Take Back Your Brain

How a Sexist Society Gets in Your Head—and How to Get It Out

By: Kara Loewentheil

Narrated by: Kara Loewentheil

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A manual for every woman who wants to stop endless negative self-talk, create unshakable confidence, and jump-start a life of joy and power. It all begins with your thoughts.

I never look good in tight skirts. I can’t ask for a raise or my boss will think I’m greedy. I’m getting too old to find a partner. I’m a bad mom. I’m always behind. I’ll never be good enough.

What if every time you had a self-critical thought, you heard it in a man’s voice? The truth is not far off. Living in a patriarchy, women absorb a lifetime of messages that say your worth is defined by your looks, your accomplishments, and how well you take care of everyone around you. In fact, these messages are so pervasive that, even knowing they exist, they still manage to program themselves into our brains. The result is that women end up feeling anxious, guilty, and vaguely ashamed of themselves no matter how much they do for others or achieve for themselves.

So how do we deprogram our thoughts from patriarchy’s corrosive influence? And once we do, how can we create new, self-empowering beliefs?

Master Certified Life Coach and host of the UnF*ck Your Brain podcast Kara Loewentheil knows how. Despite graduating from Harvard Law School and getting her dream job, Kara spent her twenties and thirties feeling insecure and anxious, until she learned how to change her thoughts—which led her to become a coach. In Take Back Your Brain, she draws on cognitive psychology, feminist theory, and years of experience as a neuroplasticity-focused coach to break down how the patriarchy hijacks women’s brains, and how women can get free. To bridge the gap between your inner voice and your true potential, she says, you must begin with your thoughts. By using the skills in this book to literally rewire your brain, you can create new thought patterns that will directly transform outcomes in your life.

Ultimately, Take Back Your Brain invites you to replace the thoughts that no longer serve you and make room for a kind of confidence you never thought possible. Because when women unleash their true power, they awaken new possibilities for the world.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains a QR code for access to the free Take Back Your Brain exercises guide.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Kara Loewentheil (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Loewentheil’s galvanizing debut urges readers to close the gap between “feminist beliefs about our worth” and the “patriarchal social conditioning” that constrains them…Women will be motivated to tackle the invisible barriers holding them back.”–Publishers Weekly

“Brilliant and revelatory, and one of those rare books that will change the way you understand yourself and the world.”—Elise Loehnen, author of the New York Times bestseller On Our Best Behavior

“Take Back Your Brain is the perfect book for someone who believes their brain is their own worst enemy. Kara does an incredible job in illuminating how the patriarchy’s bullsh*t impacts you, then backs it up with concrete actionable steps to overcome the shame and imposter syndrome.”—Tori Dunlap, author of the New York Times bestseller Financial Feminist

Required Reading

Life changing. The tools in this book will change every aspect of your life for the better. Kara leaves no stone unturned. The examples and stories make this work easy to understand and digest. If you’re a human with a human brain you need this book in your life.

Exceptionally easy to grasp and see how one can apply this powerful work.

Excellent! Every woman or individual raised as a one must read this book. Really. Please. Trust me. It will change your life, and it will do so for the best not just the better.

Kara changed my life

I’m not exaggerating or being hyperbolic - Kara’s work and teaching, which this book is the capstone of, changed every aspect of my life - my career, my business, my relationships (I found the best partner ever!) - but mostly, it changed my relationship with myself. Which sounds so trite and cheesy but like - just trust me. IT IS THE BEST!!