“Braving the Wilderness” by Brene Brown is a fairly short book, but a powerful one. The message at the heart of the book is to be brave in your personal beliefs and stand by your truth even when confronted by fear or pressure to be someone you are not. The “wilderness” in this book is not the literal wilderness (as I was expecting when I initially decided to read this book), but rather the wilderness of life. When you are brave enough to belong wholly to yourself and strong in your convictions that you don’t need approval or recognition from anyone but yourself, then you have traversed the wilderness. It is not an easy journey – Brown outlines numerous examples from her own life and the stories of others – but she asserts it is a path we must all make in our own way to be fulfilled.

Apart from the core message of this book about belonging to yourself, there is another message I found unique and satisfying. Brown acknowledges that today’s world is very politically and ideologically divided. People define themselves by their political or religious beliefs now more so than ever in the past. These tribes can be damaging, both to those who find themselves on the outside and those who happen to be on the inside. We subconsciously surround ourselves with people and ideas that are already like our own. This is not brave, and it is not fulfilling. Brown urges us to be brave in respectful dialog with people different than ourselves. Dialog and discussion should not be heated. It is okay to disagree, but it is so important to be able to HEAR the other person. I enjoyed reading Brown’s words about this subject because I think they are not discussed enough. Having civility and respect for our fellow humans does not mean we have to conform to their beliefs. Overall, an enjoyable and important read.

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Created Apr 26, 2020 at 2:09pm • Submit your own review...