BOOK OF THE MONTH: february 2019
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
By Brené Brown
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
ABOUT THE BOOK
In this book Dr Brené Brown, a researcher-storyteller and thought leader on vulnerability, courage, worthiness and shame, shares ten guideposts on the power of Wholehearted living - a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness.
When our embarrassments and fears lie, we often listen to them anyway. They thwart our gratitude, acceptance, and compassion—our goodness. They insist, “I am not worthy.” But we are worthy—of self-discovery, personal growth, and boundless love.
With this game-changing bestseller (which Forbes recently named one of the ‘Five Books That Will Actually Change Your Outlook On Life’) we learn how to find the courage to overcome fear and self-consciousness and strengthen our connection to the world.
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WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK by TONI
That TED Talk (see below). This is how I first ‘met’ Brené Brown (along with 30+million other people) and I instantly fell in love with her no-nonsense approach to self-love, courage, compassion and connection. She’s a clever researcher and professor with a huge heart who combines some quite spiritual ideas with hard facts and her own struggles to create hilarious and life-changing stories about what it means to be human.
The key theme of this book - letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are - is something I really need to learn and understand more in my own life. And helping people to accept, like, love, respect and be kinder to themselves is the reason that Shelf Help exists so this is exactly the kind of book I love sharing.
It’s the best place to start, according to the woman herself, who recommends anyone new to her work to read this book first!
What IS WHOLEHEARTED LIVING?
Brené says: “Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating 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. It’s going to bed at night thinking, Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belong.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOr
Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation – Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work.
She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, and her latest book, Dare to Lead, which is the culmination of a seven-year study on courage and leadership.
Brené’s TED talk – The Power of Vulnerability – is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world with over 35 million views.
Brené lives in Houston, Texas with her husband, Steve, and their children, Ellen and Charlie.
“How much we know and understand ourselves is critically important, but there is something that is even more essential to living a Wholehearted life: loving ourselves.”
Brené’s FAMOUS TED TALK: The power of vulnerability
get the book
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
We’ll be sharing quotes, exercises and questions for discussion throughout the month on Instagram and Facebook.
Toni will be hosting a ‘Virtual Book Club’ Live Chat for members of the private Facebook group on Monday 18th February at 8pm (let us know if you’re interested in joining HERE).
Come along to a real-life meetup, always held on the last Monday of the month (Mon 25th February 2019). And if there’s no meetup in your area yet and you want one, then let us know so we can try and include in our roll out plans.