I have a longer review on my blog where I discuss some of the specific bits that did or did not resonate for me, I don't want to post all that here so I'll share my brief summary review and you can read more here if you want!

SUMMARY REVIEW
I LIKED
- Developing shame resilience is worth examining.
- Illuminated where I run up against shame in my life, and some anecdotes from her participants did strike a cord.
- It’s an easy read.

I DIDN’T LIKE
- Very US American in examples and anecdotes. The UK culture of shame is quite different.
- Much discussion of the struggle of mothers and shame, with the child free shame barely referenced. This triggered a degree of shame in me.
- Not sure how I can action on the findings in this book. ( )

I found this book to be refreshing and eye opening. I look forward to reading more of her books! ( )

Solid, centering, and ever engaging. I'm a huge fan of Brené Brown, her writing and research. My self evolution finds so much fuel and foundation in her work and wisdom.

I'm sure I've read this book in the past, but didn't include it on Goodreads; it was that long ago. But here's the thing—I really want to hear Brené reading the book herself.

A voice carries so much meaning and conveys a thousand shades of nuance. Something about this reader created a sense that, yes, she's a good reader, but she doesn't connect with the content on a consistent basis.

Please, please make another recording with the writer reading this powerful work. ( )

Understanding shame, empathy, triggers, critical awareness, reaching out, the culture of blame, disconnection, and creating a culture of connection are all within this book. This book is priceless. ( )

Definitely not the book for me. I suspect there's some really good advice and counter-behaviors and -cognition for coping with shame in this, but Ms Brown defines shame so narrowly that I don't really fit her audience. ...And since I ended up skimming most of the latter half of the book because it was advising me to do stuff I already do, I probably don't experience shame in a way her research can help with.

Shame, she explains, is believing you deserve the feeling of worthlessness, hatred, contempt, etc. others (and you) level at you for something you do, think, say, or are. If you don't believe you deserve it—if instead you feel outrage or frustration or hurt or indignation—what you're experiencing is humiliation. (If you acknowledge those feelings might be rooted in some bad behavior, but that behavior doesn't make you a bad person, you're experiencing guilt, which can apparently be helpful to motivate you toward improving yourself.) What I experience, and dread, is definitely humiliation. And while I hoped this book would give me some assistance in being more resistant to that feeling, and more willing to risk instances when I might feel it, no such luck.

Humiliation, I think, can be just as paralyzing as Brown's depiction of shame, and so I can't help but wonder if, as well-founded in anecdotal research as her work is, it's too rigid in its framework, too bound by her own experiences and philosophies and perspectives. Certainly, there were moments when I felt her interpretation of the emotions in a scene wasn't quite accurate, and I outright flinched at some of her suggestions on expressing empathy. (Please don't ever respond to my expression of hurt or fear or guilt or humiliation with the words, "What can I do to help?" I guarantee you that instead of feeling you're on my side, I'll feel you want to rush me to the conclusion of my emotional crisis, the part where everything's fixed and you can stop feeling awkward and uncomfortable as I express pain.)

In any case, the quest to find a book to address the humiliation question continues! In the meantime, I hope this book proves helpful to those who do experience shame. ( )