katiewilkins186

What inspired Patty to try to become brave was the realization that her two daughters were inheriting her timid approach to life. Previously too afraid of failure to try new things, in this book Patty chronicles her adventures facing down her fears and those of others. With input from friends and experts, Patty shares her experience exploring everything from fears of public speaking to the fear of death.

I think of myself as a somewhat timid person, so I enjoy reading books about how to be brave. However, I’m not worried about suddenly finding myself in a war zone or other extraordinary circumstances that require death-defying heroism. I’m afraid of far more mundane things, like failing at something new I try at work. That made this book the perfect book for me to read. I am very grateful to Patty Anker for sharing her emotions so candidly while experiencing every day fears. Her motivations were inspiring; her interviews with experts were thought-provoking; and her thoughts were very relatable. It made me want to get out there and start doing things outside my comfort zone right away.

That said, this is less of a self-help kind of book than the title might suggest. It is very like (and I would therefore recommend it to fans of) both MWF Seeking BFF and The Happiness Project. The point isn’t to get specific advice. It’s to be inspired and to get a glimpse of how amazingly alike we are to other people, despite our differences. Differences like the way the authors of these three books have the ability to write such humorous, touching memoirs that do such a wonderful job capturing a bit of the human experience. Highly recommended.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.