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lwalker932's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
em_grubb's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
arjohnson5623's review against another edition
5.0
This book was given to me by a good friend when I was most ready to receive its message. I can’t believe how much I learned about myself in less than three hundred pages, and that’s an understatement. Brown seems, at the very least, to have some of the answers to life’s important questions; I fully intend to use the tools she’s collected to not only improve my relationships, but become a more wholehearted person.
txpamcakers's review against another edition
4.0
Brown has a way of sharing information in a colorful way that allows the reader to stay engaged.
I could really relate to the contents of this book. I was able to apply this research to my childhood, my job, friendships, and parenting.
I could really relate to the contents of this book. I was able to apply this research to my childhood, my job, friendships, and parenting.
bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
4.0
Brene Brown's name has become synonymous with vulnerability in the past several years since she exploded onto the scene with her TED talk, which has gone on to be one of the most viewed TED talks of all time. As a be all remedy for social ills and the challenges of friendships, parenting, leadership, educating, and almost any social endeavor, she declares that "vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only choice is a question of engagement. Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection."
She writes in a conversational and authoritative tone, this book being largely an extension of her TED talk. She's a welcome herald of authenticity, and an eagerness to engage with one another emotionally, in ways that most of us fear to or otherwise don't know how to interact.
While I appreciate her general posture about the emotional life, I kept finding myself thinking as I read, "just kill the ego!" For those who navigate life from the illusion of self and ego, and a focus on personal identity, and self-esteem, or a contemporary Western mindset, she offers a decent toolkit for approaching life's challenges. However, I believe a lot of the problems she raises, are a result of us failing to adopt a more Zen, or overall Buddhist way of living.
Each of her 10 Guideposts for Wholehearted living has an eastern counterpart that amounts to: be present, kill the ego, accept being, let go of the self, you are not your thoughts or emotions, don't mistake the clouds for the sky, and withhold judgment.
I deeply appreciate her work and hope it inspires a higher degree of vulnerability and authenticity within our cultures.
She writes in a conversational and authoritative tone, this book being largely an extension of her TED talk. She's a welcome herald of authenticity, and an eagerness to engage with one another emotionally, in ways that most of us fear to or otherwise don't know how to interact.
While I appreciate her general posture about the emotional life, I kept finding myself thinking as I read, "just kill the ego!" For those who navigate life from the illusion of self and ego, and a focus on personal identity, and self-esteem, or a contemporary Western mindset, she offers a decent toolkit for approaching life's challenges. However, I believe a lot of the problems she raises, are a result of us failing to adopt a more Zen, or overall Buddhist way of living.
Each of her 10 Guideposts for Wholehearted living has an eastern counterpart that amounts to: be present, kill the ego, accept being, let go of the self, you are not your thoughts or emotions, don't mistake the clouds for the sky, and withhold judgment.
I deeply appreciate her work and hope it inspires a higher degree of vulnerability and authenticity within our cultures.
dsinocruz's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
4.0
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
3.0
In the interest of personal growth I decided to give this book a chance because I've seen rave reviews of Brene Brown's work and figured this would be as good a place to start as any.
The main concept of this book is that in order to live your best life (what Brown calls living 'wholeheartedly') you have to be willing to be vulnerable. You have to risk getting hurt in order to truly gain anything. The enemy of vulnerability is shame. Everyone has shame, but too much shame impedes your ability to form healthy relationships.
This book is mostly a cause and effect guide to shame. There are some things you can do to combat it, but it isn't really like a workbook kind of thing. It's focused more on the exploration on the concept of shame. Brown has spent a lot of career as a researcher and it shows. However, this isn't much by way of 'proof' i.e. statistics or specific references to sources. I didn't mind it as such because I know most self-help books are written in this fashion, but if you're expecting something from a more clinical perspective this is not it.
I liked a majority of the book. I think Brown had a lot of great advice about how to put yourself out there more. And I was willing to hear her out because she really understood the reasons *why* we hide. So it didn't feel like some nonsense talk by someone who doesn't get it trying to act like they do. I also listened to the audiobook and Brene Brown, unlike some other authors, actually sounds pretty good.
That being said it did get more and more repetitive as time went on. You get the point pretty quickly, and most of the book is Brown's personal anecdotes that further emphasize her theses. I enjoyed her stories, but if you don't like that sort of thing you won't like this book. I already kind of knew a lot of the information, however, Brown tied it together in a way that I liked so I was willing to go along with it. But, if you don't like Brown's storytelling and you've read up on this kind of material before then there's really nothing for you here.
Also your place in life heavily impacts how you may perceive this book. Again, I liked it but it does focus on lot on being established in a career and/or being a parent. It says it's for anyone, but it's honestly not. It's geared more towards late 20s and on. I'm early 20s and half of the book was sort of me just nodding along agreeing in theory without being able to relate on a personal level. The last chapter was totally skippable as it focused ONLY on parents.
I don't think I want to read the rest of Brown's work on the basis of this one, but I wouldn't be totally opposed either as long as they don't stick to the same format entirely.
The main concept of this book is that in order to live your best life (what Brown calls living 'wholeheartedly') you have to be willing to be vulnerable. You have to risk getting hurt in order to truly gain anything. The enemy of vulnerability is shame. Everyone has shame, but too much shame impedes your ability to form healthy relationships.
This book is mostly a cause and effect guide to shame. There are some things you can do to combat it, but it isn't really like a workbook kind of thing. It's focused more on the exploration on the concept of shame. Brown has spent a lot of career as a researcher and it shows. However, this isn't much by way of 'proof' i.e. statistics or specific references to sources. I didn't mind it as such because I know most self-help books are written in this fashion, but if you're expecting something from a more clinical perspective this is not it.
I liked a majority of the book. I think Brown had a lot of great advice about how to put yourself out there more. And I was willing to hear her out because she really understood the reasons *why* we hide. So it didn't feel like some nonsense talk by someone who doesn't get it trying to act like they do. I also listened to the audiobook and Brene Brown, unlike some other authors, actually sounds pretty good.
That being said it did get more and more repetitive as time went on. You get the point pretty quickly, and most of the book is Brown's personal anecdotes that further emphasize her theses. I enjoyed her stories, but if you don't like that sort of thing you won't like this book. I already kind of knew a lot of the information, however, Brown tied it together in a way that I liked so I was willing to go along with it. But, if you don't like Brown's storytelling and you've read up on this kind of material before then there's really nothing for you here.
Also your place in life heavily impacts how you may perceive this book. Again, I liked it but it does focus on lot on being established in a career and/or being a parent. It says it's for anyone, but it's honestly not. It's geared more towards late 20s and on. I'm early 20s and half of the book was sort of me just nodding along agreeing in theory without being able to relate on a personal level. The last chapter was totally skippable as it focused ONLY on parents.
I don't think I want to read the rest of Brown's work on the basis of this one, but I wouldn't be totally opposed either as long as they don't stick to the same format entirely.
chlo_bo's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0