Do Self-Help Books About Relationships Really Help? It's typically women who read the books, not men. KEY POINTS Relationship self-help books are often aimed at women, who tend to feel both responsible for the well-being of their relationships and insecure about themselves. Much of the advice focuses on conforming to traditional gender roles, or suggests that the reader is “flawed” and needs to be “fixed.” While implicitly promising that self-improvement will also improve the reader’s relationship, self-help books often avoid addressing the resistant partner. Be sure to check the credentials of the author before diving into self-help. There is no formal library catalog category called “self-help.” Self-help books can be categorized as “applied psychology,” “personal finance,” “philosophy,” “religion,” etc.