Daring Greatly

Psychology

Print length: 287 pagesGotham Books, 2012

Description

Drawing on twelve years of research into shame and vulnerability, Brené Brown challenges the belief that emotional exposure is a sign of weakness. She argues that uncertainty, risk, and openness are unavoidable conditions of courage, creativity, engagement, and meaningful connection. The book examines the defenses people use to avoid being seen—among them perfectionism, emotional numbing, and the pressure to appear invulnerable—and considers what those strategies cost. Brown applies her argument to intimate relationships, parenting, difficult family conversations, workplaces, schools, and creative efforts. Combining research with practical reflection, Daring Greatly asks readers and institutions to replace cultures of shame and self-protection with habits that make honesty, trust, and responsible participation possible.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Conversational · Direct · Essayistic

Pace

Moderate

Tone

Earnest · Hopeful · Intimate · Reflective

Structure

Argumentative

Focus

Argument · Ideas · Relationships

Emotional intensity

3 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 2 / 5
Ideas: 3 / 5
Structure: 2 / 5
Background knowledge: 1 / 5

Themes

BelongingCommunityFamilyIdentityTransformationWork

About Brené Brown

Brené Brown is an American academic and author whose work brings research on shame, vulnerability, courage, and worthiness to a broad readership. A professor in social work and management, she moves between personal psychology, relationships, and organizational life, treating emotional openness as a practical capacity for connection, creativity, and leadership. Her characteristic method combines research synthesis, interviews, and case studies with personal experience, conversational explanation, and exercises readers can apply. The Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly establish her sustained critique of perfectionism and defensive self-protection, while Dare to Lead carries the same questions into workplaces, where curiosity and difficult conversation matter more than performed certainty. Atlas of the Heart extends this project through careful distinctions among emotions, showing how a more precise vocabulary can support self-understanding and communication. Brown’s distinctive contribution is to translate social-work research into clear, usable language for experiences that are intimate but widely shared.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Gotham Books
Language: English
ISBN: 9781592407330

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