This book is sparking a cultural conversation around failure, success, and the value in the stories we tell ourselves when we fail. It's a topic the author knows well; her TED talk about vulnerability has been viewed over 21 million times. For anyone who has ever struggled with setbacks in life, this will provide a helpful perspective and tips on how to come back more resilient and smarter than you were before you began.

The theme of the book is a process of "rising strong" after a fall (work disaster, divorce, fight with a friend), which we can all use to pick ourselves up and keep our lives moving better than ever. Brown uses both quantitative and qualitative research, with a big emphasis on her personal experiences, to create a narrative about when, how and why to apply this process to your own life.

For me, the number one takeaway from this book is the advice to write down whose opinion matters in your life on a small piece of paper. Next time you get criticized, think about whether the criticizer's name is on your list. If not, move on. This tip has already started to have waterfall implications in my life.

In addition to helpful advice, Brown offers so many nuggets of wisdom that my copy of the book is filled with highlighted quotes. Some of my favorites include:

On trying your best: "But if you can look back... and see that you didn't hold back—that you were all in—you will feel very differently from someone who didn't fully show up."

On playing it safe: "We're more difficult to hit when we're small, but we're also less likely to make a contribution."

On love: "One of the most vulnerable parts of loving someone is trusting they love you back, and I need to be generous in my assumptions."

And finally, near the end of the book, a quote I love so much: "That's how I feel most of the time... brave, afraid, and very, very alive."

In my own life, this book has sparked so many meaningful conversations among my husband, friends and me around how we can rise again. For anyone who has faced challenges, big or small, you don’t want to miss this helpful guide.