The Gifts of Imperfection: 10th Anniversary Edition: Features a New Foreword and Brand-New Tools (paperback) Paperback – 10 Mar. 2022

What a fabulous book! Amazon did not fail to deliver on time and well packaged. This was recommended to me by a friend who had seen this lady on Oprah Winfrey Show. I have been teaching for a short time 'Life Tools' to older women who are looking to progress in their lives. All our messages through being young women are that we are never quite good enough, whether you are mum; a wife; a career woman or just trying to be you. And what is wrong with that? Ditch the labels. All women seem to put so much pressure on themselves to be the person others want to see. This book enlightens the soul and accept our imperfections, which believe me is part of our journey. This is what we all talk about rather than our destination. Always! I do recommend this book to all my ladies and to you the Amazon reader and salute the writer Brene Brown for having the guts to face up to her own issues in order to write this. We are perfectly imperfect and you will not be disappointed as the language was written for all. Please mum's give this to your teenage sons and daughters, so that they do not fall into lifestyle traps.

A rather enchanting explanation of how we can move out of our own way and to live a more fulfilled and 'wholehearted' life and tell our own 'story' backed by research and evidence.I think what enhances this book for me is the feeling of 'that makes sense' when concepts are explained and that often when conflict arises its not always someone else's fault but caused by judgment and fear on your own part.As someone with self-doubt, the following struck a particular spot for me:"Overcoming self-doubt is all about believing we're enough and letting go of what the world says we're supposed to be and supposed to call ourselves" (p 115).Its not a long book, its not instructive, just informative and helpful and an enjoyable read in my opinion.

This is the first self-help book I thoroughly enjoyed. Not only does the author define concepts like guilt, shame, self-worth she also shows you how to deal with and practically apply those concepts in real life (which most self help books lack). It also tells you how to lead a positive life without all the unicorn and rainbow crap you see in other self-help books.It's a good book to go back to, because everytime you read it something new sinks in! Like an 'ahaa' moment.I would definitly reccomend this purchase.

I don't say "life-changing" very often especially when it comes to self-help books, as there is so much dross out there. However, Brene Brown's book is an amazing revelation. I am one of those people who's a chronic perfectionist and has always struggled with just being real, being me, feeling that this is enough. My coach recommended this book around the same time that a friend sent me a link to Brene Brown's TEDx Talk on the subject of vulnerability & shame (highly recommended - google it!).Her style of writing makes it feel like she's a friend telling you all of this fascinating stuff over a coffee. Her work is heavily research based so I have no doubts about its validity - and the real kicker is that not only is (was) she a perfectionist herself but her research led her on this journey of discovery which resulted in a "breakdown" and a total realigning of her values and ideas about self-worth and feeling "I am enough". I've always found most texts on self worth etc to just fail to hit the mark, but Brown's book hit me between the eyes; perhaps the time in my life was perfect and I was ready to receive the message. I've already had some amazing results having embraced the idea of imperfection and vulnerability, in terms of having some very real, very close friendships develop.So to summarise the last paragraph, as well as being research-based, she backs this up with her own experiences, as well as countless experiences of other people who've posted to her website/blog.Where the book fell short of expectations (only a little), is that I don't feel it does quite enough to help the reader figure out how to apply it to their lives. Brown divides the book up into 10 "guideposts" (sub-concepts, basically) and at the end of each guidepost chapter she gives a kid of an exercise to make you think about how you can apply it (sometimes using her own examples of how she achieves this). But I found these a bit brief and was left wanting more "how-to". Maybe I'm lazy, or expecting too much, but I was kinda hoping for a little more instruction/direction. That said, perhaps I'm being naive - perhaps it simply isn't feasible or possible to do that, because each person is unique, and so are their circumstances.One of the most subtle but fundamental effects this book will have on you, is that by the end of it you will feel like you know Brene Brown, that you see her as a vulnerable imperfect lovely person whom you could meet randomly by chance and have a great conversation with, a real honest conversation with no b.s. and no pretence. But that is not the fundamental subtle effect I'm talking about - what I'm saying is that this nice feeling towards her, is an implicit demonstration of how vulnerability and imperfection and being real, are the very qualities that foster better & deeper connections with other human beings. Her book is one giant demonstration of how her own honesty and courage make her a wonderful person - she leads by example time and time again and this is what makes this book incredible - she didn't just research & publish something, she lived it and breathed it, then had the courage to include her very personal experiences in the book. This I feel is leading by example, and inspired me to have the courage to drop the b.s. pretence and be myself.If you buy this book, bear in mind that you will have to read it twice. Why? Because the first time you read it, you'll be pretty riveted and won't want to stop reading to take notes or write down any ideas you have about how to apply it to your own life. I plan to read it a second time and to write a page or so of bullet-points, things to apply to daily life. The concepts are of course going to be new to many of you, so don't be surprised if you don't get it at first. As in all areas of life, breakthroughs are often preceded by confusion!I'd like to see a 2nd edition of this book come out some day with some more specific methods of applying this. That said, Brene Brown has had a major impact on me and I'm very grateful for it - I really think her work could change a lot of peoples' lives.

This is an amazing book - an absolute must read for anyone on the journey of soul-searching and on the path of growth. An absolute gem of a book. It brought about so many deep realisations on many levels while reading and listening to it. A rare book in the crowded market of personal development which truly helps in personal, emotional and spiritual growth. I resonated with the author at so many levels! When I downloaded the sample and read through the first page, I felt as if Brene Brown was telling my story - I immediately knew I had to read it.I also bought the audiobook as I find the best way that works for me is by listening to it first and then quickly reading through the book and highlighting the most profound sections and taking notes in the Kindle so I can come back to it when I need to.Cannot recommend highly enough!

It is worth a read if you haven't read Brene's first book. Like may successful writers, we have another person writing the same book 2 to 4 times. Its hard to find anything new in the books to follow. There is a lot or repetition. I had to keep jumping forward. However if you haven't read one of her books, you are in for a treat. Brene Brown has done excellent work on shame research. A neglected topic in our society that is definately worth exploring. Do read a book or 2 but not more unless you really love it so much! Enjoy!