In her latest book, Brené Brown writes, “If we want to find the way back to ourselves and one another, we need language and the grounded confidence to both tell our stories and to be stewards of the stories that we hear. This is the framework for meaningful connection.”

In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances - a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.

Over the past two decades, Brown’s extensive research into the experiences that make us who we are has shaped the cultural conversation and helped define what it means to be courageous with our lives. Atlas of the Heart draws on this research, as well as on Brown’s singular skills as a storyteller, to show us how accurately naming an experience doesn’t give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding, meaning, and choice.

Brown shares, “I want this book to be an atlas for all of us, because I believe that, with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves.”

Includes a downloadable PDF of illustrations from the book

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Listening Length

8 hours and 29 minutes
Author

Brené Brown
Narrator

Brené Brown
Audible release date

February 14, 2022
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B0979HG8R3
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	8 hours and 29 minutes
Author	Brené Brown
Narrator	Brené Brown
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	February 14, 2022
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0979HG8R3
Best Sellers Rank	#18 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #1 in Emotional Self Help #1 in Emotions #2 in Social Psychology

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4 star		8%
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2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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BlueSkies

A Comforting But Misleading Consumable That Obscures a More Important Message

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2021

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"Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience" is giftable and physically substantial. The book is weighty; the thick, glossy pages are photo book quality. My copy even smelled sweet. Like all Brene Brown books, throughout it, you'll find many passages and memorable lines worth pondering because Brene Brown has a remarkable gift for turning a phrase. The cartoon illustrating how not to "tap out" during a difficult conversation is helpful. (It is exactly what you'd find in a college-level Interpersonal Communication text book.)

The reason for my 2-star review is that "Atlas of the Heart" fails to provide the guidance about "meaningful connection" that it promises. Essentially, the book is premised on the belief that ordinary people, non-researchers, don't know how to name their emotions, nor do they know how to recognize them. And so, the book is filled with short instruction on 87 emotions. Each instruction begins with Brene Brown's definition of a term. It is followed by something along the lines of "You THINK you know what X is. What I have learned is Y."

You THINK you know what disappointment is, or grief, or gratitude, or belonging or surprise or curiosity. But no. You don't. So here is the correct definition, and here is the correct way to think about your experience. And this "Atlas" will provide the guidance you need. The reason to read it: "With an adverturous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves. Even when we don't know where we are."

Fundamentally, the book is saying, You don't have to go out and be in the world with other people to learn about any of this, you merely read the book and believe that Brene Brown and her research team is correct. And then your learning is done. This is a problem with all self-improvement books, but "Atlas of the Heart" is especially egregious because the promise is that the book will help you connect with others more meaningfully. It does not deliver on that promise. There is almost zero proof in the book that anyone who used Brene Brown's definitions of the emotions and her instruction changed their lives in any meaningful way. Often Brene Brown concludes a passage with "This is how I want to live." After five best sellers, she's still searching and searching for the right formula. If you belong to the "Always Seaching" tribe and want a book that will help you make a long aspirational list of how you want to live, then this book might be for you. But if you aspire to do more than read books and make aspirational lists, consider investing your time and money elsewhere.

The central problem with this book is that Brene Brown makes EVERYTHING in life so hard when it is not always that hard. For example, about curiosity she writes "Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because it requires us to surrender to uncertainty. We have to ask questions, admit to not knowing, risk being told that we shouldn't be asking, and sometimes, make discoveries that lead to discomfort."

In certain contexts, she's right. In certain contexts, like going up against a powerful person or group who benefits from the truth being obscured, then, yes, curiosity is a risk and your questions and discoveries will threaten the status quo. For sure, you will be vulnerable to criticism and you will probably experience scapegoating. Curiosity is very threatening to people in power who want things to remain the same. When you are curious about things that people in power and authority are doing, you ought to expect discomfort. You ought to anticipate and weigh the risk.

But to define the experience of "curiosity" the way Brene Brown does is to ignore three quarters of the human experience in which curiosity is a function of a healthy human mind. Curiosity is NOT "choosing to be vulnerable." It is exercising a natural human ability that has led to the most beautiful music, painting, sculpture, architecture, theatre, dance and design. A better message would be: Do the very opposite of "surrendering" to uncertainty. Go be curious with a group of people who have each other's backs.

The number of times words like "surrender" is used is hugely problematic. It is the recipe for even more vulnerabilty. It increases the demand for more books by Elizabeth Gilbert, Brene Brown and other advice-givers. Our problem in our culture is how rarely anyone advises us "Go do X with a group of people who have each other's backs."

"Atlas of the Heart" is dangerous because it claims to provide "the Language of Human Experience." It offers a view of human experience as Brene Brown experienced it -- as a child who grew up with alcoholism, projection, excesses, and hurt after hurt. Tenuous friendships ended because her family relocated so many times. No one had her back until she married her awesome husband Steve. Brene Brown believes that this experience of life is what the experience of human life is for everyone. Everything is hard. Writing the book was so hard. Living up to expectations is so hard. Curiosity is so hard.

Isn't it time to point out that not everything in life leads potentially to discomfort or to hurt? Not everything requires this much thinking, analyzing, researching, sorting, coding, defining, puzzling, introspection or self-disclosure. Not everything leads to so much potential exposure and vulnerability. Again and again.

When are we ever going to learn that a balanced and happy life can not be found in some kind of written "Atlas" (filled with academic research and an experts' definitions) that depicts life as endlessly difficult but then magically leads to a better life and more meaningful connection?

Readers already know what disappointment is, or grief, or gratitude, or belonging or surprise. This book is helpful in that it adds depth to our ways of perceiving and understanding our experiences, and it will improve readers' ability to discern one type of experience from another, but the amount of hype surrounding this book obscures a much more important message. The person you need in your life is not Brene Brown. The person you need is the person who has your back, and you have theirs. Find that person (or ideally persons) and make your own map of the world together.

Surprisingly, this is exactly what Brene Brown did. What is remarkably different about "Atlas of the Heart" as compared to Brene Brown's five best-sellers is not the look and feel of this book. What is remarkably different is that for the very first time ever she openly acknowledges from the start the people who helped her and had her back.

In the past, Brene Brown presented herself as the lone researcher, holed up alone coding the data, and then alone on the stage facing criticism. Her husband Steve and her therapist Diane were the only ones named as people who were there for her consistently. Yet, in this book, on page xxvi, she includes a photo of the nine therapists who helped her identify the set of emotions most important to be able to name. She then acknowledges Dr. Ronda Dearing and writes "I couldn't have done this work without her." In the past, this would have appeared in the "Acknowledgements" section. By moving this information about her process up front, Brene Brown is suggesting the recipe for a better life. With the right people, our lives are better, our work is better, things turn out to be, as she puts it "an amazing experience!" So it took her a long, long time to learn how to find the people to take the journey with.

The one take-away from the book that is truly helpful is that whatever work we are doing (including the work of parenting) is less hard and is more amazing when we're with people we can trust and can turn to. I hope that in the interviews and the promotion for the book Brene Brown will shift the discourse from what she ~alone~ did to write the book and what she ~alone~ hopes that the book will achieve to what she and her colleagues did to write the book and what they together hope the book will achieve.

There is an important message for the 21st century suggested in the book: With an adverturous heart and ~the right people~ we can travel anywhere and experience less hurt, less uncertainty, less risk, less shame, less distress, and more meaningful connection. In the ideal world, this "Atlas of the Heart" would be the last self-improvement book anyone would purchase. First order of priorities: do what Brene Brown did and find your people. Have each other's backs. Then go out and experience life as it can be: amazing.

After five best sellers, after searching and searching for the right formula, Brene Brown finally found it. It wasn't what her publisher contracted her to write about. It didn't fit the self-improvement-by-reading paradigm. Good for her for putting it up front instead of in the "Acknowledgements." We don't need more granularity around our emotions, more distinguishable pieces around our emotions. We need each other.

3,013 people found this helpful

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Dr. Caitlin Faas

Don't use this book against yourself

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2021

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I love Brene Brown and I respect her research. But I used to be a brain on a stick. If I read this book three years ago, I would have soaked it up and declared that I needed to put more language around my feelings. I would have forced myself into using more words for emotions. But that's exactly the opposite of what I needed.

To really embody my emotions, I needed to drop the language. I needed the terms "open" versus "closed" to start. I needed a trained facilitator to point out that I was tensing up when I didn't realize it. I needed tacit knowledge, not more words. More words only kept me up in my brain.

So while I respect what this book is trying to do and understand it may help others, if you already over-intellectualize things like I do - skip this book. Go DO the somatic / embodied work instead of reading more about it.

629 people found this helpful

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Tomas Milo

A Textbook for Being Human

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2021

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Brené Brown has been one of the most important teachers in my life, so I’m biased in this review. Her books have taught me about myself and helped me traverse the daily struggles of being human. Her podcasts have introduced me other teachers that have helped me too. She has been my gateway to studying about and hopefully becoming a better human, and for that I will always be grateful to her. Her books are always a resource I go back to when I need them. Her books give me the language to help me understand my hard feelings and experiences. I’ve passed on this knowledge to the students in my class and have seen how this knowledge helps children as well. So, I’ve been excitedly anticipating this book, since it was announced. I am not disappointed.

This is a beautiful book and exceeded my expectations. The first thing I noticed was the size, it’s a little wider than her other books. Then I was excited because it’s in color. The layout and design of each page was thoughtful. The addition of pictures and diagrams add meaning and tone to the emotions, strategies, and research being shared.

I appreciate the set-up of table of contents. Each chapter is listed with a title Places We Go … followed by the experiences and emotions that will be discussed. This gives you the ability to choose your own adventure. You can read it in order or go to where you need some knowledge. It also helps with rereading and making your way back to something you want to be reminded of. 87 emotions and experiences are a lot, and they’re written concisely so you can spend a small amount of time reading and still walk away with some new learning. Lastly, the Cultivating Meaningful Connection section at the end of the book is a useful and actionable guide to using Brené’s research to improve how you interact with yourself and others.

This book is like a textbook for being human and a resource that I plan to come back to. It is written in Brené’s authentic, comforting voice. As I read it, I hear her voice in my head like we are in conversation. I did wish that some parts were expanded, but this is a manageable useful book the way it is. Also, what I’ve learned about Brené is that this book does not end her research or conversation on these topics. They will come up on her podcasts, her research will continue, and the learning will never stop.

118 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Shuh

A roadmap to a better self, not a book of answers, only you have answers with the provided map.

Reviewed in Canada on December 5, 2021

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Lets be open about how I see Brene Brown. I have read all her books, many twice. For those who know her other material you know you are going to cry at some point. Those tears have always been about connections gained, lost or missed.

I have purchased this book in its physical form which is well worth it because of the nature of its layout. I have now purchased it on kindle for the purpose of further study and portability. However also for the the additional purpose of leaving a review. I want to leave a review because I see other reviews that are completely missing the point. This book is a map not a book of answers. Maps represent possibility it is up to you if you want to go on the adventure. Your individuality and uniqueness make it impossible to find direct answers as to what you require to become whole. You have to use the map and be willing to go on the journey.

Now about the crying…

Brene is getting closer to truths. The other books two or three good bawls each. This one I am now only one sixth completed and already have surpassed all the others.

I am in the journey, following the map. It is scary, painful, but in a certain way provides the elation of freedom after going through the pain.

Thanks to Brene and her team for this.

I have now finished the book over a two day read marathon. My opinion of the content has not changed. Still very positive. As noted this becomes your own personal journey, I found it worthwhile and will re-read the book again very soon. Yes, I found it that important.

An interesting thing about the physical book and all it’s emotional content I found myself stroking the book and pages as if to make a connection with the book. The physical form of the book makes it a worth while purchase. The layout of the book creates a connection of sorts with the content of the book. I don’t have answers about this, I just found it interesting.

I wish you well on your own journey.

115 people found this helpful

MrsG

A true gift!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2021

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Everyone of all ages should read this book. Giving language and voice to our emotions, creating empowered conversations. Such an informative and easy to understand book to read. Very beautiful cover and illustrations inside. I work within early years and understand the importance of giving all access to an understanding of emotions and experiences, so it can be communicated to others.

25 people found this helpful

kathy maloney

Absolutely amazing and transformative

Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2021

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This is my favourite book ever. Brené explains emotions in a way I've never experienced, and I've been on my path to know myself for 30 years, worked in social services for 25 years and had 3 kids, sold everything I own and travelled for 3 years, got married and moved to a foreign country, thinking I am living my dream and so wise. Wow, I have been looking in the wrong direction. I've been looking 'out there' to belong and have recognition. It is revolutionary to see 'helping' as not really helping and how I have not really listened when I thought I was so great at it. Love and attachment was a huge eye opener. Humbling to say the least and at the same time I feel energized and excited about shutting the hell up and honouring others.
Read this book. No, ingest this book, devour this book and open up to find a space inside to let it sit and simmer.
Thank you Brené. You have changed 'me'. I just finished it and I am ready to begin to read it again.

31 people found this helpful

Kym Hamer

Good but too disjointed for me...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2022

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I am a fan of Brown's research, philosophies and speaking and have gotten a lot from her books Daring Greatly and Rising Strong so I'm surprised to find myself disappointed in Atlas of the Heart.

It's a beautiful-looking book but it felt disjointed and throughout lacked a cohesive thread upon which to build the 'story'. The chapters were divided in a way that didn't flow for me (her other writing flows really well I think) and while there were great nuggets throughout, I thought that the whole narrative could have been tied together better to create a 'journey' rather than a series of places.

7 people found this helpful

Allison Whyte

Disappointing

Reviewed in Canada on January 3, 2022

Verified Purchase

As a longtime Brene Brown fan I was most disappointed by her polarized and limited opinion on the vaccination issue. I suppose I expected a more balanced, fair and knowledgeable perspective from a professional researcher. So far I have not been able to get past page 33. It makes it difficult to be open to the rest of the book.

27 people found this helpful

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