Title: Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First: 10 Questions to Take Your Friendships to the Next Level

Author: Laura Tremaine

Publisher: Zondervan 2021

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 224

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Nonfiction Reader

In spite of the hyper-connected culture we live in today, women still feel shamed for oversharing and being publicly vulnerable. And no matter how many friends we seem to have, many of us are still desperately lonely.

Laura Tremaine, blogger and podcaster behind 10 Things To Tell You, says it's time for something better. Openness and vulnerability are the foundation for human growth and healthy relationships, and it all starts when we share our stuff, the nitty-gritty daily details about ourselves with others. Laura has led the way in her personal life with her popular blog and podcast, and now with lighthearted self-awareness, a sensitivity to the important things in life, and compelling storytelling, Laura gives you the tools to build and deepen the conversations happening in your life.

Laura's stories about her childhood, her complicated shifts in faith and friendships, and her marriage to a Hollywood movie director will prompt you to identify the beautiful narrative and pivotal milestones of your own life. Each chapter offers intriguing and reflective questions that will reveal unique details and stories you've never thought to tell and will guide you into cultivating the authentic connection with others that only comes from sharing yourself.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for years now after reading rave reviews from my podcast community. I finally dove into this one and just felt very meh about it throughout. There’s some good questions and advice in here, but like in most self-help books, the text goes on and on. I kept getting bogged down in the repetitions and multiple scenarios detailed. I just couldn’t find myself caring much at all. Oh well. One less book on my Unread Shelf.

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