Review: Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown

 

Rating: 4 Stars

Genre: Popular science, self-help

Themes: Emotions and how to use them to communicate

Ideal for fans of: Rhonda Byrne, Oprah

Get it in South Africa from: Penguin Random House South Africa

Atlas of the Heart is a compendium of 87 emotions and experiences – that means 87 different emotions and the thoughts that lead to them. They’re conveniently grouped by similarity of the feelings, and the responses they evoke.

Brené Brown is uniquely qualified to write about emotions – she’s had a lifelong interest in how these feelings effect our lives, and specially, how they change the way we communicate. Her interest eventually became a passion, and then a career. And it all started with some fascinating research on one of the world’s most complex emotions – shame. Despite this, Brown freely admits that she doesn’t have concrete answers to every question concerning emotions, but she does have a lot of data, and the help of fellow researchers.

Her conclusions are remarkable. Not only does she define every emotion and experience covered in this tome, but she gives the reader incredible information that leads to several “ah ha!” moments, starting from her assertion that a lot of what we think of as emotion is actually just cognitive responses – emotion is as much about thinking as it is a bout feeling.

But that’s not all.

Brown helps us distinguish between similar emotions (like envy and jealousy) because if you better understand what you’re feeling and why, you can talk about it, form meaningful connections, and learn from it. You can master your emotions.

This book is packed with astonishing insights, including how boredom is actually good for you, and that disappointment CAN be measured. But don’t feel overwhelmed – all the research and data is presented in easy to follow and easier to digest bite-sized chunks. Brown’s style is also refreshingly personal – she gives context to her research, but shares this with an honest how-to style, that feels more like you’re getting advice from a friend than getting cold hard science.

There’s more. You’ll also get three skillsets for using emotion to cultivate meaningful connection with other people – so you can take what you’ve learned, and actually apply it to make your life better. What more could you want?

Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown is published by Penguin Random House

Review: The Unravelling by Polly Crosby

Alternate name: The Women of Pearl Island

Rating: 5 Stars (Masterful)

Genre: Literary fiction with a dash of history

Themes: Grief, family, love

Ideal for fans of: Natasha Carthew, Megan Hunter, Sara Collins

Get it in South Africa from: Jonathan Ball Publishers

After her mother’s death, Tartelin feels unmoored. She thinks with longing of her mum’s stories of the sea, and longs for closure. When she spies an advert for a job posting on a remote island off the English coast, it immediately catches her eye. Marianne Stourbridge, a lepidopterist, seeks an assistant, and Tartelin is looking for a way to escape and heal. With this job, she can be near the ocean her mother loved so much. It seems like fate.

Yet when she arrives, Tartelin realizes nothing is as it seems. The strangely deserted isle holds more than just the ruins of buildings once washed away into the sea – it holds a mystery, and Marianne is at the very scarred heart of it.

But there’s a catch. Miss Stourbridge is no longer used to company, and keeps her assistant at arm’s length. Yet somehow, the two women eventually become close, sharing their time, their grief, and finally, uncovering the island’s history, and the secrets it has hidden beneath its bleak exterior.

The Unraveling is more than a satisfying tale with a dash of history and suspense. It is an investigation into the nature of loss, and how this shapes not just a person, but their past and future, too. The carefully woven subplots of evolution and rebirth remind us that family isn’t necessarily a blood bond, but a meeting of like-minded souls and a desire to be seen and see.

Tartelin and Marianne are united by grief and loss, yet separated by so much else, not least of which their ages. Despite this, Polly Crosby reminds us that love and acceptance have no boundaries, and any playing field can be levelled with enough trust.

The mysterious and frightening history of the island and its inhabitants also serve to highlight the dark side of humanity, a start contrast to the hopeful sweetness felt throughout the novel. Crosby shows that man can be both creator and destroyer, and all that separates the two is motivation. Crosby gives tangible weight to the power of things left unsaid, making this book as much a story of loss and longing as it is of hope and happiness.

The Unravelling is poetic and beautifully written, but it is also an addictive story. It’s the kind of literary fiction that has a refreshingly satisfying and undeniable pull, making it sure to appeal to any reader. This is top-shelf prose made accessible through a brilliant story, and the effect is nothing short of perfection.  

The Unravelling by Polly Crosby is published by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers