What inspired Patty to try to become brave was the realization that her two daughters were inheriting her timid approach to life. Previously too afraid of failure to try new things, in this book Patty chronicles her adventures facing down her fears and those of others. With input from friends and experts, Patty shares her experience exploring everything from fears of public speaking to the fear of death.

I think of myself as a somewhat timid person, so I enjoy reading books about how to be brave. However, I’m not worried about suddenly finding myself in a war zone or other extraordinary circumstances that require death-defying heroism. I’m afraid of far more mundane things, like failing at something new I try at work. That made this book the perfect book for me to read. I am very grateful to Patty Anker for sharing her emotions so candidly while experiencing every day fears. Her motivations were inspiring; her interviews with experts were thought-provoking; and her thoughts were very relatable. It made me want to get out there and start doing things outside my comfort zone right away.

That said, this is less of a self-help kind of book than the title might suggest. It is very like (and I would therefore recommend it to fans of) both MWF Seeking BFF and The Happiness Project. The point isn’t to get specific advice. It’s to be inspired and to get a glimpse of how amazingly alike we are to other people, despite our differences. Differences like the way the authors of these three books have the ability to write such humorous, touching memoirs that do such a wonderful job capturing a bit of the human experience. Highly recommended.

This review first published on Doing Dewey. ( )

This book was very well done. It was written by someone that wrote from her heart about taking on challenges and overcoming fear along the way. I would recommend this book to anyone that struggles with their fear. Reading the true stories would help most anyone develop skills to overcoming fear and taking a next step, whatever that step might be.

Patty did a nice job of helping the reader visualize what if feels like to be afraid, and how to deal with that feeling.

Pretty solid book. Has some good inspirational thoughts to it, but a touch long, I feel like. ( )

I received a copy of this book as part of the Early Reviewers program. Normally, I would never review a book that I did not finish reading, but in receiving this copy in the mail I agreed to write a review.
This book just couldn't hold me. I enjoyed the first few chapters, but after that I just couldn't seem to stick with it.
Again, I do not believe that it is just to judge a book that I have not completed, so I will not give this a star rating. It very well could have been for reasons of my own that I could not get into this book. Everyone who reads a book brings something different to it, and maybe it just wasn't what I needed at the time. That being said, I would advise you not to rule it out. This is the author's true story, and there is something to be learned from every person's story, if only you keep reading long enough to find it.

This book came to me at a good time. Facing 50 and starting to think more seriously about what I want out of life, what challenges I need to face, how I want to grow in the "second half", I was initially completely enchanted by Patty--her courage, her humor, her honesty, as she took on her fears I with the goal of raising her daughters to be strong, confident women. Over time, I got a bit distracted, put it down, and had a hard time picking it back up, feeling like I had gotten the gist. But nonetheless, I plan to hang onto the book when I need inspiration. The author's humor and willingness to not take herself too seriously while remaining completely honest, is great. Recommended.