Dr. Brené Brown is a "researcher/ storyteller" as well as a professor at the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work. She studies human connection—our ability to empathize,
belong, love. She is the author of I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't)
and The Gifts of Imperfection
. In this poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself, as well as to understand humanity.
The video runs for 20 minutes. Get yourself a cup of coffee and settle down in a comfortable chair. It's going to be worth your time. I know that what Brené Brown shares is true.
My father was a violent alcoholic who abandoned us when I was nine. That was something I was incapable of talking about back when I was old enough to finally escape the place where I grew up. I was about as closed off emotionally as was possible. It wasn't until I met the lady who is now my wife that I began to let it go, just a little. The result was uncontrollable weeping. And I mean, uncontrollable. My worst memory of that stage was standing at a bus stop on Anzac Highway—about the most public place imaginable— and crying and crying and crying. I had years of feelings pent up. Once they started to break out, they just kept on coming. I needed to accept my vulnerability, rather than try to hide it, in order to live a full life.
My father was a violent alcoholic who abandoned us when I was nine. That was something I was incapable of talking about back when I was old enough to finally escape the place where I grew up. I was about as closed off emotionally as was possible. It wasn't until I met the lady who is now my wife that I began to let it go, just a little. The result was uncontrollable weeping. And I mean, uncontrollable. My worst memory of that stage was standing at a bus stop on Anzac Highway—about the most public place imaginable— and crying and crying and crying. I had years of feelings pent up. Once they started to break out, they just kept on coming. I needed to accept my vulnerability, rather than try to hide it, in order to live a full life.
But don't take my word for it, listen to an expert.
