Reviews
Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown
mollyxmiller's review against another edition
4.0
Would be a good compliment to Talking With Strangers by Malcom Gladwell
caseymalsam's review against another edition
5.0
In a time when we are all trying to figure out how to remain in relationship with people we are growing more and more polarized from, this book is the hope in that darkness. READ IT, please! We will all be so much better in finding understanding.
cydneydaniel's review against another edition
4.0
What a good book to end 2018 on! I didn’t agree with everything in this book, and that’s okay. But the things that did resonate with me feel very real and important and I am excited to try them out in my everyday. I had already made “be more intentional” one of my New Years resolutions, and this book really solidified that idea in my mind. I hope to be more intentional in my conversations and relationships to have genuine, real connections.
Here are some quotes I wrote down as I listened to this book:
[Regarding the divide the current social/political climate has created in our world]: “We’ve turned away from one another and toward blame and rage. We’re lonely, untethered, and scared. So damn scared. Rather than coming together and sharing our experiences...... through song & story, we’re screaming at each other from further & further away. Instead of dancing & praying together, we’re running away from one another.”
[There is so much TRUTH here. We all just want to BELONG, but we’re pushing each other away &staying in our echo chambers.]
•
“Not enough of us know how to sit in pain with others. Worse, our discomfort shows up in ways that can hurt them and reinforce their own isolation. I’ve started to believe that crying with strangers in person could change the world”
•
“An experience of collective pain does not deliver us from grief or sadness. It is a ministry of presence. These moments remind us that we are not alone in our darkness, and our broken heart is connected to every heart that has known pain since the beginning of time.”
•
“When you are grateful for what you have, you understand pain. The more we diminish our own pain or rank it compared to what others have survived, the less empathic we are to everyone.”
Here are some quotes I wrote down as I listened to this book:
[Regarding the divide the current social/political climate has created in our world]: “We’ve turned away from one another and toward blame and rage. We’re lonely, untethered, and scared. So damn scared. Rather than coming together and sharing our experiences...... through song & story, we’re screaming at each other from further & further away. Instead of dancing & praying together, we’re running away from one another.”
[There is so much TRUTH here. We all just want to BELONG, but we’re pushing each other away &staying in our echo chambers.]
•
“Not enough of us know how to sit in pain with others. Worse, our discomfort shows up in ways that can hurt them and reinforce their own isolation. I’ve started to believe that crying with strangers in person could change the world”
•
“An experience of collective pain does not deliver us from grief or sadness. It is a ministry of presence. These moments remind us that we are not alone in our darkness, and our broken heart is connected to every heart that has known pain since the beginning of time.”
•
“When you are grateful for what you have, you understand pain. The more we diminish our own pain or rank it compared to what others have survived, the less empathic we are to everyone.”
leannaaker's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, who needs a therapist when you have Brene Brown and her books? Not being flippant.
glitterbomb47's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Some parts were amazing, quite a bit was meh.
cestelaine's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
The name dropping became too much in this one. I love her research and the ideas she presents are great - but none of the ideas actually contained in here are her own ideas. She lacks cultural development in what she speaks about and her approach is easy if you’re a socio-economically privileged white person. For many people, who are fighting bigger daily battles against systems that oppress them, what she offers is simply not practical.
There’s another layer that she never seems to go to and it’s all very navel-gazing of the issues that impact our divided communities.
Cute but deeply lacking.
The name dropping became too much in this one. I love her research and the ideas she presents are great - but none of the ideas actually contained in here are her own ideas. She lacks cultural development in what she speaks about and her approach is easy if you’re a socio-economically privileged white person. For many people, who are fighting bigger daily battles against systems that oppress them, what she offers is simply not practical.
There’s another layer that she never seems to go to and it’s all very navel-gazing of the issues that impact our divided communities.
Cute but deeply lacking.
dorothy_gale's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting cross-section of ideas. The author lures you in with a story from her childhood, and keeps you lured with her research findings. She touches on organizational culture, the Seahawks' Pete Carroll, and has a GREAT Maya Angelou story. I'm curious about her other books now. It had me wonder whether "reaching out" is the most important skill we can teach and model in the current global and political climate. She also talks about emotional safety. And "having a strong back and soft front" when our reactive nature has us put up an armored front.