An eye-opening guide to understanding and consequently shedding the stigma and shame culturally associated with expressing emotions in order for one to live true to oneself.

Dare to Feel traces the individual yet common path along which many had been conditioned to conceal their emotions; to achieve external rewards like parental approval, to appearing mature and collected, or to escape the long established social stigma associated with emotions particularly negative ones. This book is a call to acknowledge one's own childhood needs that went unmet and to break the cycle of repression by overcoming our fear of vulnerability and rewiring ourselves not to only feel those emotions but also to celebrate positive and negative ones alike as they come, whenever they come.

While I appreciated the author sharing her first-hand experience, I couldn't fully relate because the book was too heavy on the spiritual aspect for my taste. While this is not objectively a bad thing, for me, many of the exercises/rituals were inapplicable to my own experience and interests so I skipped reading them halfway through and considered the book an autobiography: a revolutionary concept with a rather esoterical relevancy. If you are not spiritually inclined, consider that perhaps this may not be for you.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.