I Thought It Was Just Me

This book is something I want to give to pretty much every woman in my life. I read it as part of a professional development unit, looking at how shame might be affecting my students, but Brown's primary focus is on how shame affects women. She is thorough, insightful, and page after page builds relatable stories that help the reader identify how shame has been motivating their choices or lack thereof. She also offers several tips for building shame resilience to help women recover from shaming experiences. These strategies align with the growth mindset theory I read for my last class, focusing on strengths and positive change instead of dwelling on weakness and self-doubt. Her strategies do not sound particularly easy, but they do feel sound.

When I think about this book in regards to being an educator, it makes me think about the language I use around my students, especially when I am at peak frustration. It makes me consider how I can talk to them to make them feel guilty about their actions without feeling ashamed of themselves. While again, the focus of this book is on the culture of shame specifically surrounding western women, the ideas are really applicable to lots of different people. It's a great read, and one I hope lots of people will absorb.