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This week’s post is a slight departure from my norm, although it is just as witty as ever (or perhaps even more so).

Here’s why. I recently finished Brené Brown’s Rising Strong. My therapy clients have been talking about her since her first widely circulated book, The Gifts of Imperfection, written in 2010. Every so often they would ask if I ever read her books and I always replied with “No, but I understand that she writes about shame.” My client would typically respond with “You’ve got to read this. It is incredible!” Leaving the shamed part of me wanting to respond, “Well why don’t you go see her for therapy then?”

Eventually though, I watched her TED talks and royally pronounced them worth watching. She is a good speaker, funny and keeps your attention. So then, when clients would ask, “Do you know Brené Brown’s books?” I felt comfortable saying that I had seen her TED talks and thought she seemed to know what she was talking about (less than ringing endorsement, perhaps some issues still there Dr. Van Meter?).

But I digress. If you don’t know who she is, Brené Brown, PhD, is a professor at University of Houston Graduate School of Social, author of several books, including three New York Times best sellers and has one of the most watched Ted talks in history. She’s kind of a big deal, as they say.

Recently however, Rising Strong was a book choice for a leadership group I am part of, so I decided now would be a good time to see what all the fuss was about.

I have to say, I really like her writing. Perhaps more than really like. After listening to her latest book, I was like a little kid giddy about a new bike. I’ve been showing everyone I know and encouraging them to get her books. Audible has this program where you can send someone a book and if they are new to audible, the book is free so I was sending it to a bunch of people saying “You’ve got to listen to this. It is incredible!”

Surprisingly, Brené Brown does not need my endorsement. She seems to be doing just fine on her own and I am just a little old psychologist in the Chicago area. And, as a psychologist, I am familiar with the precepts she is writing about. What I so appreciated though, was how she took those concepts, integrated them with her research, interspersed her life examples and presented an easily understandable explanation of how shame, as well as the family and social culture we grew up in, is perhaps the most powerful force shaping how we relate to the world around us, AND the world inside our heads.

Suffice it to say, I think she nailed it and as a leader, you could benefit from her books.

If you’re short on time, go with Rising Strong. It is the third in her series of 3 (The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly and Rising Strong). She summarizes the first two briefly in Rising Strong so you can get the gist and then enjoy her latest offering.

[reminder]

P.S. If you aren’t an Audible subscriber yet, send me your email to [email protected] and I’ll send you the link for her audible book, Rising Strong, for free (This offer ends August 31, 2016).

P.P.S. If you are so excited you want to order her books from Amazon, you can click each title here: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly and Rising Strong (These are affiliate links).

P.P.P.S. And Brené, if you’re reading this, give me a call, I’d love to chat.

 

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