Synopses & Reviews
The #1 New York Times bestseller, now in paperback. From thought leader Dr. Brené Brown, a transformative new vision for the way we lead, love, work, parent, and educate that teaches us the power of vulnerability.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”Theodore Roosevelt
Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. Based on twelve years of pioneering research, Dr. Brené Brown dispels the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage.
Brown explains how vulnerability is both the core of difficult emotions like fear, grief, and disappointment, and the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, innovation, and creativity. She writes: When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives.”
Daring Greatly is not about winning or losing. Its about courage. In a world where never enough” dominates and feeling afraid has become second nature, vulnerability is subversive. Uncomfortable. Its even a little dangerous at times. And, without question, putting ourselves out there means theres a far greater risk of getting criticized or feeling hurt. But when we step back and examine our lives, we will find that nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would be like if we had the courage to step into the arenawhether its a new relationship, an important meeting, the creative process, or a difficult family conversation. Daring Greatly is a practice and a powerful new vision for letting ourselves be seen.
Review
"An interesting look at a debilitating emotion that stunts the potential of too many women." Booklist
Review
"Although Brown is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about her subject...her book is thin on content. On several topics, it is only a reworking of her Women & Shame: Reaching Out, Speaking Truths and Building Connection." Library Journal
Review
"I Thought It Was Just Me is an urgent and compelling invitation to examine our struggles with shame and to learn valuable tools to become our best, most authentic selves....[T]his is one of those rare books that has the potential to turn lives around." Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., author of The Dance of Anger
Review
"Brene Brown has written an insightful and informative study of a subject that leaves many women feeling trapped and powerless. Her analysis of how women are often caught in shame, is in itself liberating, and her thoughtful suggestions will help readers continue to free themselves from emotional debilitation in ways they may not even realize are possible. I Thought It Was Just Me can be a doorway to freedom and self-esteem for many, many readers." Martha Beck, Ph.D., author of Finding Your Own Northstar
Review
"Brene Brown's ability to explore shame and resilience with humor, vulnerability and honesty is both uplifting and liberating. If we want to change our lives, our relationships or even the world, we must start by understanding and overcoming the shame that keeps us silent. This important and hopeful book offers a bold new perspective on the power of telling our stories." Professor Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient
Review
"This is an important and inspiring book that offers understanding and validation to the painful feelings that come with the beliefs that we are not good enough or we should be different than who we are. Brene Brown walks us on a path that releases the shackles of inadequacy and leads us to embracing our authentic selves." Claudia Black, Ph.D. author of It Will Never Happen To Me
Synopsis
Draws on research with hundreds of interviewees to identify the pervasive influence of cultural shame, discussing how women can recognize the ways in which shame influences their health and relationships and can be transformed into courage and connectivity.
Synopsis
Using powerful personal stories and examples, Brown delivers an affirming, revealing examination of the painful effects of shame. Illustrations.
Synopsis
An affirming, revealing examination of the painful effects of
shame with new, powerful strategies that promise to transform a
woman's abilitiy to love, parent, work, and build relationships.
Shame manifests itself in many ways. Addiction, perfectionism, fear and
blame are just a few of the outward signs that Dr. Brene Brown
discovered in her 6-year study of shame's effects on women. While
shame is generally thought of as an emotion sequestered in the shadows
of our psyches, I Thought It Was Just Me demonstrates the ways
in which it is actually present in the most mundane and visible aspects
of our lives from our mental and physical health and body image
to our relationships with our partners, our kids, our friends, our
money, and our work.
After talking to hundreds of women and
therapists, Dr. Brown is able to illuminate the myriad shaming
influences that dominate our culture and explain why we are all
vulnerable to shame. We live in a culture that tells us we must reject
our bodies, reject our authentic stories, and ultimately reject our
true selves in order to fit in and be accepted.
Outlining an empowering new approach that dispels judgment and awakens us to the genuine acceptance of ourselves and others, I Thought It Was Just Me begins a crucial new dialogue of hope. Through potent personal
narratives and examples from real women, Brown identifies and explains
four key elements that allow women to transform their shame into
courage, compassion and connection. Shame is a dark and sad place in
which to live a life, keeping us from connecting fully to our loved
ones and being the women we were meant to be. But learning how to
understand shame's influence and move through it toward full
acceptance of ourselves and others takes away much of shame's
power to harm.
It's not just you, you're not
alone, and if you fight the daily battle of feeling like you
are somehow just not "enough," you owe it to
yourself to read this book and discover your infinite possibilities as
a human being.
Synopsis
Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” —Theodore Roosevelt
Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable, or to dare greatly. Whether the arena is a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation, we must find the courage to walk into vulnerability and engage with our whole hearts.
In Daring Greatly, Dr. Brown challenges everything we think we know about vulnerability. Based on twelve years of research, she argues that vulnerability is not weakness, but rather our clearest path to courage, engagement, and meaningful connection. The book that Dr. Brown’s many fans have been waiting for, Daring Greatly will spark a new spirit of truth—and trust—in our organizations, families, schools, and communities.
Synopsis
The quest for perfection is exhausting and unrelenting. We spend too much precious time and energy managing perception and creating carefully edited versions of ourselves to show to the world. As hard as we try, we can?t seem to turn off the tapes that fill our heads with messages like, ?Never good enough!? and ?What will people think??
Why? What fuels this unattainable need to look like we always have it all together? At first glance we might think it?s because we admire perfection, but that?s not the case. We are actually the most attracted to people we consider to be authentic and down-to-earth. We love people who are ?real? ? we?re drawn to those who both embrace their imperfections and radiate self-acceptance.
There is a constant barrage of social expectations that teach us that being imperfect is synonymous with being inadequate. Everywhere we turn, there are messages that tell us who, what and how we?re supposed to be. So, we learn to hide our struggles and protect ourselves from shame, judgment, criticism and blame by seeking safety in pretending and perfection.
Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we?re all in this together.
Dr. Brown writes, ?We need our lives back. It?s time to reclaim the gifts of imperfection ? the courage to be real, the compassion we need to love ourselves and others, and the connection that gives true purpose and meaning to life. These are the gifts that bring love, laughter, gratitude, empathy and joy into our lives.?
Synopsis
Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” —Theodore Roosevelt
Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable, or to dare greatly. Whether the arena is a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation, we must find the courage to walk into vulnerability and engage with our whole hearts.
In Daring Greatly, Dr. Brown challenges everything we think we know about vulnerability. Based on twelve years of research, she argues that vulnerability is not weakness, but rather our clearest path to courage, engagement, and meaningful connection. The book that Dr. Brown’s many fans have been waiting for, Daring Greatly will spark a new spirit of truth—and trust—in our organizations, families, schools, and communities.
Synopsis
Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a liberating study on the importance of our imperfections—both to our relationships and to our own sense of self The quest for perfection is exhausting and unrelenting. There is a constant barrage of social expectations that teach us that being imperfect is synonymous with being inadequate. Everywhere we turn, there are messages that tell us who, what and how we’re supposed to be. So, we learn to hide our struggles and protect ourselves from shame, judgment, criticism and blame by seeking safety in pretending and perfection.
Dr. Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, is the leading authority on the power of vulnerability, and has inspired thousands through her top-selling book The Gifts of Imperfection, wildly popular TEDx talk, and a PBS special. Based on seven years of her ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we’re all in this together.
Dr. Brown writes, “We need our lives back. It’s time to reclaim the gifts of imperfection—the courage to be real, the compassion we need to love ourselves and others, and the connection that gives true purpose and meaning to life. These are the gifts that bring love, laughter, gratitude, empathy and joy into our lives.”
About the Author
Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, is an educator, writer, and nationally renowned lecturer, as well as a member of the research faculty at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, where she recently completed a six-year study of shame and its impact on women.