Rising Strong by Brene Brown Book Review

Published August 25th 2015

The lowdown from Goodreads

The physics of vulnerability is simple: If we are brave enough often enough, we will fall. The author of the #1 New York Timesbestsellers Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection tells us what it takes to get back up, and how owning our stories of disappointment, failure, and heartbreak gives us the power to write a daring new ending. Struggle, Brené Brown writes, can be our greatest call to courage, and rising strong our clearest path to deeper meaning, wisdom, and hope.

Rising Strong by Brene Brown Book Review

Full disclaimer: I LOVE Brené Brown. How could I not? She’s a Texas girl who tells me what my heart longs to hear, that I AM ENOUGH. If you haven’t read Daring Greatly, I highly recommend it. If you haven’t seen her TED Talk on the power of vulnerability, I highly recommend it as well. I suppose technically her books are lumped into the self-help category, but don’t let that deter you. Brené is a social worker & a researcher, so her work is supported by data. In Daring Greatly, she encourages the reader to get into the arena & that failing is an important & integral part of success. There are strategies I use from Daring Greatly in my everyday life & strategies I’ve taught my children as well. My humble opinion is that Daring Greatly should be included in all schools as a textbook – it’s that good.

Rising Strong shows the reader how to get back up after getting his/her butt kicked in the arena. There are so many takeaways from this book & here are a few of my own. I set myself up for failure. I tend to want to do too much with way too little time & then I beat myself up for not getting the job done. Another is that I need to communicate my expectations to those around me. If expectations are not clearly defined, then it often leads to miscommunications, disappointment & hurt feelings. Lastly, I need to trust a select few people with MY story & trust that they will pick me up when the arena has kicked me down. I own this book in print, but I listened to the audiobook read by Brené  & that made it all the more special to me.

Have you read any books by Brené Brown?

Brené’s Website