• The Power of Vulnerability

  • Teachings of Authenticity, Connection, and Courage
  • By: Brené Brown
  • Narrated by: Brené Brown
  • Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (50,597 ratings)

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The Power of Vulnerability  By  cover art

The Power of Vulnerability

By: Brené Brown
Narrated by: Brené Brown
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Publisher's summary

Show Up and Let Yourself be Seen

Is vulnerability the same as weakness? “In our culture,” teaches Dr. Brené Brown, “we associate vulnerability with emotions we want to avoid such as fear, shame, and uncertainty. Yet we too often lose sight of the fact that vulnerability is also the birthplace of joy, belonging, creativity, authenticity, and love.” On The Power of Vulnerability, Dr. Brown offers an invitation and a promise - that when we dare to drop the armor that protects us from feeling vulnerable, we open ourselves to the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives. Here she dispels the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and reveals that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage.

The Power of Vulnerability is a very personal project for me,” Brené explains. “This is the first place that all of my work comes together. This audio course draws from all three of my books - it’s the culmination of everything I’ve learned over the past twelve years. I'm very excited to weave it all into a truly comprehensive form that shows what these findings and insights can mean in our lives.”

Guidance and Insights for Wholehearted Living

Over the past twelve years, Dr. Brené Brown has interviewed hundreds of people as part of an ongoing study of vulnerability. “The research shows that we try to ward disappointment with a shield of cynicism, disarm shame by numbing ourselves against joy, and circumvent grief by shutting off our willingness to love,” explains Dr. Brown. When we become aware of these patterns, she teaches, we begin to become conscious of how much we sacrifice in the name of self-defense -and how much richer our lives become when we open ourselves to vulnerability.

“In my research,” Dr. Brown says, “the word I use to describe people who can live from a place of vulnerability is wholehearted.” Being wholehearted is a practice—one that we can choose to cultivate through empathy, gratitude, and awareness of our vulnerability armor. Join this engaging and heartfelt teacher on The Power of Vulnerability as she offers profound insights on leaning into the full spectrum of emotions—so we can show up, let ourselves be seen, and truly be all in.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Cultivating shame resilience—the key to developing a sense of worth and belonging.
  • Vulnerability as the origin point for innovation, adaptability, accountability, and visionary leadership.
  • Our emotional armory - how we use perfectionism, numbing, and other tactics to avoid feeling vulnerable.
  • The myths of vulnerability - common misconceptions about weakness, trust, and self-sufficiency.
  • Discovering your vulnerability armor - recognizing what makes us shut down, and how we can change.
  • The 10 guideposts of wholehearted living - essential skills for becoming fully engaged in life.
  • Six hours of stories, warm humor, and transformative insights for living a life of courage, authenticity, and compassion from Dr. Brené Brown.
©2012 Brené Brown (P)2012 Brené Brown

Featured Article: Our Editors Reveal—The Listen that Changed My Life


If you’re an avid listener, chances are you’ve run through more audiobooks than you can count. Whether your favorites are can’t-pause thrillers, eye-opening audio docs, or out-of-this-world sci-fi sagas, you’ve likely built up quite the listening library. But can you recall the listen that changed your life? Did it shape your worldview, offer up a new perspective, or bestow a pivotal life lesson? Read on for some listens that changed the Audible editors' lives.

Editor's Pick

Don’t just show your good side
"'Vulnerability' has become the self dev catchphrase of the moment, and with good reason—most of our issues of confidence, and of intimacy (two keys to personal growth), stem from how we’ve stifled our vulnerability. Brené Brown is the pioneer in this space, and this is her magnum opus on that topic (and not just because of the title). Delivered in her approachable, humorous, humble style, these lessons will make you understand why it’s time to let your guard down: at home, at work, and in love. "
Courtney R., Audible Editor

What listeners say about The Power of Vulnerability

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One of the best

What did you love best about The Power of Vulnerability?

The truth and realness of uncovering vulnerability. One of the best teachings I have heard. Delivered with facts, research, humor, love and vulnerability.

What did you like best about this story?

The realness

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It will make you take a deep look into areas of your life with a new perspective. You will laugh and cry.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this for everyone. It is enlightening, refreshing, and healing.

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4 people found this helpful

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Privileged White Moms, This is for You!

Ideas are good. A lot of this is about parenthood, professional life and engaging with white middle class society. I really can't relate to a person who runs to Nordstrom to buy makeup. If you do, you may like this seminar.

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3 people found this helpful

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LIFE CHANGING FOR A WHOLE FAMILY

Listened to this audiobook on road trip on our 10th wedding anniversary and it really has showed us how to take our relationship to another level and to also be able to share the teachings from Brene Brown's research with our 7 children.

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Awesome, again and again

I love this audio presentation. I have listened to it 3 times now, and love it each time, and am challenged by it anew each time. A great gift for anyone age 35-65 especially.

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Secular preaching

I really enjoyed this series of talks. It felt like an extended TED talk where Brene fleshes out some of her concepts

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Doesn't resonate with me.

Its only like 5 chapters in this book that resonated with me. In this book she is having a conversation and not really being direct on a lit of topics. I guess Im one of those puerile that enjoy "how to" books and this is not one of them.

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Sooo awesome!

Brené made me cry and laugh and think about living in a whole new way. This was just awesome and both really beautiful and inspiring!

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Disappointment

You can't just take the audio of a talk and call it a book. It's OBVIOUS that visuals are missing and making it impossible to understand.

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Very hard to follow.

This is a series of lectures and unless you have time to sit down and take notes as she talks it will be very hard to take coherent concepts away from this. I also found it difficult to listen because she would say things and then make facial gestures or other kinds of gestures and you wouldn’t really know what she was doing at the time. She would try to explain but it kind of loses something in the translation. Her speaking style did not fit with how I listen to audiobooks in the car as I travel. I have a PHD so the concepts were not difficult for me but her points or conclusions did not come across well to me. She often said ‘Does that make sense?” Then seemed to change the topic.

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She is amazing... one caveat for listening

I love her mind, heart, understanding of shame and vulnerability. I was learning so much about me. Initially, I was thrilled it was a recording of Brené... and let me just say if you don’t mind Deity based swearing... she has some crazy, wonderful things to say and I wanted to listen to her insights - but cringed each time Their names were used and ended up just turning it off.

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