“Atlas of the Heart”, by Brené Brown
January 9th, 2022 · 3 min read
Brené Brown is the American #1 New York Times bestselling author and professor, known worldwide for her research on shame, vulnerability and leadership. Her latest book, “Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience” is a different approach for her, with the focus on the language, definitions, meanings of emotions, traits and states of being human. The book is about the connection and awareness of self and others.
The idea for the book came after a research study Brown and her team did on 7,000 people, over a five year period. They realised that people can only identify three emotions as they are actually feeling them: happiness, sadness and anger. In Atlas of the Heart, Brown explores eighty-seven emotions and experiences, that we all have in common, pointing out the distinguishing features of each.
The book focuses on 13 key themes, each labelled as a destination: “Places We Go When Things Are Uncertain or Too Much”, “Places We Go When We Compare”, “Places We Go When It’s Beyond Us” or “Places We Go When The Heart Is Open”. Brené Brown, then, takes us on a journey of discovery and exploration to better understand a number of areas within each theme.
Brené Brown explains that those human emotions and experiences are “layers of biology, biography, behaviour and backstory” and as we travel through those areas, we are able to:
Understand how emotions show up in our bodies and why (our biology).
Be curious about how our environment shape our belief system and connection between our feelings, thoughts, and behavior (our biography).
Examine how we act (our behaviours), and
Recognize the context of our feelings or thinking. What brought this on? (backstory).
Brown also introduces new concepts such as “Story-stewardship”: when somebody explains their problem and the listener neither dismisses nor tries to immediately solve their issue, or “Near enemies”: when a response to a situation looks appropriate, but actually makes that situation worse. Pity is the near enemy of compassion, while sentimentality is the near enemy of loving kindness.
“Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience” is a wonderful book that will be used like a reference guide when people need some reorientation. Brené Brown states “I want this book to be an atlas for all of us, because I believe that, with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves”.
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Author: Elena Parrilla
Founder & CEO of Sensum Consultants
Executive & Leadership Coach | Assessment Specialist | Business Consultant | Entrepreneur
