#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A timely and important book that challenges everything we think we know about cultivating true belonging in our communities, organizations, and culture, from the #1 bestselling author of Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of ImperfectionLook for Brené Brown’s new podcast, Dare to Lead, as well as her ongoing podcast Unlocking Us!REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK … ongoing podcast Unlocking Us!
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“True belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are.” Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, MSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives—experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.
Brown argues that we’re experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection, and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenge everything we believe about ourselves and each other. She writes, “True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that’s rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it’s easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others; it’s a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. It’s a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts.” Brown offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and to each other. And that path cuts right through the wilderness. Brown writes, “The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.”
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I’ve been really into reading non-fiction this year, and this one has been one of my favorites so far! It’s a fantastic look at what it means to truly belong instead of just fitting in. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
As always a great thought-provoking read from Brene. If you are willing to see things from another angle and have your perspectives challenged or widened then you just might find this book worth your time.
I found this book to be insightful, encouraging, and accessible. I think her subject is one with which we all struggle, basically being true to ourselves in al situations. I think her ideas for combatting our own unique battles being true to and/or maintaining integrity as who we truly are was written in a very understandable and usable way. I am giving Braving the Wilderness five stars, as I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t benefit for Ms. Brown’s book.
This is a wonderful read and great for someone is trying to make the best version of themselves. I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of her books. It has really helped me put things into focus and give me a secure direction.
A very talented researcher / author shares her brilliant work!
My first Brene Brown book – and it was worth every penny.
I have watched Ms. Brown on Podcasts, Ted Talks, etc., and sometimes I forget she’s an author not a dry-humored comic. Personally, I think she is hilarious, perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea because she pulls no punches. Those who are not ready to look in the mirror and take a hard stance at the root of their issues, likely won’t mesh with what Ms. Brown has to say.
“Courage is forged in pain, but not in all pain. Pain that is denied or ignored becomes fear or hate.”
“True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.”
“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path.”
“I can confidently say that stories of pain and courage almost always include two things: praying and cussing. Sometimes at the exact same time.”
I will [and did] pick up another Brene Brown book.
Another great book by Brené Brown.
Why we choose belonging over honoring our personal truth. Once you understand…it is so much easier to commit to change.
Ms. Brown writes on a specific topic and each book simply expands on this topic
I love Brene Brown’s work, and she could base her next book on the Houston phone book and I’d probably read it.
It’s perhaps one of the deepest and most carefully hidden human needs. Belonging.
In the societal climate we inhabit today, fulfilling this need can sometimes feel impossible, especially when coupling that with the Herculean task of standing up for what we believe in. How is it possible to do both? It’s one paradox among many that the author explores in this timely and honest peek into the history and continuing evolution of human nature.
I am not an avid consumer of nonfiction, but the back-cover blurb and premise spoke to me in a way that could not be ignored any longer. If I’m being honest, this was, at times, a difficult book for me to read. I am an emotional reader. I enjoy being pulled into prose or narrative so that it envelops me. There were countless moments of that emotional immersion, but there were also facts and numerical data to support the theories. This is a good thing as it supports the author’s research and position, but it did disrupt that emotional connection at times.
However, I have never earmarked and written down as many passages in a book than I did with this one. While it feels as though this book was written and published with the political divisiveness in the United States as a backdrop, everything shared between the covers is timeless, in my opinion.
The most empowering chapter, bar none, that resonated with me on a deep level was “Hold Hands. With Strangers.” The idea of collective effervescence is not only eloquently worded, it is even more beautifully and passionately shown through the examples Ms. Brown provides from her own life.
Braving the wilderness, both the title of the book and the philosophies it suggests between its covers, contains ideas that every single one of us can learn at least a little from, and I suspect a whole lot more.
It’s not so much about acting brave or wild. It’s about “being” those same things in a world that sometimes seems to discourage it. Be brave. Be wild. Have heart. We are all inextricably connected through the human spirit. What we need most, right now and at every point in our human existence, is to continue searching for and finding ways to reconnect with each other.
Something everybody should read.
This book gets more and more timely as each day passes. While this isn’t directly related to my own writing, in that it’s not about humor or itself humorous fiction, it’s indirectly related to the heart of my stories, and directly related to life.
Brené Brown is a Wonder Woman of the emotions, and I just love her. Some of her other books, like Daring Greatly and Rising Strong are wonderful for a perfectionist like me and so many others, but Braving the Wilderness is applicable to anyone and everyone.
The book focuses on what it will take, in her expert professional opinion, to bridge the growing ideological and political divide in this country and around the world. (Those familiar with my Jessica Christ series will understand why this is of major interest to my writerly sensibilities.)
The fact that she not only presents viable solutions and explains how each of us can do our part and “brave the wilderness” by avoiding being sucked further and further into our ideological “bunkers” is as invigorating as it is liberating. It’s easy to despair about some of the things happening in the world right now, but think about if you could help just one person you care about who is acting outside of his or her integrity see the light?
I can’t imagine anyone could read this book and not be changed by it. I hope you give it a chance.
Good, relevant content. Just A bit too brief. I found myself wanting more, but not in a “oh my god, it was so good, I can’t wait til the next one comes out” kind of way but more like a, “wait, that’s it?” kind of way. I love Brene’s work, but this one either should have included more content or lowered the price to $12 or less.
Classic Brene!