Available instantly

Audiobook
$0.99
with membership

Hardcover
$10.38

Paperback
$9.47

$14.99 with 17 percent savings

Print List Price: $18.00

Promotions apply when you purchase

Sold by Random House LLC. Price set by seller.

Add an

audiobook with Audible narration for $7.49

Audiobook Price: $11.81

Save: $4.32 (37%)

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand AloneAmazon Videos

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

VIDEO

Follow the author

Brené Brown

Follow

Braving the Wilderness: Reese's Book Club: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone Kindle Edition

by Brené Brown (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

14,474 ratings

Editors' pick Best Nonfiction

See all formats and editions

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • 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 Imperfection

Don’t miss the five-part Max docuseries Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart!

“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.”

From the Publisher

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone

	Atlas of the Heart	Dare to Lead	Rising Strong	The Gifts of Imperfection: 10th Anniversary Edition

Customer Reviews	20,733	21,450	11,207	42,789
Price	$17.74	$15.40	$9.41	$12.98
	Brené Brown writes, “If we want to find the way back to ourselves and one another, we need language and the grounded confidence to both tell our stories and be stewards of the stories that we hear. This is the framework for meaningful connection.”	Brené Brown taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, & brave the wilderness. Based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, & culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up & lead.	Brené Brown taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, & brave the wilderness. Based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, & culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up & lead.	In hardcover for the first time, this tenth-anniversary edition of the game-changing book features a new foreword and brand-new tools to make the work your own.

WARNING: California’s Proposition 65

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Brené Brown’s Rising Strong

“[Brown’s] research and work have given us a new vocabulary, a way to talk with each other about the ideas and feelings and fears we’ve all had but haven’t quite known how to articulate. . . . [She] empowers us each to be a little more courageous.”—The Huffington Post

“It is inevitable—we will fall. We will fail. We will not know how to react or what to do. No matter how or when it happens, we will all have a choice—do we get up or not? Thankfully, Brené Brown is there with an outstretched arm to help us up.”—Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why and Leaders Eat Last

“With a fresh perspective that marries research and humor, Brown offers compassion while delivering thought-provoking ideas about relationships—with others and with oneself.”—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston, where she holds the Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair at the Graduate College of Social Work. She also holds the position of visiting professor in management at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. Brené has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is the author of six #1 New York Times bestsellers and is the host of two award-winning podcasts, Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead. Brené’s books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and her titles include Atlas of the Heart, Dare to Lead, Braving the Wilderness, Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection. With Tarana Burke, she co-edited the bestselling anthology You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience. Brené’s TED talk on the Power of Vulnerability is one of the top five most-viewed TED talks in the world, with over 60 million views. Brené is the first researcher to have a filmed lecture on Netflix, and in March 2022, she launched a new show on HBO Max that focuses on her latest book, Atlas of the Heart. Brené spends most of her time working in organizations around the world, helping develop braver leaders and more courageous cultures. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Steve. They have two children, Ellen and Charlie, and a weird Bichon named Lucy.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

ONE

Everywhere and Nowhere

When I start writing, I inevitably feel myself swallowed by fear. And it’s especially true when I notice that findings from my research are going to challenge long-held beliefs or ideas. When this happens, it doesn’t take long before I start thinking, Who am I to say this? Or, I’m really going to piss people off if I call their ideas into question.

In these uncertain and risky moments of vulnerability, I search for inspiration from the brave innovators and disrupters whose courage feels contagious. I read and watch everything by them or about them that I can get my hands on—every interview, every essay, every lecture, every book. I do this so that when I need them, when I’m living in my fear, they come to sit with me and cheer me on. Most important, while watching over my shoulder, they put up with very little of my bullshit.

Developing this process took time. In my earlier years, I tried the opposite approach—filling my mind with critics and naysayers. I would sit at my desk and picture the faces of my least favorite professors, my harshest and most cynical colleagues, and my most unforgiving online critics. If I can keep them happy, I thought, or at the very least quiet, I’ll be good to go. The outcome was the worst-case scenario for a researcher or a social scientist: findings that were gently folded into a preexisting way of seeing the world; findings that carefully nudged existing ideas but did so without upsetting anyone; findings that were safe, filtered, and comfortable. But none of that was authentic. It was a tribute.

So I decided that I had to fire those naysayers and fearmongers. In their places, I began to summon up men and women who have shaped the world with their courage and creativity. And who have, at least on occasion, pissed people off. They are a varied bunch. J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books I love so much, is my go-to person when I’m struggling with how to introduce a new and strange world of ideas that has only just emerged from my research. I imagine her telling me: New worlds are important, but you can’t just describe them. Give us the stories that make up that universe. No matter how wild and weird the new world might be, we’ll see ourselves in the stories.

The author and activist bell hooks comes to the fore when there’s a painful conversation happening around race, gender, or class. She’s taught me about teaching as a sacred act and the importance of discomfort in learning. And Ed Catmull, Shonda Rhimes, and Ken Burns stand behind me, whispering in my ear, while I’m telling a story. They nudge me when I become impatient and start skipping the details and dialogue that bring meaning to storytelling. “Take us with you into that story,” they insist. Countless musicians and artists also show up, as does Oprah. Her advice is tacked to the wall in my study: “Do not think you can be brave with your life and your work and never disappoint anyone. It doesn’t work that way.”

But my oldest and most steadfast counselor is Maya Angelou. I was introduced to her work thirty-two years ago when I was studying poetry in college. I read her poem “Still I Rise” and everything shifted for me. It contained such power and beauty. I collected every Angelou book, poem, and interview I could find, and her words taught me, pushed me, and healed me. She managed to be both full of joy and unsparing.

But there was one quote from Maya Angelou that I deeply disagreed with. It was a quote on belonging, which I came across when I was teaching a course on race and class at the University of Houston. In an interview with Bill Moyers that aired on public television in 1973, Dr. Angelou said:

You are only free when you realize you belong no place—you belong every place—no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.

I can remember exactly what I thought when I read that quote. That’s just wrong. What kind of world would it be if we belonged nowhere? Just a bunch of lonely people coexisting. I don’t think she understands the power of belonging.

For over twenty years, whenever that quote popped up in my life, I felt a rush of anger. Why would she say that? That’s not true. Belonging is essential. We must belong to something, to someone, to somewhere. I soon realized that the anger came from two places. First, Dr. Angelou had come to mean so much to me that I just couldn’t stand the thought that we disagreed on something so fundamental. Second, the need to fit in and the ache of not belonging was one of the most painful threads in my own life. I couldn’t accept the idea of “belonging nowhere” as freedom. Feeling like I never truly belonged anywhere was my greatest pain, a personal suffering that threaded through most of my pre-adult life.

It was in no way my liberation.

Experiences of not belonging are the time markers of my life, and they started early. I attended pre-K and kindergarten at Paul Habans Elementary on the west bank of New Orleans. It was 1969, and as wonderful as the city was and still is, it was a place suffocated by racism. Schools had only become officially desegregated the year I started. I didn’t know or understand much about what was happening, I was too young; but I knew that my mom was outspoken and tenacious. She spoke up a lot and even wrote a letter to the Times-Picayune challenging the legality of what today we’d call racial profiling. I could sense that energy around her, but to me, she was still just a volunteer in my homeroom and the person who made me, herself, and my Barbie matching yellow plaid shift dresses.

We had moved there from Texas, and that had been hard for me. I desperately missed my grandmother, but I was eager to make new friends at school and around our apartment complex. It quickly got complicated, though. Homeroom lists were used to determine everything—from attendance records to birthday party invitations. One day my mom’s room-mother partner waved the list in front of my mom’s face and said, “Look at all of the black kids on here! Look at these names! They’re all named Casandra!”

Huh, my mom thought. Maybe this explained why I was being left out of so many of my white friends’ parties. My mom goes by her middle name, but her first name is Casandra. My full name on that homeroom list? Casandra Brené Brown. If you’re African American and reading this, you know exactly why white families weren’t inviting me over. It’s the same reason a group of African American graduate students gave me a card at the end of the semester that said, “OK. You really are Brené Brown.” They had signed up for my course on women’s issues and almost fell out of their chairs when I walked to my desk at the front of the classroom on the first day of class. One student said, “You are not Casandra Brené Brown?” Yes, ma’am. It’s also why, when I walked into a job interview for a part-time receptionist at a doctor’s office in San Antonio, the woman said, “You’re Brené Brown! Well, what a pleasant surprise!” And yes, I walked out of the interview before we sat down.

The black families were welcoming to me—but their shock was noticeable when I walked through the door. One of my friends told me I was the first white person who had ever been inside their house. That’s hard to wrap your head around when you’re four years old and you’re really there for pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and to eat cake with your friends. As simple as belonging should be in kindergarten, I was already struggling to understand why I felt on the outside of every group.

The next year we moved to the Garden District so my dad could be closer to Loyola, and I transferred into Holy Name of Jesus. I was an Episcopalian, which made me one of the only non-Catholic students in my school. Turned out I was the wrong religion, yet another wedge between me and belonging. After a year or two of sitting out, being called out, and sometimes being left out, I was sent to the office, and arrived to find God waiting for me. At least that’s who I thought it was. It turned out to be a bishop. He handed me a mimeographed copy of the Nicene Creed and we went through it, line by line. When we were done, he handed me a note to take home to my parents. The note read, “Brené is Catholic now.”

Still, things were relatively good for the next couple of years as I started to get into the groove of my new life in New Orleans, mostly because I had the best BFF in the world—Eleanor. But then came a bunch of big moves. We left New Orleans for Houston when I was in fourth grade. Then we left Houston for Washington, D.C., when I was in sixth grade. Then we left Washington when I was in eighth grade and moved back to Houston. The normal turbulence and awkwardness of middle school was magnified by perpetual “new-girl-ness.” My only saving grace was that during all of these transitions, my parents were in a good place and getting along. This meant that despite the turbulence around me with ever-changing schools, friends, and adults, home was safe. It even felt like a refuge from the pain of not belonging. When all else failed, I belonged at home, with my family.

But things started to break. That last move back to Houston was the beginning of the long, miserable end to my parents’ marriage. And right on top of that chaos, there were the Bearkadettes.

When we moved back to Houston at the very end of eighth grade there was, thankfully, just enough time to try out for the high school drill team, called the Bearkadettes. This was to be my everything. In a house that was increasingly filled with the muffled sounds of my parents arguing, heard through the walls of my bedroom, that drill team was salvation. Just picture it: lines of girls in white-fringed blue satin vests and short skirts, all of them wearing uniform wigs, white cowboy boots, small white cowboy hats, and bright red lipstick, strutting into high school football stadiums filled with crowds afraid to leave their seats during halftime lest they miss the high kicks and perfectly choreographed routines. This was my way out, my new, pretty, impeccably ordered refuge.

Eight years of ballet was plenty to get me through the task of learning the routine, and a two-week liquid diet got me through the brutal weigh-in. All of the girls swore by the cabbage soup and water diet. It’s hard to think of letting a twelve-year-old go on a liquid diet, but for some reason it seemed normal.

To this day, I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted anything in my life more than I wanted a place on this drill team. The perfection, precision, and beauty of it would not only offset the growing turmoil at home, but also deliver the holy grail of belonging. I would have a “big sis” and she would decorate my locker. We’d have sleepovers and date football players. For a kid who had seen Grease forty-five times, I knew this was the beginning of a high school experience that included sudden, spontaneous sing-alongs and the 1980s version of sock hops.

And most of all, I would be a part of something that literally did everything together in lockstep. A Bearkadette was belonging personified.

I didn’t really have any friends yet, so I was on my own for tryouts. The routine was easy to learn—a jazzy number performed to a big band version of “Swanee” (you know, the “how I love ya, how I love ya” one). There was a lot of sliding with jazz hands and an entire section of high kicks. I could kick higher than all of the girls except one dancer named LeeAnne. I practiced so much that I could do that routine in my sleep. I still remember parts of it today.

Tryout day was terrifying, and I’m not sure if it was my nerves or the starvation diet, but I was lightheaded when I woke up, and I stayed that way after my mom dropped me off at the school. Now, as the mother of a teen and a tween, it’s a little hard to think of how I had to walk in by myself, surrounded by groups of girls who were piling out of cars and running in together, holding hands. But I soon realized I had a bigger problem than walking in alone.

All of the girls—and I mean all of the girls—were made up from head to toe. Some were wearing blue satin shorts and gold shirts, and others had blue and gold tank tops with little white skirts. There was every iteration of blue and gold bows that you could imagine. And they were all in full makeup. I had on no makeup, and I was wearing gray cotton shorts over a black leotard. No one had told me that you were supposed to get decked out in school colors. Everyone looked so bright and shiny. I looked like the sad girl whose parents fight a lot.

I made the weigh-in with six pounds to spare. Even so, the sight of girls stepping off the scale and running into the locker room weeping traumatized me.

We wore numbers safety-pinned to our shirts and danced in groups of five or six. Lightheaded or not, I nailed the routine. I felt pretty confident when my mom picked me up and I went home to wait it out. They would post the numbers later that evening. Those hours in between moved in slow motion.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06XFLFSRY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House (September 12, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 12, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 7.2 MB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 179 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B0D6ZN316Z

Best Sellers Rank: #84,723 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #19 in Social Sciences Research
- #56 in Social Psychology & Interactions
- #69 in Interpersonal Relations (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
14,474 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Brené Brown

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston, where she holds the Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair at the Graduate College of Social Work. She also holds the position of visiting professor in management at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.

Brené has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is the author of six #1 New York Times best sellers and is the host of two award-winning Spotify podcasts, Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead.

Brené’s books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and her titles include Atlas of the Heart, Dare to Lead, Braving the Wilderness, Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection. With Tarana Burke, she co-edited the best-selling anthology You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience.

Brené’s TED talk on the Power of Vulnerability is one of the top five most-viewed TED talks in the world, with over 50 million views. Brené is the first researcher to have a filmed lecture on Netflix, and in March 2022, she launched a new show on HBO Max that focuses on her latest book, Atlas of the Heart.

Brené spends most of her time working in organizations around the world, helping develop braver leaders and more-courageous cultures. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Steve. They have two children, Ellen and Charlie, and a weird Bichon named Lucy.

Customer reviews

14,474 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Review this product

Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find this book to be a short read that provides profound insights, with one customer noting how it fills gaps in their self-awareness journey. The writing style receives mixed reactions, though many find it wonderfully written. They appreciate Brene Brown's approach and her ability to connect readers with others on a deeper level. The book receives positive feedback for its authenticity, with one customer highlighting how it helps readers stand alone in their integrity.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

Authenticity Brene brown Compassion Connection Writing style Print quality

73 customers mention "Authenticity"70 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the book's authenticity, describing it as an incredible work of truth with solid content and nice explanations of managing it.

"In true Brené fashion, she shares a hard truth in a captivating manner!..." Read more

"...It is about trusting others and self-trust. She calls this her wilderness checklist. Gaining this trust is about: • Boundaries...." Read more

"...From the first several pages, I was impressed by how honest it is. No BS- just straight to the point...." Read more

"...perspectives are presented you sense the author is honest and authentic due to a personal story included to illustrate her point...." Read more

24 customers mention "Brene brown"24 positive0 negative

Customers love Brene Brown and find her books engaging, with one customer noting her research is intriguing and another appreciating her accessibility.

"Brene Brown is accessible. She takes some complicated theory and uses everyday stories to explain...." Read more

"...Overall, very powerful findings, and Dr. Brown's tenacity shines and grabs the reader throughout." Read more

"...Brené Brown is inspiring!..." Read more

"Brene' Brown is always remarkable. I'd probably read a grocery list she wrote and find something inspirational...." Read more

23 customers mention "Compassion"23 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's compassionate approach, noting its humanity and courage, with one customer highlighting its inclusive message for all readers.

"...It is about how to be brave, kind, and good--no matter what your faith or lack of faith--and of dealing with the fractionalization of our country..." Read more

"...It has something for everyone, and at a minimum, will provoke some thoughts and some discussions to have." Read more

"...Humanity, healthy uncertainty, and the substance of ongoing growth inform her voice...." Read more

"...and let's honor its complexity with truth, courage, love and kindness...." Read more

23 customers mention "Connection"23 positive0 negative

Customers find the book helps them connect with others more deeply, covering the longing for true connection. One customer mentions it provides new insights into better communication styles.

"...inspiration to me to life more authentically and to be able to connect with others in deeper and braver ways...." Read more

"...It felt the most relatable, connectable, and helpful of them all...." Read more

"...you tools to navigate tough conversations and a path forward to reconnect with friends and family...." Read more

"...be vulnerable, to protect others who are vulnerable, and to create real connections. Be yourself. Thank you, Brene Brown." Read more

65 customers mention "Writing style"41 positive24 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book, with some finding it wonderfully written and noting that the author writes like she talks, while others find it preachy.

"Here's what I loved about this book: Brene Brown's writing style and overall message that it's harder to hate people up close and when we choose to..." Read more

"...I just can't make the words come out, and writing the review terrifies me, and makes me feel a little ill...." Read more

"...If you love a good book, you know this is true. This book has had me laughing, and crying...." Read more

"...Her writing feels so authentic because of her commitment to enter the fray and to try to practice the concepts she shares. This book is no exception...." Read more

10 customers mention "Print quality"0 positive10 negative

"...Its typographical errors (see photos: missing space after comma, Ellenand as one word, invitarions for invitations) are at odds with Brene Brown's..." Read more

"...wanted to give this as a gift to a friend, however, was disappointed by the quality of print and translation in this UK published version so I'm..." Read more

"Not as awesome as her book The Gifts of Imperfection." Read more

"...She also seems to contradict herself. This book is either poorly written or just not the right for me." Read more

Reviews with images

See all photos

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

O. Merce Brown
Brene Brown's Best Book So Far--For Every Reader
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2017
Verified Purchase

*****
Like all of Brene Brown's books, this one is life-transforming. I would recommend that everyone--everyone--read each book of hers, in order, and this one last, as it is the culmination of all of the other books. But even better, buy this book, read it, go back and read the others and then read this again! This is the best of all of her books, as well as a prescription for being alive now, of being a citizen, a human being, a kind and caring and loving person--now--at this time in history. It is about how to be brave, kind, and good--no matter what your faith or lack of faith--and of dealing with the fractionalization of our country and of moving towards a re-humanizing (as opposed to dehumanizing) of our communities and families and other relationships, of transforming conflict in brave and true ways.

The book's theme is "true belonging", which the author defines as: "...the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging doesn't require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are." This might sound a bit unusual, but the book unfolds this idea in beautiful ways that truly will appeal to every reader--no matter what your ideology (including religious and political), no matter what your race, gender, or background.

Read this book; I cannot convey in a review how much it has the potential to change your life for the better. I read it yesterday and today in two sittings and am going back again and again to the writing, the ideas, and the inspiration to me to life more authentically and to be able to connect with others in deeper and braver ways.

Highly recommended.
*****

Read more

772 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
The Tate Family
Let’s be Brave together!
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2025
Verified Purchase
In true Brené fashion, she shares a hard truth in a captivating manner! Braving the Wilderness has helped me understand some of my own feelings of being in the wilderness. I so courageously want to stand strong Braving the Wilderness! Thank you for a remarkable book.

Read more

Helpful

Report
Gingerbread
A clumsy review, from someone who didn't expect this book to matter....
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2017
Verified Purchase
I've been staring at the computer screen for about 10 minutes now, trying to start this review, and having no idea how to do so. I just can't make the words come out, and writing the review terrifies me, and makes me feel a little ill. You see, I didn't buy, or read this book because I know the author or her work. I did both because the content sounded interesting, and because I needed my next big review. Yes, I read this book so I could review it, which is where the ill part enters. I started working toward being an Amazon Top 1000 reviewer about a year ago. Not because I really cared about the rank...it was just a goal. Something intangible I could work toward. And I chose it, because sad though it is, my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are the last place in this entire world where I am willing to communicate, in any capacity, with other human beings. They're all I have left.

I live a sad life. I have no friends and I'm lonely... So lonely that as I type this I feel like crying, even though I accepted this as my reality a long time ago. I cancelled facebook two years ago. I lost my last real friend three years ago. I struggle to call and make appointments because it requires talking to strangers, and for this reason I also can't go to the grocery store, or the gas station, or any other list of a hundred places that normal people go to have normal lives.

You see, I decided five years ago that I was done with fitting in, and that I'd rather be lonely and alone, than to continue immersing myself in a world I found caustic.

Everywhere I looked people seemed to be shouting, trying to make their voices heard. The most recent clever story on facebook. The most wittily stated opinion. I didn't see kindness, I saw intolerance and rudeness. I saw people ripping each other down through the medium of social media because they didn't have to look that person in the face, and see how their comments hurt them. Then I watched as that attitude seemed to make people less tolerant in the real world as well. I wanted no part of it anymore. From that point on I was standing alone, and that was that. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as the years have passed, I've cut myself so far off from humanity that it feels like I'm the only person left in my world. It hurts, SO much, but I don't know how to undo it. I don't know how to go back.

At least...I didn't. I know this review is already too long, and all I've done is clumsily muddle my way through it—attempting to express something I don't even know if others will understand. This is frustrating for me, because I don't want to talk about myself, and doing so is terrifying, particularly after so many years of silence. But I didn't know how else to express the impact this book had on me, without first talking about how much pain I've been in, and how nefarious my reasons for reading it in the first place. I got the "standing alone" part down pat. I did that years ago. The part I couldn't find, that maybe I'd never have found on my own, is the part where I know how to belong to something again. Join the world. Feel a connection to life and humanity.

I cried just about the entire duration of this book. I got it because it sounded "interesting", but I feel like it opened up a hole in the side of my sad little world. I didn't think it would apply to me, but it's changed my life. I expected to write an honest, clinical review discussing its contents from a dispassionate point of view. But instead, here I am, still clumsily attempting to convey my feelings in the hopes that some part of this review might encourage even one other person to read this book.

Everyone should read this book. Everyone who wants to stand alone, but still belong. Everyone who already is alone, and wants to be a part of something again. Everyone who is tired of a humanity that is separated. Give it a shot. If nothing else, get the sample chapters, and see if there's something in it that might speak to you.

And if my review is clumsy, I sincerely apologize. Please don't let that turn you off from the book. It changed my life, and I think it can do as much for many.

EDIT: It's been 6 months since I wrote this review, and when I said this book changed my life, it did. Oh, how it did! I got into therapy. I've made some friends who share my interests, and even many of my anxieties. I no longer feel lonely or threatened. If anyone out there struggles as I did, please know that help is available, and change is possible. All it takes is one moment that changes all other moments. For me, that was this book! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all of you who have supported me, and supported each other. Humanity is far more wonderful than I once believed!!!

Read more

10,759 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

hgk
"Vulnerability is not weakness" – Terry Crews
Reviewed in Brazil on February 22, 2018
Verified Purchase

Essa leitura é quase como um desconfortável dicionário que define algumas palavras-chave no tema da psicologia social. Debate temas atuais que muita gente vai se reconhecer.

A autora começa com sua história de infância, que tiveram certos arrependimentos e traumas que a levaram ao caminho de ser uma pesquisadora no tema de vulnerabilidade. Qualquer trauma que nós temos é custoso e difícil de suportar, mas a história do livro nos faz sentir, ao menos, acolhidos. Isso tudo nos faz pensar que ela teve de se expor publicamente ao mundo para contar sua história, e que essa forma de se expor é doída, que exige que passemos pelo obstáculo da vulnerabilidade.

O que endossa a leitura é que, além dos traumas de infância, o mundo atual parece estar numa crise espiritual coletiva: os nossos descontentamentos por conta de endividamento, obesidade, vícios, medicamentos, terrorismo e polarização política com discurso de ódio que indicam essa espiritualidade enfraquecida.

Então usamos alguns escudos para evitar o reconhecimento dessa crise, usamos máscaras e entramos em culturas de "fitting-in" para fazer parte de algo maior do que nós. Mas é justamente nessa hora de mitigar os sentimentos de dor, vergonha e medo que também enfraquecemos os sentimentos de alegria, orgulho, gratidão e senso de suficiência.

Dessa forma, a autora incentiva para nosso mundo contemporâneo os valores de coragem, vulnerabilidade e do "eu" autêntico.

Algumas belas palavras que são definidas no livro: vulnerabilidade, civilidade, espiritualidade, paradoxo; falso dilema, besteira (bullshit).
Todas essas definições são tão bem feitas que nos fazem abaixar o livro sobre o peito, olhar para cima e começar a pensar um pouco no que acabamos de ler.

----------------------
Mídias Sociais
O livro apresenta opiniões ambíguas sobre Facebook e outras mídias, mas de certa forma agradece essas plataformas.
Segundo o livro, a mídia social pode funcionar como um catalisador, que te ajuda a se aproximar das pessoas. Mas nada substitui o encontro cara-a-cara para nos conectarmos.

----------------------
Pontos Negativos
O livro é curto, é uma continuação dos outros trabalhos da autora, e o livro não dá pistas sobre como nós devemos fazer essa transição para um eu autêntico, um estado que é muito difícil de se alcançar.

----------------------
Frase Marcante
"So if we love the idea of humankind but people in general are constantly on our nerves, and we can't cover everything we don't like in leather so as not to bare it, how do we cultivate and grow our belief in inextricable human connection internally? The answer that emerged from my research shocked me. Show up for collective for collective moments of joy and pain so we can actually bear witness to inextricable human connection. Women and men with the strongest true belonging practices maintain their belief in inextricable connection by engaging in moments of joy and pain with strangers. In simpler terms, we have to catch some of that lightning in a bottle. We have to catch enough glimpses of people connecting to one another and having fun together that we believe it's true and possible for all of us."

----------------------
Para quem tiver interesse no assunto pode começar não com os livros de Brené Brown, mas com o seu TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

Read more
Report
Translate review to English
BINDY
Arrived in good condition
Reviewed in Japan on January 6, 2025
Verified Purchase
Haven't read it yet but looking forward to getting into this book when I have time.

Read more
Report
beth lamb
JJJJJ!!! Elle le fait de nouveau
Reviewed in France on December 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
J'adore les livres de Brené Brown. Elle est honnête et franche. Pour résumer son livre assez brièvement, il s'agit de rester fidèle à ses opinions et ne pas chercher l'approbation des autres. C'est souvent un endroit très solitaire (d'où le mot "wilderness") mais aussi.......quand on ose être vraiment soi-même, il y a un prix à payer. Totalement agréable à lire - je me retrouve quand elle explique que lors d'une conference, elle était censée porter un ensemble très sage (tailleur noir - chaussures noires etc) et elle a decide de ne pas suivre les consignes, et a mis ses bottes cowboy, T-shirt et jeans pour donner un discours sur l'authenticité.

Je n'hésiterai pas à recommander ce livre - à ceux/celles qui n'osent pas avouer leur homosexualité, leur "difference", leur droit d'être eux-mêmes. En tant que femme plus mûre, j'existe aussi, meme si la société voudrait me mettre dans une case de grand-mere gentille (et pas offensive!!!).

Ses avis sur les armes sont très intéressants - elle possède une arme et donne son avis très haut et fort sur l'utilisation correcte.

Yoopeee!!!!!! Une femme en plus, qui parle VRAI.

Read more
Report
Translate review to English
Diana
DAVVERO INSPIRING
Reviewed in Italy on January 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
Libro che consiglio a tutti, davvero utile ad assumere atteggiamenti di cambiamento positivo.

Read more
Report
Translate review to English
Lau
Being true
Reviewed in Mexico on November 8, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book was such a wake up call to stand up for when we believe in .. For being true ourselves and do what's right and just . But the most important message , be kind to one another , reach out and connect to the people around us.

Read more
Report

Follow the author

Braving the Wilderness: Reese's Book Club: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone Kindle Edition

Customers who bought this item also bought

From the Publisher

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

Videos

Videos for this product

About the author

Brené Brown

Customer reviews

Review this product

Customers say

Select to learn more

Images in this review

Reviews with images

Brown inspires you to connect with others while remaining true to yourself

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

5.0 out of 5 stars Brene Brown's Best Book So Far--For Every Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Let’s be Brave together!

5.0 out of 5 stars A clumsy review, from someone who didn't expect this book to matter....

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars "Vulnerability is not weakness" – Terry Crews

5.0 out of 5 stars Arrived in good condition

5.0 out of 5 stars JJJJJ!!! Elle le fait de nouveau

5.0 out of 5 stars DAVVERO INSPIRING

5.0 out of 5 stars Being true

Report an issue

Brene Brown's Best Book So Far--For Every Reader

Let’s be Brave together!

A clumsy review, from someone who didn't expect this book to matter....

"Vulnerability is not weakness" – Terry Crews

Arrived in good condition

JJJJJ!!! Elle le fait de nouveau

DAVVERO INSPIRING

Being true