Brene Brown

“Courage over comfort” is the current motto of University of Houston research professor Brené Brown. Whether you’ve heard of her name or not, it’s a fact that she has been and is heavily invested in the mental health community. Brown has spent the last two decades researching courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. With this research, she has written five #1 New York Times bestsellers, been featured on numerous podcasts, and debuted on a Netflix special. Brown states, “The bottom line: I believe that you have to walk through vulnerability to get to courage, therefore . . . embrace the suck.”

Clearly, Brown isn’t the only research professor in the world. So what is the reasoning behind her fame? The answer is: it’s personal. Through the various forms of media that she has appeared in, Brown pulls from her research as well as from personal anecdotes. The searing honesty in both her books and talks is what captures the attention of readers and audiences. The theme across all of these platforms is that “The path to a meaningful, loving life comes through a willingness to be vulnerable—and a rejection of the socially produced shame that convinces us we, or our vulnerabilities, are not worthy of love.” Her message has rang loud and clear throughout the mental health community as millions have purchased her books and watched her talks. In an open letter to Brown, one of these readers thanked Brown for helping him out of his dark place by embracing the vulnerabilities that make him different.

In an interview with Vanity Fair’s Chris Pizzello, Brown cites her upbringing in San Antonio as a driving force behind the personal storytelling that has been her claim to fame. When she was young, Brown planned to be a cruise director or a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. However, she quickly realized that there had to be more to life than something so simple. Thanks to her “very strong, faith-based equity streak”, Brown pursued a rather intriguing path to where she is now. From college dropout, to European backpacker, to bartender, to Spanish AT&T customer service operator, to social worker – during which she pursued her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees – and, finally, to a researcher.

Brown’s first research study brought her to the realization that despite the ridiculous amount of work she was doing, it was unlikely that anyone would actually read the results. As a result, she made it a necessity that her research results be published in an accessible and readable way. Brown also broke away from the predominantly male-dominated research lab to instead work in her own lab. With the new freedom to pursue other paths, Brown successfully published her work, which has led her to become the well-known figure she is today.