The reviewer finds Brené Brown's 'The Gifts of Imperfection' to be empty and self-centered, focusing on self-love and personal solutions for happiness. They argue that true fulfillment comes from knowing and relying on God, not from self-sufficiency.
The reviewer acknowledges that Brené Brown's 'The Gifts of Imperfection' has some helpful insights, such as the importance of voicing shame and recognizing our shared humanity. However, they find the book ultimately empty because it focuses on self-love and personal solutions for happiness. The reviewer argues that true fulfillment comes from knowing and relying on God, not from self-sufficiency. They caution Christians to hold Brown's teachings up to the Bible, as her message goes against what the Bible teaches about surrendering to God and finding identity in Him. The reviewer also appreciates Brown's distinction between fitting in and belonging, but ultimately finds the book's emphasis on the self to be unfulfilling and potentially harmful.
Quick quotes
Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.
Her ideas fall squarely in a very popular sphere of life right now: self-love. All of her solutions to achieve happiness and wholeheartedness come from within.
The Bible says, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12: 9-10)