Overall it’s an extremely empowering read and I would highly recommend it for any introvert. Extroverts can read it too, it just won’t speak to you as much. I would recommend Dale Carnegie’s How to make friends and influence people for you instead. It felt so personal, it felt like Susan Cain has known me, my whole life. First of all it was very relieving to hear others are going through and have been through the exact same awkwardness, shyness and degree of feeling excluded in an extroverted world. And then extremely empowering for Susan to highlight my strengths as an introvert. And that the world needs me to use my powers of concentration and persistence to keep everyone from drowning (Al Gore reference from the book). Upon reading this book it became abundantly clear to me how much preparation and research the author did for this book. It is packed with brilliantly relevant and persuasive stories/studies of how introverts are and can improve in numerous environments. Overall the author has hit the bullseye with her intention and my experience of this book as I now feel a ‘newfound sense of entitlement to be myself.’
Two of my favourite bits
- Finnish joke: How can you tell if a Finn likes you? He’s staring at your shoes instead of his. Finland is apparently famous for being an introverted country.
- When someone offers you a beer, they’re really saying ‘Have a glass of extraversion’
Thomas Duggan 