Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, published by Random House in 2021, is a self-help book subtitled “Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience.” Brown defines and explores over 80 different emotions and experiences gathered from her work as a grounded theory emotions researcher. Using her own research and extensive research from others, she defines each emotion/experience and often contrasts it with others. Brown believes that having this nuanced language helps the reader better understand the nuance between different emotions and experiences, so the reader can build connection with themself and their story as well as the stories and experiences of others.

This is Brown’s first book to be published with extensive artwork/visual aids, similar to a traditional coffee table book in its visual layout. Brown’s goal in this work is to make the book’s descriptions of the human experience more relatable, with plenty of examples for the reader to visualize. 

Summary

In the introduction, Brown explains how she has been a student of emotions since she was young. Through observation, she knew how to read people and predict what they would do or what they wanted from others. This caused her to become overwhelmed and anxious because she would hang on others’ words and actions to try to know how to please them or belong. While Brown no longer believes we should read others to please them, she still sees how powerful emotions are, yet most people seem unaware of what is driving them. In her work as an emotions researcher, her goal in this book is to give the reader language for what is happening on a biological and biographical level to help them belong to themselves and belong to others while making sense of our human experience. 

In Chapter 1, Brown analyzes “Places We Go When Things are Uncertain or Too Much.” She outlines emotions like stress, overwhelms, fear, vulnerability, etc. Next, she analyzes “Places We Go When We Compare” in Chapter 2. Brown emphasizes the importance of not letting comparison ruin our relationships with others or our acceptance of ourselves. In Chapter 3, Brown explores the “Places We Go When Things Don’t Go As Planned,” which range from boredom to regret. In Chapters 4-5 she turns to look at what we experience when “It’s Beyond Us,” or “Things Aren’t What They Seem.” These two chapters emphasize the importance of curiosity and opening ourselves up to the world rather than withdrawing or lashing out when we realize our limited humanity. Chapter 6 explores the five painful experiences “When We’re Hurting” and differentiates between debilitating anguish and the type of healthy sadness that can actually build human bonds. 

Chapters 7-10 all have to do with human relationships. Brown examines “Places We Go With Others,” “When We Fall Short,” “When We Search for Connection,” and “When the Heart is Open.” While the precise emotions range from things like compassion, embarrassment, insecurity, or betrayal, each of the experiences in this section has to do with our desire for human relationships. Over and over, Brown examines how humans are not meant to be lonely or independent but need each other to survive. Chapter 11 looks at “Places We Go When Life is Good,” which ranges from positive feelings like tranquility to more complex practices like gratitude. In Chapters 12-13, Brown outlines what happens “When We Feel Wronged” or, “Places We Go to Self-Assess.” Brown closes with a section called “Cultivating Meaningful Connection.” While this closing section is not its own chapter, it summarizes Brown’s concluding theory about building meaningful connections based on her findings in Atlas of the Heart. Brown explains how she has come to believe that we must belong to ourselves before we can belong to others. While examining emotions and walking alongside each other is work and requires vulnerability, it is the essence of the human experience and some of the most important work we can do.