Atlas of the Heart

Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown

Why the Being Human Team loves this book:

I often think of this book as a dictionary of the human emotional experience. Required reading for understanding our messy emotions and all round good human-ing.

Our favourite quotes from the book:

“In fact, research shows that the process of labelling emotional experience is related to greater emotion regulation and psychosocial well-being.”

“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.”

“Each person’s grief is as unique as their fingerprint. But what everyone has in common is that no matter how they grieve, they share a need for their grief to be witnessed. That doesn’t mean needing someone to try to lessen it or reframe it for them. The need is for someone to be fully present to the magnitude of their loss without trying to point out the silver lining.”