We Love: Brené Brown

Brené Brown

You may have heard of Brené Brown - a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work she has spent the last two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers, and the host of the weekly Spotify Original podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead.

Her 20 years of research is now presented in the Netflix documentary Call to Courage.

Brené write this on her website:

My team and I receive emails every week from people asking “If I’m new to your work, where do I start? Which book do I read first?”

Here’s how I think of the progression of my work:

The Gifts of Imperfection—Be you.
Daring Greatly—Be all in.
Rising Strong—Fall. Get up. Try again.

I offer brief overviews of my work at the start of Daring Greatly and Rising Strong, but reading The Gifts is always a good place to start. The 10th Anniversary hardback edition of The Gifts and the new audiobook (imperfectly read by me) launched on September 8th, 2020.

Dare to Lead is putting Daring Greatly and Rising Strong into practice at work. It’s tactical, actionable, and great for team/group/org reads. There are free downloadable workbooks and tools on our Dare to Lead Hub.

Braving the Wilderness is a book about belonging in a polarised culture and it stands on its own. You can read it anywhere in the progression. 

I Thought It Was Just Me was my first book and is a deep dive into women and shame. If you’re looking for detailed information on women and shame, I still recommend starting with The Gifts then moving to I Thought It Was Just Me.

If you’re looking primarily for a book on courage and vulnerability, or you want something that talks about applying “the work” at work – start with Daring Greatly.

If you’re looking for a “I-was-brave-and-got-my-heart-broken-or-my-ass-kicked” book – well, first, thanks for being brave. Courage is contagious even when there are hard endings. Second, I would start with Daring Greatly then get to Rising Strong ASAP. Daring Greatly will remind you that your vulnerability was courage and Rising Strong will give you some ideas about how to deal with all of the stories we make up and keep on a loop when we’re dusting ourselves off.

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