Atlas of the Heart

Dr. Brené Brown, research professor who studies courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and New York Times bestselling author, shares in Atlas of the Heart that, on average, people are only able to name three emotions while they are experiencing them— happy, sad, and angry. This vastly limits our understanding, self-awareness, and ability to express our feelings to others and secure appropriate help. 

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 leave 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 might present outwardly in the same way, it is difficult to accurately pinpoint the emotions of another. Also, some emotions, like anger and frustration, have subtle internal differences, such as one we feel we can impact a situation for a desired outcome (anger) and the other we feel we cannot (frustration). There are also some surprises in the book such as anger, frustration, and resentment all appear in different categories.

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.