The Gifts of Imperfection
by Brené Brown
Brown's ten guideposts for wholehearted living, cultivating authenticity, self-compassion, resilience, gratitude, intuition, creativity, play and rest, calm, meaningful work, laughter and song, come from her research on shame. It is personal, warm and short, and it introduced the ideas her later books expanded.
Read it if…
you want the compact, personal introduction to her work before the longer books.
Skip it if…
you want tactics; this is reflection and permission.
Three things you will actually use
- Let go of what people think; practice authenticity.
- Rest and play are not rewards for work.
- Talk about shame; it loses power in the open.
Do this first
Choose the guidepost you resist most and do one small act toward it this week.
Our verdict
Short, kind and foundational; a good first Brown.
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Provocative and freeing; a philosophy book disguised as self-help.
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