Books

Let me start by saying, I am a HUGE Brené Brown fan. In 2018 I read Daring Greatly at the recommendation of a friend, and within the year, I had quit my 10-year career as an attorney in an effort to live a more authentic life. I am also a perfectionist (a ONE on the enneagram), and The Gifts of Imperfection was equally as transformative.

Rising Strong was just as good and insightful as these other books. There are a lot of similar themes and ideas, so there is definitely some overlap; however, these are things I need to revisit on a regular basis. It’s almost like saying you read the Bible once, so no need to read it again.

As someone jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, I feel like Rising Strong has prepared me to respond to potential failures that I know will arise. Just because I experience failure, doesn’t mean I am a failure! I’ve also caught myself lately really leaning into or “rumbling” with some feeling I know are not good.

Brené Brown’s honesty and humor make her stories so relatable. “Self-help” books are my favorite genre, and I love when I can learn and grow from a book, while also being highly entertained!

I am so thankful to be a part of an amazing book club, not only for the fun nights out (which have resulted in our husbands questioning whether “book club” is really just an excuse for us to go to dinner and drinks), but also because I’ve read so many great books that I might not have otherwise read. This month we read Girl Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis.

Let me start by saying, all the girls in my book club are big Rachel Hollis fans. We all read Girl Wash Your Face, listen to her podcast, went to see the Made for More movie and all have tickets to the RISE conference in Minneapolis this summer. Like we are ALL in! And if that’s you too, then you’ll love this book. It does not disappoint us RH fans.

If you are not a dreamer, entrepreneur or a goal-setter, you may not be quite as in love with this book as we were. One of my friends from book club was surprised (and maybe even a little appalled) to hear that not everyone is drinking the Hollis Co. Kool-Aid quite like us–but I understand that everyone is different, and maybe that’s you. I still think this book adds enough humor and honesty about other topics to make it applicable to anyone and fun to read.

And while we are on the topic of reading, let’s chat about book clubs and why you need one. I think this one started because we were all at dinner one night and ended up talking at length about all the books we were reading and those that we wanted to read.

This book club has definitely resulted in me reading more books, largely because there’s a deadline to get them read, and I don’t want to miss out on the discussions (#FOMO). The books also always have a way of leading us into some pretty deep discussions, and we’ve connected on a deeper level in working through them.

Sold on the idea of a book club? Well, let me tell you how easy it is to start one: just start. That’s it. Ask a friend or two to join you in picking a book, set a date and a dinner spot about a month in the future, read the book, show up, drink wine, discuss the book and pick the next! Our next book: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

Book Review: Rising Strong by Brené Brown

Book Club Review – Girl Stop Apologizing