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bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
This was interesting, but I would have liked more hard facts and a lot less emphasis on the spiritual, especially at the end. I know this book came out in the early stages of research on this topic, but it felt squishier to me than I wanted it to. Still, I am glad for any books advocating more tolerance of and respect for HSPs and introverts more generally, particularly in a day and age that seems to hugely favor bloviators over deep thinkers.
ingread27's review against another edition
4.0
What I loved about this book is how often I felt understood (for the first time) with regards to my sensitivity. Things that I always thought were wrong or confusing were explained so clearly.
I would not say that I’m really high on the HSP scale, but I definitely resonate with many aspects. The value of understanding my HSP aspects causes me to give this book 4 stars.
For someone who is even higher on the scale of HSP, potentially referred to as shy or other such terms, there’s a lot of really specific advice and tools to use. There’s so much information and I do highly recommend this book to other sensitives out there.
I would not say that I’m really high on the HSP scale, but I definitely resonate with many aspects. The value of understanding my HSP aspects causes me to give this book 4 stars.
For someone who is even higher on the scale of HSP, potentially referred to as shy or other such terms, there’s a lot of really specific advice and tools to use. There’s so much information and I do highly recommend this book to other sensitives out there.
mxunsmiley's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly the tone and writing often sounded completely bonkers, like referring to HSPs as "royal advisors" or like priests. It was strange and off-putting. I also disliked how she encourages keeping a persona among others, to be "socially acceptable" (cue me, laughing and crying in autism). Then of course it has to be maddeningly heterosexual with an odd aside of a married woman becoming obsessed with an older woman and the incident nearly ruining her marriage. She maintained that she wasn't trying to make it seem like HSPs were better than other people but it really came across that way. There was also this sense that she tried her hardest to distance being an HSP with what is seen as "abnormal" (read: crazy) behavior and I feel like it stigmatizes differences from the norm even more. It's like "I'm sensitive but not crazy like psychos in the loony bin" (and there's a quote from an interviewed HSP who mentions "actual wackos" in an asylum in some vision she had).
wisery's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
I read this book because I wanted to learn about HSP’s “from the horse’s mouth,” and Aron is the horse. That said, I found the description of HSP’s muddy and the attribute overly interpreted into every facet of life. When the take home is, “HSP’s can show or not show any of these numerous traits inconsistently,” you haven’t convinced me that this group exists concretely or taught me about them.
I also LOATHE the juxtaposition between the idea that being highly sensitive is not bad/disordered/shameful and the suggestion that HSP’s adopt a public persona to effectively mask who they are. It was a pragmatic, well-intentioned suggestion but also very unhelpful.
Ultimately, I’m glad Aron did this research, but I’m so grateful the research has continued to evolve and newer books provide a better introduction to environmental sensitivity.
I also LOATHE the juxtaposition between the idea that being highly sensitive is not bad/disordered/shameful and the suggestion that HSP’s adopt a public persona to effectively mask who they are. It was a pragmatic, well-intentioned suggestion but also very unhelpful.
Ultimately, I’m glad Aron did this research, but I’m so grateful the research has continued to evolve and newer books provide a better introduction to environmental sensitivity.