Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
Author ⭐⭐⭐
Credentials ⭐⭐⭐
Content ⭐⭐⭐
Digestibility ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alignment ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Self Helpfulness ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Living a connected life ultimately is about setting boundaries, spending less time and energy hustling and winning over people who don’t matter, and seeing the value of working on cultivating connection with family and close friends.
Credentials ⭐⭐⭐
Content ⭐⭐⭐
Digestibility ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alignment ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Self Helpfulness ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Living a connected life ultimately is about setting boundaries, spending less time and energy hustling and winning over people who don’t matter, and seeing the value of working on cultivating connection with family and close friends.
An effective and insightful primer on vulnerability, shame, and finding the strength to be unabashedly yourself while still caring for and empathizing with the people around you.
I thought this book would reaffirm things I already knew; instead it left me feeling humbled as I reevaluated myself. It's impossible to read this book with a chip on your shoulder. As soon as you read about the things that people do that drive you crazy, you find yourself in the next paragraph. It's all very fitting for a book on how necessary being vulnerable is. Life is going to be messy and we have to accept that. We're not actually progressing when we wait until we are sure to act. We are progressing when we are making mistakes and learning from them. This book is also incredibly freeing--you do not have to be perfect to be great.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I know that Karen White is a narrator that many people like, but I'm not one of those people. It was hard for me to separate my feelings for this book from its audio delivery. Regardless, I'm a Brene Brown fan and appreciate her work.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.25 🌟 quite solid. There were definitely some parts where I felt called out which was a good thing but not a ton of advice on what to actually do to improve
Understanding this has changed me forever.
I watched Brene Brown give a talk at a conference in 2013, and she spoke right to my heart. The topic of her research - a thing I never imagined could actually be "researched" - touched everyone in the audience. I am glad to read this book. I enjoyed the audio narration and would highly recommend it.
Here are my favorite and invaluable takeaways:
1. As Brown says, vulnerability is not weakness but our culture sometimes suggests otherwise. I love how she explains that our only choice is a question of engagement and our choice of engaging with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose.
2. The relationships between fear and disconnect: "The level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnect." This rings true in my life and relationships. She asks us: What price are you paying when you shut down and disengage? And arguing that vulnerability - hard as it may be - is far better than disengagement and disconnection from others.
4. The difference between over-sharing and vulnerability - they are not the same. In fact, she speaks to the dangers of over sharing and how it turns people off, and how we confuse it with vulnerability. She suggests to beware if you are over sharing and making others uncomfortable and then dismissing it as "Oh vulnerability is rubbish and doesn't work!"
5. Measuring shame. Understanding shame. A major part of the book speaks to shame, and how we are a shame-driven culture (I can tell you that the US is not the only one, Iranian culture thrives on shame!!! Argh.) And the consequences of that.
6. The word "whole hearted" and her 10 commandments for living from a place that is whole-hearted:
Cultivating ...
1. Authenticity
2. Self-compassion
3. A resilient spirit
4. Gratitude and joy
5. Intuition and trusting faith
6. Creativity
7. Play and rest
8. Calm and stillness
9. Meaningful work
10. Laughter, song and dance
Some of my favorite quotes from Brown:
- "Whole hearted living is engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness: I am enough, I am brave and worthy of love and belonging. These are irreducible needs for all of us. Absence of love, belonging and connection always leads to suffering."
- "Those who feel lovable simply believe they are worthy of love, belonging and even joy. That's all."
- "A strong belief in our worthiness doesn't just happen. It needs to be practiced."
-"When our self-worth isn't on the line, we are far more likely to share our gifts."
- "We are called to dare greatly every time we make a choice that goes against the social norm."
- "When you turn opportunity for joy to a test drive for despair, you diminish your experience. "
- " You are not what you accomplish or how well you accomplish it."
One point that I did not realize is the depth of information and relevance to parenting and children and teachers and the context of education. While I do not have any children, I still enjoyed and gleaned so much from these sections too.
Brene Brown's work is nothing short of revolutionary. She has brought science and data and both objective and subjective understanding into a topic that before this book seemed so elusive and intangible that even speaking about it felt inaccessible. I love that she has dared so greatly in her own work and to benefit of so many. Read this book, and with it, go where you are afraid to go. You won't regret it!
I watched Brene Brown give a talk at a conference in 2013, and she spoke right to my heart. The topic of her research - a thing I never imagined could actually be "researched" - touched everyone in the audience. I am glad to read this book. I enjoyed the audio narration and would highly recommend it.
Here are my favorite and invaluable takeaways:
1. As Brown says, vulnerability is not weakness but our culture sometimes suggests otherwise. I love how she explains that our only choice is a question of engagement and our choice of engaging with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose.
2. The relationships between fear and disconnect: "The level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnect." This rings true in my life and relationships. She asks us: What price are you paying when you shut down and disengage? And arguing that vulnerability - hard as it may be - is far better than disengagement and disconnection from others.
4. The difference between over-sharing and vulnerability - they are not the same. In fact, she speaks to the dangers of over sharing and how it turns people off, and how we confuse it with vulnerability. She suggests to beware if you are over sharing and making others uncomfortable and then dismissing it as "Oh vulnerability is rubbish and doesn't work!"
5. Measuring shame. Understanding shame. A major part of the book speaks to shame, and how we are a shame-driven culture (I can tell you that the US is not the only one, Iranian culture thrives on shame!!! Argh.) And the consequences of that.
6. The word "whole hearted" and her 10 commandments for living from a place that is whole-hearted:
Cultivating ...
1. Authenticity
2. Self-compassion
3. A resilient spirit
4. Gratitude and joy
5. Intuition and trusting faith
6. Creativity
7. Play and rest
8. Calm and stillness
9. Meaningful work
10. Laughter, song and dance
Some of my favorite quotes from Brown:
- "Whole hearted living is engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness: I am enough, I am brave and worthy of love and belonging. These are irreducible needs for all of us. Absence of love, belonging and connection always leads to suffering."
- "Those who feel lovable simply believe they are worthy of love, belonging and even joy. That's all."
- "A strong belief in our worthiness doesn't just happen. It needs to be practiced."
-"When our self-worth isn't on the line, we are far more likely to share our gifts."
- "We are called to dare greatly every time we make a choice that goes against the social norm."
- "When you turn opportunity for joy to a test drive for despair, you diminish your experience. "
- " You are not what you accomplish or how well you accomplish it."
One point that I did not realize is the depth of information and relevance to parenting and children and teachers and the context of education. While I do not have any children, I still enjoyed and gleaned so much from these sections too.
Brene Brown's work is nothing short of revolutionary. She has brought science and data and both objective and subjective understanding into a topic that before this book seemed so elusive and intangible that even speaking about it felt inaccessible. I love that she has dared so greatly in her own work and to benefit of so many. Read this book, and with it, go where you are afraid to go. You won't regret it!
Did I DNF because of my reading slump? Quite possibly. But I read 13% without reading anything I resonated with, and then I jumped ahead to the chapter I was most intrigued by and still found nothing I was interested in
Enough trusted people recommended this book that I finally got to it on my list. Exceptional book. Helped my wife and I in our own struggles of shame and belonging.