The Gifts Of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

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The author references a lot of other researchers and their work. Their conclusions were some of the more insightful parts of the book.

Because the nature of the book, this review turned out be more like a summary than a review, and it ended up being much longer than I expected. Thank you for reading! I'm a knowledge geek who definitely approaches everything head-first. This is often a very successful way to interact in the knowledge society, particularly those of academia and medicine, but lends itself to certain deficits that have become obvious as I work through some caregiver burnout and moral injury. SO POWERFUL!!! ----> “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy – the experiences that makes us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of light." Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen." Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation – Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work. Brené is also a visiting professor in management at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.True. Talking about what makes you a 'shameful person' really frees you and often helps you see that you are not alone. To love someone fiercely, to believe in something with your whole heart, to celebrate a fleeting moment in time, to fully engage in a life that doesn’t come with guarantees – these are risks that involve vulnerability and often pain. But, I’m learning that recognizing and leaning into the discomfort of vulnerability teaches us how to live with joy, gratitude and grace.” the main message here is: Let go of your insecurities,expectations, shame, guilt, discomfort. Happy people are happy because they make themselves happy, they are the ones who think of themselves as worthy of love. you're IMPERFECT Embrace it.

Sufficiency isn't two steps up from poverty or one step short of abundance. It isn't a measure of barely enough or more than enough. Sufficiency isn't an amount at all. It is an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and that we are enough.” It bothered me that throughout the book that the author kept talking about the years and years of qualitative research she had performed (the basis for all of her conclusions) and yet she does not include one single story, case study, interview, or even anecdote from all this research. Instead, only her personal stories serve to make her points. Sometimes they work and sometimes not so much. At each chapter I was hoping for more illustrative examples to help me understand the author's point.For example, research on the attributes that we associate with "being feminine" tells us that some of the most important qualities for women are thin, nice, and modest. That means if women want to play it totally safe, we have to be willing to stay as small, quiet, and attractive as possible.