Book Review: The Year of the Introvert
Time to embrace your introverted self
The Year of the Introvert by Michaela Chung is a book that is wholeheartedly pro-introvert, and takes that stance that introversion is not a limitation. The tone has a motivational, coaching style as the author encourages you to embrace your authentic self.
The book defines introverts as “people who gain energy in solitude and lose energy in stimulating environments.” For each day of the year, there is a suggestion given for how to explore and embrace introversion, although many of the points are good life advice in general, introvert or not.
The book is laid out by calendar date from January to December, and for each day there is a suggestion on ways to explore and embrace introversion. This includes a mix of pearls of wisdom, recommended books, journal reflection questions, and gratitude prompts, along with some stories from her personal experience. There are also monthly “fortune cookies”, for which the author provides six fortunes, and the reader is to roll a dice to see which one is yours.
Each month has a theme, including self-love, creativity, love & relationships, unmasking your introversion, loneliness, and energy restoration. At the end of each month, the author encourages a celebration of your accomplishments throughout the month.
Throughout the book, the author points out various strengths and benefits associated with introversion. While some of the challenges that go along with introversion are addressed, along with ways to manage them, overall the focus is more on the positive. There are some interesting insights, such as the idea of social energy cycles to capture the ebb and flow of energy introverts have for social situations.
This book is easy to read; the way it’s laid out doesn’t require a lot of concentration, as it’s meant to be read in bite-size pieces. For anyone looking for a little help to embrace their introversion, this book would be a good choice.
Originally published at https://mentalhealthathome.org on December 11, 2019.
