Why Rising Strong is her most personal
Brown explains that Rising Strong is her most personal book because it examines the dangerous narratives people invent during failure and emotional pain.
Reviewed
Read Time
9 min read
Age & reading levelAdult
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.7
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Rising Strong
Rising Strong by Brené Brown Review: A Grounded Framework for Getting Back Up
by Brené Brown
Rising Strong is a self-help book by social scientist Brené Brown that delivers a structured, research-grounded process for recovering from failure, disappointment, and heartbreak — arguing that the act of rising after a fall is where courage is truly forged. A New York Times bestseller rooted in Brown's grounded theory research across leaders, artists, parents, and military figures, it stands as the culmination of her trilogy on vulnerability and wholehearted living.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers who have experienced failure, heartbreak, or major life transitions and want a structured, story-driven framework — reckoning, rumbling, revolution — for processing struggle and moving forward, especially those already familiar with Brown's earlier work on vulnerability and shame.
Worth it if
Worth reading if you engage with ideas through personal narrative and are open to the kind of honest emotional self-examination Brown advocates across her body of work.
Skip if
Skip it if you expect a social science book grounded in quantitative, empirically controlled research rather than qualitative, interview-based grounded theory — or if you come to it cold without patience for Brown's specific vocabulary around vulnerability, shame, and wholeheartedness.
What readers & critics say
Kirkus Reviews calls it "an innovative one-two-three–punch approach to self-help and healing" and "more solid advice" from a proven author, praising the three-step process as one that "unfolds much like the three major acts in a book or play." Summit Family Therapy highlights Brown's ability to translate "complex grounded theory research into concepts that are useful for anyone with a soul," noting her writing feels like "a great conversation with a best friend over coffee" rather than a dense academic text.
“An innovative one-two-three–punch approach to self-help and healing from an author who has helped countless readers change.”
— Kirkus Reviews4.7from 11,434 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
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Rising Strong by Brené Brown is a research-grounded self-help book that maps a structured, three-part process — reckoning, rumbling, and revolution — for recovering from failure, disappointment, and heartbreak. Built on years of grounded theory research with Fortune 500 leaders, artists, military figures, and parents, it stands as both a compelling standalone guide and the capstone to Brown's trilogy on vulnerability and wholehearted living. Readers already fluent in Brown's vocabulary will find the deepest reward here; those new to her work may want to begin with The Gifts of Imperfection or Daring Greatly first.
- Is it worth reading?
- For readers open to emotional self-examination and drawn to ideas communicated through story, Rising Strong is a substantive and practical guide — not a motivational platitude collection. Greater Good named it one of its Favorite Books of the Year, and Bustle highlighted its practical utility across life stages. The reckoning-rumbling-revolution framework is concrete enough to apply to struggles of any magnitude, from a difficult workplace conflict to the end of a relationship. The main caveat is methodological: readers expecting quantitative social science will find qualitative, interview-based evidence instead, and those new to Brown's vocabulary may need to invest some orientation time upfront.
- Similar books
- Readers who connect with Rising Strong will find natural companions in Brown's own Daring Greatly, which lays the groundwork on vulnerability and courage that Rising Strong builds on as its capstone. Brianna Wiest's The Mountain Is You similarly explores self-sabotage and inner obstacles with an emotionally honest, narrative-driven approach. For those drawn to the therapeutic dimensions of the rising strong process, Lori Gottlieb's Maybe You Should Talk to Someone offers an absorbing, story-rich look at emotional growth from both patient and therapist perspectives. Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga's The Courage to Be Disliked and Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck round out the group for readers who want alternative philosophical frameworks for confronting failure and building resilience.
- Who should read this?
- Rising Strong is designed for anyone who has experienced failure, heartbreak, or disappointment and wants a structured process for moving through it — which Brown frames as virtually everyone. The book is particularly well-suited to readers who engage with ideas through story and who are open to emotional self-examination. Leaders, educators, parents, and people navigating major life transitions are among the groups whose experiences directly populate the research. Readers already familiar with Brown's earlier work — Daring Greatly or The Gifts of Imperfection — will find the most seamless entry, while those new to her vocabulary should be prepared to invest some initial orientation.
- About Brené Brown
- Casandra Brené Brown is an American academic and podcaster. She holds the Huffington Foundation's Brené Brown Endowed Chair at the University of Houston's Graduate College of Social Work and serves as a visiting professor in management at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
- How does this compare to Daring Greatly?
- Daring Greatly focuses on the power of vulnerability — making the case for why showing up and allowing ourselves to be seen is the foundation of courageous living. Rising Strong picks up precisely where that argument leaves off, asking what happens after we dare greatly and stumble. Where Daring Greatly builds the philosophical and emotional case for vulnerability, Rising Strong delivers the operational process — reckoning, rumbling, and revolution — for recovering when that vulnerability leads to failure or heartbreak. Brown describes Rising Strong as the book that 'really ties everything together,' and it's best understood as the culminating volume of a connected trilogy.
- What are the main themes?
- The central theme of Rising Strong is the relationship between failure and courage — specifically, that the act of rising after a fall is where courage is truly forged, not in avoiding the fall itself. Vulnerability, shame, and emotional honesty run throughout, as does the idea that the stories we tell ourselves about our struggles can either trap us or free us. The book also explores ownership and agency: Brown's core argument is that 'when we deny our stories, they define us — when we own our stories, we get to write the ending.' Resilience, wholeheartedness, and the hero's journey through failure serve as additional organizing ideas.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
About Brené Brown
How does this compare to Daring Greatly?
What are the main themes?
Summarize this book
Rising Strong argues that how we get back up after falling defines us more than the fall itself, and it delivers a specific, named process for doing exactly that. Brown structures the journey in three movements: reckoning (getting curious about what you're feeling), rumbling (wrestling with your story until you arrive at truth), and revolution (reshaping how you navigate struggle altogether). Drawn from grounded theory research with a wide range of subjects — Fortune 500 leaders, artists, military figures, teachers, and couples — the book grounds its framework in human narrative rather than abstract theory. Brown's central thesis is stated plainly: "when we deny our stories, they define us — when we own our stories, we get to write the ending."
Follow up
What is the reckoning, rumbling, revolution framework?
Do I need to read her earlier books first?
What kind of research is the book based on?
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Our Review
A New York Times bestseller, Rising Strong makes the compelling case that how we get back up after falling defines us more than the fall itself.
What the Book Is and What It Argues
Rising Strong is a self-help and personal development book by Brené Brown, a social scientist whose grounded theory research has placed vulnerability, shame, and courage at the center of a wide cultural conversation. Where Brown's earlier work explored the power of vulnerability and the dangers of shame, this book asks what happens after we dare greatly and stumble — and it delivers a specific, named answer: the "rising strong" process.
That process unfolds in three movements Brown calls reckoning, rumbling, and revolution. Readers are guided to reckon with their emotions and get curious about what they are feeling; to rumble with their stories until arriving at a place of truth; and to practice this cycle until it reshapes how they navigate struggle entirely.
Brown's central argument, as stated plainly in the book's own framing, is that "when we deny our stories, they define us — when we own our stories, we get to write the ending."
Its Place in Brown's Body of Work
Brown recommends that readers approach her books in sequence — The Gifts of Imperfection, then Daring Greatly, then Rising Strong — and that sequencing matters. Described on her own platform as the book that "really ties everything together," Rising Strong functions as both a standalone guide and a capstone to themes she has developed across multiple works.
Brown's 2010 TED Talk on the power of vulnerability had already reached over 18 million views by the time this book built on its foundation, which means Rising Strong arrives with a massive pre-existing audience primed for its message. For readers already familiar with her vocabulary — wholehearted living, rumbling with emotion, the hero's journey through failure — this book deepens and operationalizes concepts they have encountered before.
Strengths: Research, Storytelling, and Accessibility
One of the book's most widely noted strengths is Brown's use of storytelling to ground her research. Drawing on interviews with people ranging from Fortune 500 leaders and military figures to artists, teachers, couples in long-term relationships, and clergy, Brown populates her arguments with human narratives rather than abstract theory alone.
This approach makes the framework concrete and, as some readers note, more relatable than a purely academic treatment would be. The book is designed to speak to struggles of all magnitudes — from the loss of a job or the end of a relationship to a conflict with a friend or colleague — and the rising strong process is presented as equally applicable regardless of the scale of the hurt.
Greater Good named it one of its Favorite Books of the Year, and Bustle noted that it "can help your graduate make the most out of their failures," pointing to its practical utility across life stages.
Genuine Limitations and Who May Struggle With It
Readers coming to Brown's work for the first time may find Rising Strong most rewarding after engaging with her earlier books, given how deliberately it builds on the language and concepts she established there. The framework — reckoning, rumbling, revolution — is distinctive and purposeful, but those unfamiliar with Brown's broader vocabulary around vulnerability and shame may find themselves needing to pause and orient themselves.
Additionally, Brown's methodology is grounded theory and qualitative research rather than controlled empirical study; readers who expect a social science book grounded in quantitative findings may find her reliance on narrative and interview-based evidence a different kind of rigor than they anticipate.
Who Rising Strong Is For
At its core, Rising Strong is designed for anyone who has experienced failure, heartbreak, or disappointment and wants a structured way to process and move through it — which is to say, virtually everyone. The book is particularly well-suited to readers who engage with ideas through story and who are open to the kind of emotional self-examination Brown advocates.
Leaders, educators, parents, and people navigating major life transitions are among the audiences the research explicitly reflects. As a New York Times bestseller rooted in years of grounded theory work, it carries the weight of Brown's established credibility and wide reach, making it a compelling entry point for those ready to examine not just their falls, but what they choose to do next.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
penguinrandomhouse.com
- 2
forwardfitnessstl.com
- Further reading
- 3
Brené Brown, Wikipedia
- 4
- 5
brenebrown.com
- 6
fourminutebooks.com
- 7
- 8
summitfamilytherapy.com
- 9
megvlaun.com
- 10
scottholleran.substack.com
- 11
spiritualityandpractice.com
- 12
- 13
meaningfulhq.com
- 14
solutionsforresilience.com
Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
who it suits
Skip if you expect self-help frameworks backed by quantitative, controlled-study evidence rather than qualitative and interview-based research.
Brené Brown on Rising Strong
Oprah Winfrey interviews Brené Brown on Super Soul Sunday about her book Rising Strong and the three phases of rising after failure: the reckoning, the rumble, and the revolution.
Uploaded by OWN, 2024 · Watch on YouTube
Confabulations as honest lies
Brown explains that during the "Rumble" phase, the brain creates stories from limited data points to protect itself, resulting in confabulations.
Forgiveness requires grief
Brown notes that her research revealed grief sits at the core of forgiveness, realizing that forgiveness cannot truly occur without something dying.
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