, PhD

Praise

“Some books explain us. Some books heal us. Worth somehow does both. Dr. Marisa G. Franco offers not just brilliant science, but a deeply human invitation to stop resisting what is true and start there instead. I can’t think of anyone who won’t need this book.”
—Jen Hatmaker, New York Times bestselling author and host of For the Love

“In Worth, Dr. Marisa Franco takes us in and out of the shadows of self-worth. Being better to ourselves and others is not found in the next TikTok trend or optimization hack but in the honest lighting of our insecurities.”
—Esther Perel, psychotherapist, author, and host of Where Should We Begin

“I’ve coached so many people who do everything right and still feel unlovable. Worth explains why, and what to do about it. This is the rare book that helps you actually feel worthy of love, rather than just putting ‘securely attached’ on your dating profile.”
—Logan Ury, behavioral scientist, dating coach, and author of How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love

“We don’t feel unworthy because something is wrong with us—we feel unworthy because something happened to us. In Worth, psychologist Marisa G. Franco goes where most attachment books don’t dare: into the memories your body never finished processing. The result is a groundbreaking fusion of neuroscience, IFS, somatic therapy, and psychedelic research that doesn’t just explain why we struggle to feel secure—it shows us how to finally get there.”
—Jessica Fern, author of Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy