Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (2012) is a self-help book that argues people need to embrace vulnerability and live courageously. Rooted in 12 years of ground-breaking research, the book shows that vulnerability is not a weakness but instead it is a measure of courage and the key to a fulfilling life. Daring Greatly is a New York Times best seller and has sold more than 2 million copies.

Plot Summary

Brown believes that our society is rooted in a scarcity mindset characterized by anxiety and fear. In this context, we associate vulnerability with weakness, and we wear emotional armor to prevent people from seeing our vulnerabilities. In Chapter 1, Brown shows that without embracing vulnerability, true connection and belonging—the main factors that motivate humans—remain out of reach. The antidote to a scarcity mindset that is afraid of vulnerability is cultivating a sense of self-worth and the belief that you are enough. Brown argues that external markers of success will never make us feel happy or fill the emptiness we feel. Instead, living courageously and being willing to fail will help us develop lives that have purpose and meaning.

In Chapter 2, Brown dispels common myths around vulnerability to show that it is rooted in courage, not weakness. Chapter 3 establishes strategies to combat shame and build shame resilience. She explores the armor that we build to prevent people from seeing our vulnerabilities in Chapter 4; this armor prevents us from connection and belonging. In Chapter 5, she shows how most people have a gap between their aspirational values and how they live their lives, and she documents several strategies to close this gap. Chapters 6 and 7 turn to education, the workplace, and families to explore how we can rehumanize our lives by embracing bravery and open heartedness rather than judgement, belittling, and shame. Too often, people lead by using shame and bullying as tactics, which stifles innovation, causes disengagement, and scars children. Brown concludes by reflecting on how wholehearted living is terrifying, but ultimately freeing. When you bring your life into alignment with your values and operate from a place of self-worth, courage, and openness, the happiness you are looking for is accessible. A willingness to be uncomfortable, wrong, and fail is essential for a meaningful life.