Book ClubReviews

Rising Strong By Brene Brown

This book should be compulsory reading in all High Schools and definitely Medical Schools.

It’s incredibly life changing.

Nobody teaches you this stuff – and we need it!

When you’re striving to achieve great things – be it in exams, in the hospital saving lives (or attempting to), in your relationships, and in everyday life, there are times when things don’t go as well as hoped.

Theodore Roosevelt said:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

So you are the person in the arena. Striving for great things.

By virtue of being in the arena, at times you’re going to get your ass kicked.

What happens when you do? When you’re lying face down in the dirt?

You may be down in the dirt because you didn’t pass an exam, or didn’t get onto a training program or get the job you wanted, or can’t help a patient, or worse still, you’re involved in the death of a patient. Or there may have been a relationship breakdown at home or you’re not getting along with a colleague.

You know that you can’t give up. But there’s no denying that it hurts.

So what do you do when you fall, fail or face difficult times?

How do you get back up and deal with the disappointment, guilt, sadness, shame and every other negative emotion that comes with it?

Well this book, for what seems like the first time, shows you how to understand this experience and work your way through it so that you can get up, get better, learn from it and keep going.

I’ve been reading it slowly over quite some time now because each section has so much wisdom, so much incredible knowledge and many practical steps, that it takes time (at least for me) to absorb it.

Not only can it be applied to yourself, but can also help with patient management.

The author, Brene Brown is a research professor from the University of Houston. She became a worldwide sensation when her TED Talk went viral, receiving over 24 million views. https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability?language=en

I cannot recommend this book enough to any medical professional or human being attempting to live an above average life. That’s you!

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