Brown spent four years interviewing over 200 women about shame and its impact on the way they live, love, parent, work and develop relationships. The raw honesty and painful truths of these interviews make it clear that shame continues to play a significant and damaging role in women’s lives. Yet, through a compassionate weaving of informal anecdotes, thought-provoking illustrations, ground-breaking research and personal insights, Dr. Brown delivers a promising message of hope: We are all capable of overcoming shame and of helping other women and girls do the same.

Throughout the book, Dr. Brown shares information, ideas and strategies for understanding shame across a wide range of topics, including appearance, sex, body image, motherhood, parenting, health, aging, family, addiction and religion. In a clear and accessible format, supported by poignant and relevant case examples, the book identifies and explains four key elements that allow women to transform shame into connection, power and freedom.

Regardless of who we are, how we were raised or what we believe, all of us fight the silent and lonely battles of not being enough, not having enough and not belonging enough. Women and Shame teaches us how to move from isolation to connection and inspires us to reach out to others who also need to hear "You are not alone."