The Gift of Imperfection
Brene Brown
137 pages
Hard copy edition
From the publisher;
In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown, a leading expert on shame, authenticity, and belonging, shares ten guideposts on the power of Wholehearted living—a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness.
Each day we face a barrage of images and messages from society and the media telling us who, what, and how we should be. We are led to believe that if we could only look perfect and lead perfect lives, we’d no longer feel inadequate. So most of us perform, please, and perfect, all the while thinking, “What if I can’t keep all of these balls in the air? Why isn’t everyone else working harder and living up to my expectations? What will people think if I fail or give up? When can I stop proving myself?”
In her ten guideposts, Brown engages our minds, hearts, and spirits as she explores how we can cultivate 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,” and to go to bed at night thinking, “Yes, I am sometimes afraid, but I am also brave. And, yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am worthy of love and belonging.”
Review:
I am a big fan of Brene Brown. I read her book Rising Strong last year and have referred back to it here and there since then. Brene has some amazing TED talks that I’ve watched too. Yes, you could say that I am pretty fascinated with her work. A month or so ago I was talking to a friend about some things going on in both our lives and she mentioned this book. I think a lot of women would agree, we all have a hard time letting go of who we think we are supposed to be. At least I hope that a lot of women do – and that I’m not alone. If you are like me – this book is for you. I loved this book – probably even more than I liked Rising Strong. I went through just a few post-it note flags while reading it. So much good stuff….
At the beginning of this book Brown tells the story about a mother who was late to a school program, and a rude comment another mom made. And then how it took courage, but other mothers in the room started speaking up to the late coming mother, and how they had been there too. This story spoke right to me. I wish we could just all stand up and say, “that has happened to me too, you are not alone’ this wold would be such an amazing place! But instead we hide being trying to be perfect. Brown says about this,
“Every time we choose courage, we make everyone around us a little better and the world a little braver. And our world could stand to be a little kinder and braver”
This book is divided into 10 guideposts that help us live whole heartedly. Each one comes with some “exercises” at the end of the chapter too – to Dig Deep – get deliberate, get inspired and get going. This is a book I should really reread often and work through like a work book. Brown does have some classes taht she offers on her website as well, I have been taking a story telling on that is by her and Glennon Melton and LOVE being able to dig a little further beyond their books.
If you have never read Brene Brown, I suggest this one over Rising Strong, and if you are a person who struggles with what everyone things of you or trying to let go of being perfect, this is an excellent book to pick up too. Any of her books would make great book club selections. Brene Brown always gives you something to think about and discuss.
final score:
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