In her latest book, Brené Brown writes, “If we want to find the way back to ourselves and one another, we need language and the grounded confidence to both tell our stories and to be stewards of the stories that we hear. This is the framework for meaningful connection.”

In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances - a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.

Over the past two decades, Brown’s extensive research into the experiences that make us who we are has shaped the cultural conversation and helped define what it means to be courageous with our lives. Atlas of the Heart draws on this research, as well as on Brown’s singular skills as a storyteller, to show us how accurately naming an experience doesn’t give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding, meaning, and choice.

Brown shares, “I want this book to be an atlas for all of us, because I believe that, with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves.”

Includes a downloadable PDF of illustrations from the book

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Listening Length

8 hours and 29 minutes
Author

Brené Brown
Narrator

Brené Brown
Audible release date

Feb. 14 2022
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B0979G34YB
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	8 hours and 29 minutes
Author	Brené Brown
Narrator	Brené Brown
Audible.ca Release Date	February 14 2022
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0979G34YB
Best Sellers Rank	#29 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #1 in Emotions (Audible Books & Originals) #4 in Social Psychology & Interactions (Books) #4 in Personal Success in Business

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

16,994 global ratings

5 star		81%
4 star		12%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Mae

Atlas of the Heart

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 4, 2023

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An informative, easy to read book.

Helpful

Shuh

A roadmap to a better self, not a book of answers, only you have answers with the provided map.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

Lets be open about how I see Brene Brown. I have read all her books, many twice. For those who know her other material you know you are going to cry at some point. Those tears have always been about connections gained, lost or missed.

I have purchased this book in its physical form which is well worth it because of the nature of its layout. I have now purchased it on kindle for the purpose of further study and portability. However also for the the additional purpose of leaving a review. I want to leave a review because I see other reviews that are completely missing the point. This book is a map not a book of answers. Maps represent possibility it is up to you if you want to go on the adventure. Your individuality and uniqueness make it impossible to find direct answers as to what you require to become whole. You have to use the map and be willing to go on the journey.

Now about the crying…

Brene is getting closer to truths. The other books two or three good bawls each. This one I am now only one sixth completed and already have surpassed all the others.

I am in the journey, following the map. It is scary, painful, but in a certain way provides the elation of freedom after going through the pain.

Thanks to Brene and her team for this.

I have now finished the book over a two day read marathon. My opinion of the content has not changed. Still very positive. As noted this becomes your own personal journey, I found it worthwhile and will re-read the book again very soon. Yes, I found it that important.

An interesting thing about the physical book and all it’s emotional content I found myself stroking the book and pages as if to make a connection with the book. The physical form of the book makes it a worth while purchase. The layout of the book creates a connection of sorts with the content of the book. I don’t have answers about this, I just found it interesting.

I wish you well on your own journey.

151 people found this helpful

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kathy maloney

Absolutely amazing and transformative

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 29, 2021

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This is my favourite book ever. Brené explains emotions in a way I've never experienced, and I've been on my path to know myself for 30 years, worked in social services for 25 years and had 3 kids, sold everything I own and travelled for 3 years, got married and moved to a foreign country, thinking I am living my dream and so wise. Wow, I have been looking in the wrong direction. I've been looking 'out there' to belong and have recognition. It is revolutionary to see 'helping' as not really helping and how I have not really listened when I thought I was so great at it. Love and attachment was a huge eye opener. Humbling to say the least and at the same time I feel energized and excited about shutting the hell up and honouring others.
Read this book. No, ingest this book, devour this book and open up to find a space inside to let it sit and simmer.
Thank you Brené. You have changed 'me'. I just finished it and I am ready to begin to read it again.

40 people found this helpful

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Gemini Girl

Brene's Wisdom, Humor and Humbleness

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 22, 2022

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Brene Brown writes exactly as she speaks, funny, insightful, and always humble regardless of her highly educated background. This book is beautifully written with key statements separately highlighted in each chapter for quick reference and reinforcement of central ideas.

One person found this helpful

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Ingrio

Gorgeous Book

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 8, 2022

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I just recently heard of this author (Brene Brown) and thought I'd check out her books on Amazon. I saw this recent book of hers, Map of the Heart , and was impressed. I bought one for me and one for a friend. Besides having lots of great information, it is a beautiful book and very worthy of gift giving. Also, Amazon's quick delivery was 'amazing' ! Thank you.

Helpful

Bonnie Jay

Beautiful and well researched book about Feelings

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 11, 2022

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This is a book that can be read over and over and used and a workbook. It is easy to skip to certain sections based on the feelings you may want to look up after the first read through. This will be a book I keep for help while I'm journaling.

2 people found this helpful

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Angus Pratt

Hardcover is much better quality than I expected

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 22, 2022

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Started with the audio book from the library and then the eBook and finally realized I needed something I could hold and think about and mark. What surprised me was that the paperback was so much more expensive than the hard cover. It made me a little nervous that the quality of the binding not be up to the abuse. But it is wonderful. Really happy and love all the beautiful graphics and cartoons.

One person found this helpful

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Katie

Not just another Brené Brown book

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 17, 2022

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If you have read The Gifts of Imperfection as well as I Thought It Was Just Me, then you might be hesitant to get this one as these two are a little repetitive. But this one is completely different and, in my opinion, essential to anyone who wants to better understand their emotions. It may seem ridiculous to think that as adults, we don’t have an adequate understanding of our feelings and behaviours, but trust me, most of us don’t, myself included.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

BlueSkies

A Comforting But Misleading Consumable That Obscures a More Important Message

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2021

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"Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience" is giftable and physically substantial. The book is weighty; the thick, glossy pages are photo book quality. My copy even smelled sweet. Like all Brene Brown books, throughout it, you'll find many passages and memorable lines worth pondering because Brene Brown has a remarkable gift for turning a phrase. The cartoon illustrating how not to "tap out" during a difficult conversation is helpful. (It is exactly what you'd find in a college-level Interpersonal Communication text book.)

The reason for my 2-star review is that "Atlas of the Heart" fails to provide the guidance about "meaningful connection" that it promises. Essentially, the book is premised on the belief that ordinary people, non-researchers, don't know how to name their emotions, nor do they know how to recognize them. And so, the book is filled with short instruction on 87 emotions. Each instruction begins with Brene Brown's definition of a term. It is followed by something along the lines of "You THINK you know what X is. What I have learned is Y."

You THINK you know what disappointment is, or grief, or gratitude, or belonging or surprise or curiosity. But no. You don't. So here is the correct definition, and here is the correct way to think about your experience. And this "Atlas" will provide the guidance you need. The reason to read it: "With an adverturous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves. Even when we don't know where we are."

Fundamentally, the book is saying, You don't have to go out and be in the world with other people to learn about any of this, you merely read the book and believe that Brene Brown and her research team is correct. And then your learning is done. This is a problem with all self-improvement books, but "Atlas of the Heart" is especially egregious because the promise is that the book will help you connect with others more meaningfully. It does not deliver on that promise. There is almost zero proof in the book that anyone who used Brene Brown's definitions of the emotions and her instruction changed their lives in any meaningful way. Often Brene Brown concludes a passage with "This is how I want to live." After five best sellers, she's still searching and searching for the right formula. If you belong to the "Always Seaching" tribe and want a book that will help you make a long aspirational list of how you want to live, then this book might be for you. But if you aspire to do more than read books and make aspirational lists, consider investing your time and money elsewhere.

The central problem with this book is that Brene Brown makes EVERYTHING in life so hard when it is not always that hard. For example, about curiosity she writes "Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because it requires us to surrender to uncertainty. We have to ask questions, admit to not knowing, risk being told that we shouldn't be asking, and sometimes, make discoveries that lead to discomfort."

In certain contexts, she's right. In certain contexts, like going up against a powerful person or group who benefits from the truth being obscured, then, yes, curiosity is a risk and your questions and discoveries will threaten the status quo. For sure, you will be vulnerable to criticism and you will probably experience scapegoating. Curiosity is very threatening to people in power who want things to remain the same. When you are curious about things that people in power and authority are doing, you ought to expect discomfort. You ought to anticipate and weigh the risk.

But to define the experience of "curiosity" the way Brene Brown does is to ignore three quarters of the human experience in which curiosity is a function of a healthy human mind. Curiosity is NOT "choosing to be vulnerable." It is exercising a natural human ability that has led to the most beautiful music, painting, sculpture, architecture, theatre, dance and design. A better message would be: Do the very opposite of "surrendering" to uncertainty. Go be curious with a group of people who have each other's backs.

The number of times words like "surrender" is used is hugely problematic. It is the recipe for even more vulnerabilty. It increases the demand for more books by Elizabeth Gilbert, Brene Brown and other advice-givers. Our problem in our culture is how rarely anyone advises us "Go do X with a group of people who have each other's backs."

"Atlas of the Heart" is dangerous because it claims to provide "the Language of Human Experience." It offers a view of human experience as Brene Brown experienced it -- as a child who grew up with alcoholism, projection, excesses, and hurt after hurt. Tenuous friendships ended because her family relocated so many times. No one had her back until she married her awesome husband Steve. Brene Brown believes that this experience of life is what the experience of human life is for everyone. Everything is hard. Writing the book was so hard. Living up to expectations is so hard. Curiosity is so hard.

Isn't it time to point out that not everything in life leads potentially to discomfort or to hurt? Not everything requires this much thinking, analyzing, researching, sorting, coding, defining, puzzling, introspection or self-disclosure. Not everything leads to so much potential exposure and vulnerability. Again and again.

When are we ever going to learn that a balanced and happy life can not be found in some kind of written "Atlas" (filled with academic research and an experts' definitions) that depicts life as endlessly difficult but then magically leads to a better life and more meaningful connection?

Readers already know what disappointment is, or grief, or gratitude, or belonging or surprise. This book is helpful in that it adds depth to our ways of perceiving and understanding our experiences, and it will improve readers' ability to discern one type of experience from another, but the amount of hype surrounding this book obscures a much more important message. The person you need in your life is not Brene Brown. The person you need is the person who has your back, and you have theirs. Find that person (or ideally persons) and make your own map of the world together.

Surprisingly, this is exactly what Brene Brown did. What is remarkably different about "Atlas of the Heart" as compared to Brene Brown's five best-sellers is not the look and feel of this book. What is remarkably different is that for the very first time ever she openly acknowledges from the start the people who helped her and had her back.

In the past, Brene Brown presented herself as the lone researcher, holed up alone coding the data, and then alone on the stage facing criticism. Her husband Steve and her therapist Diane were the only ones named as people who were there for her consistently. Yet, in this book, on page xxvi, she includes a photo of the nine therapists who helped her identify the set of emotions most important to be able to name. She then acknowledges Dr. Ronda Dearing and writes "I couldn't have done this work without her." In the past, this would have appeared in the "Acknowledgements" section. By moving this information about her process up front, Brene Brown is suggesting the recipe for a better life. With the right people, our lives are better, our work is better, things turn out to be, as she puts it "an amazing experience!" So it took her a long, long time to learn how to find the people to take the journey with.

The one take-away from the book that is truly helpful is that whatever work we are doing (including the work of parenting) is less hard and is more amazing when we're with people we can trust and can turn to. I hope that in the interviews and the promotion for the book Brene Brown will shift the discourse from what she ~alone~ did to write the book and what she ~alone~ hopes that the book will achieve to what she and her colleagues did to write the book and what they together hope the book will achieve.

There is an important message for the 21st century suggested in the book: With an adverturous heart and ~the right people~ we can travel anywhere and experience less hurt, less uncertainty, less risk, less shame, less distress, and more meaningful connection. In the ideal world, this "Atlas of the Heart" would be the last self-improvement book anyone would purchase. First order of priorities: do what Brene Brown did and find your people. Have each other's backs. Then go out and experience life as it can be: amazing.

After five best sellers, after searching and searching for the right formula, Brene Brown finally found it. It wasn't what her publisher contracted her to write about. It didn't fit the self-improvement-by-reading paradigm. Good for her for putting it up front instead of in the "Acknowledgements." We don't need more granularity around our emotions, more distinguishable pieces around our emotions. We need each other.

3,727 people found this helpful

Dr. Caitlin Faas

Don't use this book against yourself

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

I love Brene Brown and I respect her research. But I used to be a brain on a stick. If I read this book three years ago, I would have soaked it up and declared that I needed to put more language around my feelings. I would have forced myself into using more words for emotions. But that's exactly the opposite of what I needed.

To really embody my emotions, I needed to drop the language. I needed the terms "open" versus "closed" to start. I needed a trained facilitator to point out that I was tensing up when I didn't realize it. I needed tacit knowledge, not more words. More words only kept me up in my brain.

So while I respect what this book is trying to do and understand it may help others, if you already over-intellectualize things like I do - skip this book. Go DO the somatic / embodied work instead of reading more about it.

744 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

No evidence for controversial statements made while promoting the book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

I had heard that Brene said on an Oprah podcast that this book makes the point that we should no longer try to recognize emotion in other people.
Indeed in the book she says that she and other researchers have said thousands of times "We need to understand emotion so we can recognize it in ourselves and others." but now she says "I no longer believe that we can recognize emotion in other people, regardless of how well we understand human emotion and experience or how much language we have." (pages 263-264 on Kindle).
Since she is a self-proclaimed researcher, I assumed she would show research backing up this claim that goes against a huge body of work that is contrary to this last statement. She presents NO RESEARCH AT ALL. She is basically implying that empathy doesn't work and can't be learned. She only uses a very simplistic, flawed argument that "Too many emotions and experiences present the exact same way" and "How we express what we're feeling and experiencing can be unique as we are." Of course, these last two statements are true but she is making an entirely different point. She is making a "straw man" argument against not first understanding the situation.
I've never heard anyone say you should try to name another person's emotions before understanding the situation. That is just common sense. She uses an example of a wealthy white woman trying to name the emotions of a minority single mother who is crying on the job. Obviously in this situation a person wouldn't start naming emotions without first understanding the situation and might not name emotions at all because she just met this single mother.
Brene misses entirely that when a loved one is experiencing a flood of emotions, the more primitive parts of their brain are in-control and the last thing they want is a series of "how does that make you feel?" questions. They need people who "get them" to help them process these emotions. Also, when a person successfully helps us unpack our "sadness" into the true, underlying emotions such as "worry and frustration", we build a bond with that person. The bond is often more important than the specific situation.
I would respectfully call for Brene to show the evidence backing up her claim.

537 people found this helpful

MrsG

A true gift!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

Everyone of all ages should read this book. Giving language and voice to our emotions, creating empowered conversations. Such an informative and easy to understand book to read. Very beautiful cover and illustrations inside. I work within early years and understand the importance of giving all access to an understanding of emotions and experiences, so it can be communicated to others.

27 people found this helpful

JANET L P.

As a Wordsmith and Coach I'm grateful for Atlas of the Heart

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 29, 2022

Verified Purchase

Now I have Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, I don’t quite know how I’ve managed to be a wordsmith and freelance writer without it! Especially as I write about human behavior, and coach my clients about that too. Hats off to Brené and her team(s) for bringing together this definitive piece of work describing 85 emotive words and our relative experiences with them, in a way that has never been available to us before. We would do well to soak these words up so we can meaningfully expand our vocabulary when communicating with others, for our sakes and for theirs.

Not everyone likes the style of this book, and it is different from Brené's previous books. However, I think the book's style - with some colorful illustrations and diagrams - helps the less academic reader to absorb it. Brené herself says she wants it to be “an atlas for all of us”. Nevertheless, it is necessarily more academic in nature than her other books, which contain more anecdotal stories and are often viewed as a lighter, perhaps more entertaining read.

I first listened to the audio version of this book and while we in the UK cannot yet access Brené’s new docuseries based on this book (available on HBO in the US), I often felt as though Brené was personally teaching me as she read, because she occasionally repeats sentences for emphasis to help her listeners, and talks us through the accompanying pdfs (available in the Audible Library with the book) when appropriate.

I only have one grouse, hence only four stars. I truly miss having an index of the words, to enable me to quickly access a description of a particular word when I need it. I guess I’m going to have to purchase the Kindle version simply for that. Hopefully, in the next edition of this Atlas, an index could be added.

And.. I cannot understand why people would cash in on writing summaries of this book. It is very thorough and for me is a definitive textbook. I would feel I’d short-changed myself, if I used a lesser version of this work than the whole, complete Atlas.

11 people found this helpful

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