WHAT I'M READING WEDNESDAY : Strong Ground by Brené Brown

I've fallen out of love.

Not with my husband, but with Brené Brown.

I have read all of her books, not once, but several times each.
Her work has been the centerpiece of book circles.
She's been with me since 2010.
I probably knew her before many of you did.

Yet, in the past few years, things have shifted for me.

I don't know if it was the initial disappointment in Dare to Lead, which I thought was a corporate twist on all of her other work (though, I did lead book circles with it, and even got trained in DTL).

Or perhaps it was the video response Daniel Maté put out with regard to her response to the conflict in Gaza.

Either way, I stopped listening to her podcasts and decided to take a break a couple of years ago.

When I heard that Strong Ground was coming out, and I thought I would give her another chance. Maybe she could remind me why I loved her so much at one point.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

Despite having the book for almost 2 weeks now, I am not done.
I am only on page 138.

I wonder if she wrote it to fulfill a publishing contract.

She writes about the fact that she wanted to give an update on her research with companies since Dare to Lead came out, and she does.

In doing so, she repeats her former work.

I know the BRAVING model.
I know the Empathy misses.
I know the Rumble starters.
I know the engaged feedback checklist.
Etc...

She also repeats the work of other people that I already know well ( Adam Grant, Abby Wambach, etc)

It seems like too much of the same thing, in a beautiful new cover.

There have been a few interesting insights, but I feel like they could have been written about in essay format, and in less than the 400+ pages of this book.

Instead of reading the book cover to cover, I decided to pick and choose certain sections that don't feel repetitive.

The section on paradox.
The idea of "pocket presence."
Etc.

👉 Do you have the book? If you love it, feel free to tell me why you do. Like Adam Grant says:​

"Of course I might be wrong. If I am, I'll be quick to think again."

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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