“Rising Strong” is the third in a series of recent books Brene Brown has written about the importance of vulnerability and authenticity in one’s life. Here she once again synthesizes her years of research, innate understanding of human behavior, and personal stories into a highly readable, relatable, and actionable self-improvement book.

In her earlier works, Brown references the times in our lives when we will all feel like failures, either personally or professionally. In “Rising Strong” she digs deep into that space between failure and recovery – the “Act 2” as she calls it – because she sees it being glossed over in our culture:

“On a cultural level, I think the absence of honest conversation about the hard work that takes us from lying face down in the arena to rising strong has led to two dangerous outcomes: the propensity to gold plate grit and a badassery deficit…We much prefer stories about falling and rising to be inspirational and sanitized…We like recovery stories to move quickly through the dark so we can get to the sweeping redemptive ending.”

With examples from her research and her own life, Brown outlines several case studies of people who spent a lot of time in “Act 2”, and the strategies they used to do the hard work required to really get back up and go on. She breaks these into three sections: Reckoning (recognizing something is wrong and getting curious about one’s own feelings); Rumble (reality-checking our first response to a problem and digging deeper); and Revolution (fundamentally transforming your story).

As I reviewed my notes from the book I realized that I had probably highlighted more sections in this book alone than I had in many other books combined. The material is completely engaging and her style is honest and authentic. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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I wanted to like this book more than I did. I mean, it was okay... but I wanted to be blown away.

Brene Brown is a household name. Like millions of others, I adored her TED talk and her Netflix talk - and every other talk I've ever seen her give. RISING STRONG is the first book I picked up by her, and I settled in expecting to walk away with some incredible nuggets of wisdom, information, and insight. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

While Brown writes with honesty and vulnerability, she comes across as surprisingly unlikeable in this book: self-centred, self-indulgent and haughty, with a chip on her shoulder. She attempts to explain this behaviour through numerous stories, but I still came away thinking this wasn't a person I'd want to sit down and have coffee with. And that, more than anything else, really surprised me. I'll try another of Brown's books at some point, but I'm in no hurry to dive into her backlist. ( )

Brené writes for me. I am sure. I wondered if there could be more to say about vulnerability, shame, connection, and worthiness after reading [b:The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are|7015403|The Gifts of Imperfection|Brené Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1369092544l/7015403._SX50_.jpg|7261277] and [b:Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead|13588356|Daring Greatly How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead|Brené Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1337110319l/13588356._SY75_.jpg|19175758]. There is so much more.

As I study loss in relation to life transitions for my own book, I encounter many writers who share insight and wisdom. While much of what Brené says is not completely new, her approach is singularly refreshing. This is especially so for Rising Strong as she unfolds personal experiences to illustrate her research.

She is relatable and occasionally raw in the way that makes me know she is real. Yes, I laughed out loud as she shouted, "Holy shit!" Context is crucial.

Here's another library book that I must now replace with a personal copy. Happy dilemma.

January 2021: Grounding and affirming and as wise and timely as the first read. ( )

Transformative. This book is a way with handling emotions that come up in life.

4.5! Love Brene Brown! ( )