Staring Into the Arena

PART I: ASHAMED IN THE ARENA

When, with much embarrassment and some reluctance, I recently purchased—on my therapist’s recommendation—the self-help book Daring Greatly, by Brené Brown, I was at a low point. The book was supposed to have something to do with confronting your own shame, but the act of buying the book was utterly humiliating. I am a basic bitch, I thought, as I opened it on the train, trying to hide the title from my seatmates: I am a cliché.