Book Review: Braving The Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone

Braving The Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, by Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, Random House, ISBN 9780812995848, New York, NY, 2017, 163 pages, $28.00 hardcover (U.S.).

    Braving The Wilderness, the most recent book penned by Brené Brown, speaks to the quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone. If the subtitle sounds like a contradiction to you, you are not alone. Brown, well known as a social scientist and for her research on belonging, takes the reader on a different journey into the possibilities of belonging without compromising integrity, beliefs, and uniqueness.  An interesting aspect of the book comes from the fact that as you are reading each chapter, you feel yourself taking the journey alongside the author.  She discovers that while being accepted is important to humans as social beings, true belonging requires the courage to stand alone with your character and convictions, even when they go against the group to which you want to belong. She calls this difficult action braving the wilderness.

    The book contains many practical stories, lessons, and tools designed to develop (in the reader) the courage to stand alone. Most importantly, she defines four principles to practice her concepts of braving the wilderness. The first principle, and my favorite one in the book, outlines a simple strategy for addressing diversity issues, differences, and group exclusion. Brown coins this principle:  People are hard to hate close up. Move In.

    This principle calls for the reader to recognize the posturing, name-calling, and finger-pointing that have become so common today.  Brown urges the reader to move toward understanding of the people on the other side of the finger. She advocates, not for compromising your beliefs, but for taking the time to understand that which you fear.

    The four principles, standing as the pillars of her platform, provide a base for developing the courage needed to Brave the Wilderness.

    This book spoke to me, the words resonating deeply in my core. Social workers, social work students, and mental health practitioners would benefit from reading this book.  However, the potential audience is much larger.  Presented to the public at a time when social media, politicians, and warring news networks have discouraged and polarized our society, the principles in the book are simple, easy-to-follow advice for all of us.  

Reviewed by Angela McClintock, LICSW, Director, Jefferson County Department of Human Resources, blogger at Water for Camels (www.waterforcamels.com).