Brené Brown

An expert of the psychology of shame presents advice on how to overcome paralyzing fears and self-consciousness, and at the same time increase feelings of self-worth, gratitude, and acceptance.

Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

The Gifts of Imperfection

kevin weitgenant

The greatest challenge for most of us is believing that we are worthy now, right this minute

In our technology-crazed world, we’ve confused being communicative with feeling connected. Just because we’re plugged in, doesn’t mean we feel seen and heard. In fact, hyper-communication can mean we spend more time on Facebook than we do face-to-face with the people we care about. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked into a restaurant and seen two parents on their cell phones while their kids are busy texting or playing video games. What’s the point of even sitting together?

It's amazing -yet perhaps not surprising- that the connectedness we experience in our relationships impacts the way our brain develops and performs

Sebastian

A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all women, men, and children.

 Wholeheartedly living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.

Emily Burns

I started my journey reading Brene Brown’s books several years ago now, but I had skipped this one and gone straight to Daring Greatly, which changed my brain and my life. Backtracking to read this one, at this moment in my life, has been similarly groundbreaking. Brown’s researcher-storyteller style is incredibly digestible and accessible, which is making a real difference in this world, I think.

Lisa Wright

Not your typical self-help, Brene uses actual research to illustrate her evidence that a "wholehearted" approach is the only approach.

Sarah Schumacher

4.5 stars.

I haven’t read all of her books (yet), but it feels like this is where it all began (though this isn’t her first book). There are common threads that run throughout her books, so I could see them developing here.

Also, if the short, excellent chapter on Meaningful Work spoke to you, I’d suggest picking up one of my perennial favorites: The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna.

Alli

I was going to give this 3 stars until she quoted and said she was inspired by Malcolm Gladwell

Maria

Scott Wilson

Very interesting read by award winning author Brene Brown. This is a definite re-read for me as there were a number of interesting focus areas.

Anmol

Need to revisit this book again in future

Abby

I really appreciate this book greatly. The overall ideas she mentioned and specifically things she quotes from some of her earlier works on shame make me want to dig into all of her oeuvre (which I plan on doing). 
I think the overall principles of this book are simple and profound in a way that I could read it a million times and it would always seem so simple and "duh," but there would always be a takeaway lesson for me exactly where I am and there would always be at least a few parts that would punch me in the face. 
 I also ended up adding about half of the bibliography to my to-read list. Very good stuff. Recommended.

Ugis

Must read for those who struggle with imperfection, vulnerabilities, fear and shame. Wonderfully written, lot of food for thought and takeaway quotes. [reading time: 4h48m]

Melanie Richards

2.5 stars. I highlighted some bits, but it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting or needed at the time. This feels more along the lines of repackaging the same findings she is known for (shame, vulnerability), and sure, these are wrapped up in perfectionism. It didn’t necessarily scratch the itch for me, though.

Analyse Montejano

Life-changing. Truly. I have a short list of books to reread yearly and this is on there. Such a small book but I have to take my time with it!

Julia

Gah! There was so many great nuggets in this book! I am a sucker for a good self growth/self reflective book. Her explaining shame, and anxiety as well as other things, makes you feel very seen.

Some of my notes:
“We cannot give our kids what we don’t have.”

“The parts I love about myself and the parts Ive orphaned.”

“Compassionate people are boundary people.”

“Sharing is a privilege, who has earned the right to hear my story?”

Other beautiful words… Love is a practice, authenticity is a practice.

Jenni Pertuset

I listened to the audiobook after having watched a few of Brene Brown's videos, including her TED talk. The reader has an unfortunate way with sibilants, and the book's structure required more of my attention than I generally give audiobooks, so I think I'll revisit this in hard copy. 

I appreciate Brown's insights about vulnerability, and much of the book is insightful and thought-provoking. I disagree with her brief description about "accountability," which she equates with consequences, or punishing someone who doesn't do what you want. Her examples are a boss/employee and parent/child. I don't think consequences are the best way to inspire a child or an employee, and the absence of a discussion of "accountability" in egalitarian relationships is telling. At the moment, I'm pondering her assertion that spirituality is requisite in a resilient, "wholehearted" life. I'm encouraged that she defines spirituality broadly, but as someone who regards myself as not remotely spiritual, I'm left chewing on whether to accept her assertion.

Namera Nous

Helaas maar weinig hoofdstukken die me aanspraken en waar ik een connectie mee voelde. Verder een prima boek

Dave Konopka

This book gave solid structure to some amorphous concepts like belonging, hope, shame, and resiliency. I’d put this in your queue if you’re interested in building more emotional resiliency and understanding for yourself.

Ivaylo Durmonski

Usually, hearing the words love and compassion in a sentence immediately triggers an eye-rolling effect in me.

I simply can’t stand the conclusion these two words usually lead to. Authentic, self-love, yadda yadda. Yet, this book, despite being full of these commonly loathed words, is somehow readable and realistic. In fact, I believe it’s one of the best self-help books I’ve read in a while.

The author talks about topics like love and connection in a more adequate way, not in terms of trying to trigger fake emotions.

Brené Brown heavily promotes the journey of Wholehearted living which aims to make us accept others for what they are, so we can ultimately accept who we are.

In a society that places blame and finger-pointing on the top, these two qualities are worth exploring.

This is surely a great book for everyone who strives towards perfection and feels not enough in terms of what he does.

The stories and the practices inside The Gifts of Imperfection will give you the strength to do things even if they are not 100% amazing. Additionally, it will help you realize that even experts are often doubtful in their skills.

The key takeaway:

Allow yourself to be imperfect. That’s the only way you can go through your day without feeling regret, unaffected by the outside pressure, and also the only way you can build something worthwhile.

Read full summary: 
https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/...

Yasmin S.

Life changing. I will treasure this book forever!

 Bruna Acioly Leão

4.5

This was a very important read for me personally, and I can already tell is going to be one I will be re-reading often. 

Brené Brown is a researcher of human emotions, particularly shame, and she works with people living wholeheartedly trying to find out what it is that makes their lives more joyous and meaningful.
In this book she describes ways to live a more authentic life and let go of our ideas of perfection, let go of our need to value what others think and who we believe ourselves to be and become our true selves.

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”

She covers many topics, including how to deal with difficult emotions, how to let go of our anxiety and fears, how to practice self-love and connect with others better. She talks about the gifts of imperfection: courage, compassion, and connection which in her opinion through findings of her researches, are essential to living a wholehearted life.

“We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.” 

Brown understands human emotions and she explores them and explains them like no one I have ever seen. Not only that but through each of the guideposts of this book she shares her own experiences and struggles and offers practical ways to cultivate each of the good things in life: resilience, gratitude, joy, calm, creativity and more.

Not so much a self-help book in the strict sense of the term, but a book to help you understand yourself better.

Danielle Rose

Florian Schindler

Samuel Dellicour

When our embarrassments and fears lie, we often listen to them anyway. They thwart our gratitude, acceptance, and compassion—our goodness. They insist, “I am not worthy.” But we are worthy—of self-discovery, personal growth, and boundless love. With Brené Brown’s game-changing New York Times bestseller The Gifts of Imperfection—which has sold more than 2 million copies in more than 30 different languages, and Forbes recently named one of the "Five Books That Will Actually Change Your Outlook On Life"—we find courage to overcome paralyzing fear and self-consciousness, strengthening our connection to the world. A motivational and inspiring guide to wholehearted living, rather than just the average self-help book, with this groundbreaking work Brené Brown, Ph.D., bolsters the self-esteem and personal development process through her characteristic heartfelt, honest storytelling. With original research and plenty of encouragement, she explores the psychology of releasing our definitions of an “imperfect” life and embracing living authentically. Brown’s “ten guideposts” are benchmarks for authenticity that can help anyone establish a practice for a life of honest beauty—a perfectly imperfect life. Now more than ever, we all need to cultivate feelings of self-worth, as well as acceptance and love for ourselves. In a world where insults, criticisms, and fears are spread too generously alongside messages of unrealistic beauty, attainment, and expectation, we look for ways to “dig deep” and find truth and gratitude in our lives. A new way forward means we can’t hold on too tightly to our own self-defeating thoughts or the displaced pain in our world. Instead, we can embrace the imperfection.

The Gifts of Imperfection Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

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