Vermilion Braving the Wilderness: The quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone

Simple and essential book in a era of struggle and lost connectivity

Where to start…I feel like, no I KNOW, this book was written for me. Published only yesterday I have just finished reading it and wow, it is so powerful and so tender. I am completely grateful for all of Professor Brene Brown’s words, they have guided me towards the beautiful life I have now which both excites and terrifies me, but this particular book spoke to my heart and so now I need to start reading it again to remove and treasure all the many gems of wisdom concealed within its pages. But what is it about? It’s about ‘true belonging’ and how to navigate through this messy, messy, divided world of sides and enemies and terrorism and hate by remaining passionately true to yourself and your beliefs and holding on to love and compassion and empathy; living a life that is true, brave, courageous and most importantly, yours. This is Brown’s definition of belonging, it is perfection:'True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.'

so the book isnt bad but isnt great either. she goes on to talk about how being alone is ok in society, and how were always apart off something regardless off what you believe, feel,love,like, activities. abit long winded in some places but to be honest, with society going the way its going, we are alone, nobody talks to neighbours, you dont see kids playing in the streets anymore, everyone is in there own bubble and out for them selves. the book goes on about mainly american based story's on her life experiences, name dropping celebs isnt the greatest way to go about trying to sell your book. her bubble dosent quiet fit in to society at a different level except her own middle to upperclass people. another wannabe person to kick and snigger at lesser people than herself in my opinion. quoting other peoples work is half the book..why? where is your own quotes and life philosophy? its mainly her point off view or someone elses, kind off waste off time but hey it paid the bills right?

A lovely book which would likely have been quite profound for me had I read it a couple of years earlier. An interesting insight into braving the wilderness of being true to yourself despite what Your friends/family/society might want from you.

Dr Brene Brown is my favourite author. She tackles some tough topics people sometimes don't want to talk or even think about. She writes about them in a very relate able way. She is an excellent research as well as a fantastic story teller.