I’ve found all of Brene Brown’s books at Goodwill for $2-3 each. Finally sat down to read one. I chose The Gifts of Imperfection. The book felt familiar. She mentions “courage”, “compassion”, and “connection” as “the gifts of imperfection.”
Those are three of the “8Cs of IFS”: 1. calmness, 2. curiosity, 3. clarity, 4. compassion, 5. confidence, 6. courage, 7. creativity, 8. connectedness. Here’s a bit about IFS/Richard C. Schwartz, copy & pasted from Wikipedia.
IFS was developed by Richard C. Schwartz in the 1980s.[1] He has claimed that it was given to him by entities he refers to as “guides” ([4] at 38:31). It was initially not well received in the academic study of psychiatry, with many psychiatrists expressing worries it could be dangerous.[3] Schwartz abandoned academia, and instead pursued a “grassroots” approach, promoting the therapy directly to patients through the use of unlicensed therapists.[3] In 2000, he founded the Center for Self-Leadership (later renamed the IFS Institute) to promote the therapy.[3] In 2015, the therapy found popularity, which Schwartz credits to the Pixar movie “Inside Out.”
BB doesn’t reference RCS. I’ll have to look up when he published those ideas, and if it was before her “2007 spiritual awakening.” She may have not been exposed to his work. Was is out there for her to find?
Finally – and I admit I’ve only read the preface + the introduction – I see a similarity between her ideas and what can be found in the book Alcoholics Anonymous published in 1939 (as well as subsequent literature published by the group, like 24 Hours a Day and Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions). The “Wholehearted living” she is writing about is basically what the AA program & fellowship teach. I don’t know much about Al-Anon or CODA, but her people-pleasing solutions have probably been polished in those programs for decades.
She also mentions “gremlins” and I thought of Taming Your Gremlin by Rick Carson. I’ll see if she references him.
I just saw she quotes Mary Daly on page 7, the first page of the book itself.
Uh…has she read any of MD’s work? The brilliant self-defined radical lesbian feminist? Pure Lust (1984), Gyn/ecology (1978), Beyond God the Father (1973), the incredible Wickedary?
Update: No. It’s not THAT Mary Daly lol. I put the quote into Google and found this:
Courage is like — it’s a habitus, a habit, a virtue. It’s like you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.” —Marie M. Daly, the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry in the U.S.
It looks like that woman’s name is Marie Maynard Daly. Not Mary Daly. That is pretty damn funny, because (my) Mary Daly IS the theologian (Brene Brown writes, “Mary Daly, a theologian writes”). Marie isn’t even a Mary. I guess Brene Brown got Marie M. Daly and Mary Daly confused.
Here’s Marie Daly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Maynard_Daly
Here’s Mary Daly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Daly
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