Bibliotherapy — A Book Series: Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown
I love books and thoroughly enjoy reading a variety of genres: fiction, historic fiction, biographies, memoirs, self-help, the list goes on. In connection with this, I have been thinking for a while that it would be neat to incorporate my love of literature into my business in a more formal manner. So, here begins a journey of blogging on books that I incorporate into my therapy practice with clients, whether directly or indirectly. I will make zero promises as to how long this series of blog posts will last, but I am hopeful that there will be a number of counseling resources that I will get to share with you in this way.
Atlas of the Heart was an obvious first choice for me to write about, as over the past couple of months I have recommended this book to a handful of my clients. Consequently, both male clients who I recommended this resource to actually purchased their own copy of this book and have begun reading it! (If you are a therapist yourself, you will recognize the slight miracle that this has occurred, not once - but twice!)
Who is the author?
Brene Brown is the author of Atlas of the Heart, in addition to a number of other books. She is a researcher who focuses on shame and vulnerability, courage and empathy (her books reflect these emotions and experiences). Brene Brown is also a professor, wife, mother, and podcaster. If you want to learn more about her, in addition to her work and other books, you can click here.
Who is the ideal audience?
This book is written for anyone who is desiring to deepen their understanding and language around emotions. I most often recommend this book to men, as in our society males and females are raised with such different permission and literacy around emotions (or historically, this has been the case… the tide seems to be turning on this, now). As a result of this, a lot of my male clients seem to lack a language, and therefore an understanding, of how they are feeling, and why they are feeling what they are feeling. In my experience, male clients glean so much from this book. In sitting with these clients, our work together becomes a dialogue around how to apply what they have learned in these pages to their actual lives, ultimately allowing for deeper connection to their loved ones. Of course, this is applicable to males and females alike!
What is this book about?
At base level, this book is about emotions. Brown builds on naming emotions to demonstrate that as we develop a language around our emotional experiences, we can first, know ourselves more fully, and second, connect with one another more meaningfully as the representation of our lived experiences become more robust when we include emotions in the stories and dialogue that we exchange with one another. In the introduction to the book, Brown (2021) states:
… that in order to recognize, name, and make sense of our feelings and experiences, we have to:
Understand how they show up in our bodies and why (biology)
Get curious about how our families and communities shape our beliefs about the connection between our feelings, thoughts, and behavior (biography)
Examine our go-to (behaviors), and
Recognize the context of what we’re feeling or thinking. What brought this on? (backstory)
It is through examining and answering these questions that we better know and understand ourselves, as well as one another.
How is it written?
Atlas of the Heart is written like a resource book, in that Brown separates each emotion that she identifies into different categories that align with our experience of these emotions. For instance, the first chapter of the book is called “Places We Go when Things are Uncertain or Too Much.” In this chapter, she defines and elaborates on the following emotions: stress, overwhelm, anxiety, worry, avoidance, excitement, dread, fear, and vulnerability. She also makes distinctions between the emotions that we often clump together or use interchangeably as we go throughout our lives (ie. anxious and worry, dread and fear).
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If this blog has been intriguing or useful for you, I would highly recommend that you obtain a copy of Atlas of the Heart. If you think that working with a therapist to help you develop and more deeply understand your personal journey with emotions, or perhaps your seeming inability to experience emotions more deeply, please reach out to me. I specialize in anxiety therapy, trauma counseling, and assisting with emotion regulation. I would be honored to walk alongside of you as you seek to understand your internal emotional experience and how this connects to your “biology, biography, behaviors, and backstory,” as Brene Brown so eloquently puts it.