Atlas of the Heart

Atlas of the Heart
By Dr. Brené Brown

Dr. Brené Brown, New York Times bestselling author and research professor who studies courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, shares in Atlas of the Heart that, on average, people can name only three emotions while experiencing them: happy, sad, and angry. This vastly limits our understanding, self-awareness, and ability to secure help when we need it most. 

Brown takes a closer look at 87 emotions and experiences grouped into 13 categories, such as the “Places We Go When Things are Uncertain or Too Much,” the “Places We Go When We Search for Connection,” and the “Places We Go With Others,” to name a few.

Personal stories, quotes, and examples make the sharing of this research an enjoyable read. An introduction to concepts such as Schadenfreude and the Near Enemy leaves you feeling as if something important has just been unlocked inside of you.

Brown herself has grown into a new understanding of feelings and emotions through this research and 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.” 

Since different emotions can present outwardly in the same way, it is difficult to pinpoint another person’s feelings. Also, some emotions, like anger and frustration, have subtle internal differences. (In anger, we feel we can impact a situation for a desired outcome, but in frustration, we feel we cannot.) There are also some surprises in the book; for instance, anger, frustration, and resentment all appear in different categories, despite what we may have initially thought.

With so many roads of emotions and experiences to follow, this atlas will be one I continue to reference no matter where life takes me.