I know the freedom of belonging everywhere and nowhere at all. I know what it means to stand alone and brave the criticism, fear, and hurt.

I want the payoff for braving the wilderness to some kind of ritual or symbol that says, I’m part of this wild heart club. I wish there was a secret handshake for the wild heart club. You are only free when you realize you belong no place-you belong every place-no place at all. “In an interview with Bill Moyers that aired on public television in 1973, Dr. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.”

It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. Brown writes, “The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. And that path cuts right through the wilderness. It’s a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts.”īrown offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and each other. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others it’s a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. But in a culture that’s rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it’s easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism.

She writes, “True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary.

With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.”īrown argues that we’re experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection, and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenges everything we believe about ourselves and each other. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. “Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives-experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy.

Brene brown i am the wilderness