Solidarity Sister!
Solidarity Sister!
Gifts of Imperfection - Book Review | Ep 52
There's a little announcement in this episode, as well as my glowing review for Brené Brown's Gifts of Imperfection. Learn more about what it is about, and why you should read it.
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If you're a woman who appreciates connecting with other women in community with vulnerability and compassion, please join us in the Solidarity Sister! Facebook group at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/716800349946338/
The Solidarity Sister! Book Club has begun and runs through the end of May. We're reading Brené Brown's Gifts of Imperfection over a period of 15 weeks, and connecting via Zoom and Marco Polo. Find more info in the FB group. Sign up at https://forms.gle/ZHpfhd8hwCpw6NL2A
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Hello and welcome to another book review episode of Solidarity Sister with Kristin Wilson, where we continue on in our quest to cultivate our community building skills and lean into meaningful friendships. Self care and self love are at the heart of community building. So we're also exploring how to care for ourselves so we can better connect in relationships. We weren't meant to do life alone and I'm so glad you're here to do life with me. You guys, I have some news. After two and a half plus years of listening to audiobooks like a crazy person, I mean, we're talking probably 380 audiobooks a year, I have gone in a new direction. Life has thrown me some really unexpected turns lately, and I have responded by doubling down on getting close to God and close to my family. Even though I had a rule for myself that I only listened with one airpod in. I know there are times I wasn't as connected to my people as I could have been. I also know that by always listening to something in one ear, I was not giving much space for God to speak to me. So while I don't think that audiobooks are a vice by any stretch, I find myself coming into a season of prioritizing connection, and that means being fully present as much as possible. I'm also on my phone less. And have left home without it three times in the last couple of weeks, something I would have never done before. So for the time being, I'm still going to be doing book review episodes, but I'll be choosing from some of my favorite past reads, the ones that have stayed with me long after I finished them. Them, and I may still introduce a new read here and there, because I haven't given up audiobooks completely. Today I'll be sharing about Brene Brown's Gifts of Imperfection. This is the book we've been discussing in our Zoom book club. From the Amazon description of the 10th Anniversary Edition, New York Times Bestseller,This 10th Anniversary Edition of the game changing number one New York Times Bestseller features a new foreword and new tools to make the work your own. For over a decade, Brene Brown has found a special place in our hearts as a gifted map maker and a fellow traveler. She is both a social scientist and a kitchen table friend, whom you can always count on to tell the truth, make you laugh, and on occasion, cry with you. And what's now become a movement all started with the Gifts of Imperfection, which has sold more than 2 million copies in 35 different languages across the globe. What transforms this book from words on a page to effective daily practices are the 10 guideposts to wholehearted living. The guideposts not only help us understand the practices that will allow us to change our lives and families, they also walk us through the unattainable and sabotaging expectations that get in the way. Brene writes, this book is an invitation to join a wholehearted revolution, a small, quiet grassroots movement that starts with each of us saying, my story matters because I matter. Revolution might sound a little dramatic, but in this world, choosing authenticity and worthiness is an absolute act of resistance. This is the book that I come back to again and again when I'm feeling bad about myself in almost any way. Brene talks about how her research essentially left her feeling undone because she'd come to understand some tough truths, and after sitting on them for a while, She started acting on them and was really blessed by the results. And that's what I find with this book every time I return to it. There are nuggets of things where I recognize areas where I can make shifts and improve the quality of my life and the quality of my relationships. These 10 guideposts give info on what to cultivate and what to let go of. I love how the to dos and the to don'ts line up together. So here are the 10 guideposts. Number one, cultivating authenticity, letting go of what people think. Number two, cultivating self compassion, letting go of perfectionism. Number three, cultivating a resilient spirit, letting go of numbing and powerlessness. Number four, cultivating gratitude and joy, letting go of scarcity and fear of the dark. Number five, cultivating intuition and trusting faith, letting go of the need for certainty. Number six, cultivating creativity, letting go of comparison. Number seven, Cultivating play and rest, letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self worth. Number eight, cultivating calm and stillness, letting go of anxiety as a lifestyle. Number nine, cultivating meaningful work, letting go of self doubt and supposed to. Number 10, cultivating laughter, song and dance. Letting go of being cool and always in control. So, should you read this book? Yes. Yes, you should. I honestly believe every single person on the planet could benefit from this one. It is really one of my top three favorites of all time. And with the amount of books I have read and listened to, that is actually kind of meaningful. I have been so grateful to go through it with others during these last several weeks in this Zoom book club because I really needed a review and it has blessed my life immensely. I want to live my life from a space of wholeheartedness. It isn't easy, but it is totally worth it. And like anything, all of these guideposts get easier with practice. This episode is dropping late because May. I am also finishing the edits for our regular Wednesday interview episode, which should still come out sometime today. This interview is with Jeni Brockbank and it is all about healing from betrayal trauma. If you haven't experienced this yourself, I guarantee you know someone who has. So lean in to hear about how community empowers healing in this sphere. Thank you for being part of the Solidarity Sister community. We needed you.