The Gifts of Imperfection
I took this selfie in 2014 as I was about to embark on an e-course with Brené Brown based on her book, “The Gifts of Imperfection.” It was one of our first assignments. Contrary to my glowing smile, at the time, I felt worse about my imperfections than ever before. My teenage daughter was in treatment for an eating disorder and depression. I felt alone and scared and hopeless. I also felt responsible. I tried everything I could think of and everything the professionals recommended to help her get better. Through that process, I learned the hard way that I have control over nothing but myself. I realized that if I wanted her to feel better about herself, I had to show her how by truly and deeply feeling better about myself. Today my daughter thrives and I have a daily practice that reminds me I’m not alone and there is hope. There is so much hope. I want to share my journey with you, lessons I learned then that still help me now. Most of all, I want to build and share this community because we’re all in this together. I’m imperfect and I’m enough and so are you. You are not alone.
You are very brave to share your story. Not just in putting out your struggles on the Web, but also to talk about/write about/deal with such hard times. You could have simply tried to move on and not dwell so much on the past, with its heart-wrenching details. I understand that what you are doing is healing for you. And for the rest of us! Thank you for what you are doing. Through your instigation, I will heal and grow by reading your stories, opinions and insight, as well as being part of these conversations. : )
Thank you so much Susan. Your inspiration and your friendship keep me moving forward. XO
I'm reading this book right now and finding it very inspirational. I'm searching for a way to help my daughter deal with her self esteem issues. I really was at a loss until I started reading this book and saw my daughter on every page. The first step to healing is diagnosing the problem…so here we go.