Description

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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.

About the Author

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After graduating Harvard Law School, Kara Loewentheil did what every Ivy League feminist lawyer should do: quit a prestigious academic career to become a life coach! Less than a decade after leaving the law, Kara has taught millions of of women how to close the “Brain Gap” that keeps them feeling anxious and disempowered. Her work enables women to identify the ways that sexist social messages impact their brains and how to rewire their thought patterns to create true, authentic confidence from within.

Kara is the founder of The New School of Feminist Thought. Her internationally top-ranked podcast UnF*ck Your Brain: Feminist Self-Help for Everyone, with 48 million downloads, has been recommended everywhere from The New York Times to Glennon Doyle's podcast We Can Do Hard Things. This is her first book.

Praise For…

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“I freakin' love Kara Loewentheil. If you're a woman, there's a reason why you're not speaking up when you deserve to, why you're picking apart everything you think is wrong with your body, and why you're not in control of your money. You've internalized age-old messaging, and it's time to interrupt that sh*t once and for all. In your hands is a playbook that teaches you how. Do not put it down.” –Mel Robbins, author of the New York Times bestseller The High 5 Habit and host of The Mel Robbins Podcast
 
“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
 
“This isn’t just a book about knowing your worth, it’s a hands-on guide to leaving your limiting beliefs behind so you can think bigger and step into your power like never before.” —Amy Porterfield, author of the New York Times bestseller Two Weeks Notice
 
“[An] insightful, actionable, and funny deep dive into the way women are taught to think.” —Farnoosh Torabi, author of A Healthy State of Panic and host of the So Money podcast
 
“No one is inherently unworthy, Kara Loewentheil argues, while offering us exercises to finally convince our brains this is true. If the advice to ‘love yourself’ had a manual, this would be it.” —Marisa G. Franco, PhD, author of the New York Times bestseller Platonic
 
“Kara Loewentheil is a genius. It’s not often you can read someone else’s words and understand yourself more, but Kara’s words do just that. Kara takes us on a tour of our brain, our feelings, and our history in a way that introduces us to a new way to be alive. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this book will change thousands of women’s lives. Let it change yours.” —Brooke Castillo, founder of The Life Coach School
 
“Kara Loewentheil has a unique gift for making you feel like she’s speaking directly to you, and her book Take Back Your Brain expands upon that in an insightful, actionable, and often funny manual for how to live a fuller life. This is the must have book for questioning the stories we’ve been told and writing our own futures to be far better than fiction!” —Damona Hoffman, author of F the Fairy Tale and The Drew Barrymore Show love expert
 
“Take Back Your Brain is a refreshing and resonant take on changing your life starting with your own brain, especially in an imperfect world. Kara takes readers on a bullshit-free journey beyond platitudes and positive thinking to action and true freedom.” —Rae McDaniel, MEd, LCPC, CST, author of Gender Magic
 
“[A] compassionate and comprehensive guidebook for moving from mental clutter to clarity. Readers will feel empowered to claim control over their lives, and gain emotional resilience, fortitude, and freedom along the way.” —Shira Gill, author of Minimalista
 
 “Kara shows us that the possibilities are endless when we, as women, step into our power. Take Back Your Brain isn’t just a read; it’s a movement.” —Rebecca Minkoff, award-winning fashion designer, cofounder of Female Founder Collective, and author of Fearless
 
“Believe me when I say that Take Back Your Brain is different. It’s smart, it’s feminist, it’s actionable, and it made me snort with laughter more than once. Kara has created a book that has rewired my brain in a way that makes me feel powerful and unstoppable. It’s changed the way I show up in my relationship, my business, and my life. It’s a must-read, and I’m going to be recommending it to all my clients!” —Lily Womble, author of Thank You, More Please
 
“Finally, there is a self-help book that contextualizes the voices in our head with the impossible social pressures and the outdated cultural norms that have feasted on our confidence for way too long. It’s not you, it’s them. But it’s also a little bit of you too . . . because of them! Kara Loewentheil unpacks us and unpacks them, all in an effort to help us get out of our own heads and into our best selves.” —Laura Gassner Otting, author of Wonderhell
 
“Unlike mainstream messages on body positivity and confidence which often sound nice yet don’t do much, Take Back Your Brain teaches you how to actually bridge the gap between knowing and believing. This book is both a feminist hot take and a practical guide to self-empowerment.” —Mary Jelkovsky, author of The Gift of Self-Love
 
“Ever feel like the world’s always judging your body? Kara breaks down why we struggle so much with how we look and offers clear, doable steps to quiet that relentless inner critic women suffer with. It’s time we learn how to embrace ourselves, so we can focus on bigger things in life beyond just dieting.” —Corinne Crabtree, host of the Losing 100 Pounds with Corinne podcast and creator of the No BS Weightloss Program
 
“You are more than your programming, but it takes perspective, skill, and genuinely helpful guidance to effectively change it. Kara has been precisely that voice for years, and my excitement for women holding her work in their hands (and putting it into practice) is immeasurable. This book is a wildly necessary addition to the world of productive change.” —Shani Silver, author of A Single Revolution
 
“Take Back Your Brain is full of brilliant insight and effective tools you can start using to feel better immediately. This isn’t recycled self-help. It’s the patriarchy smashing coaching approach we all need. Buy two copies, because you’re going to want to share this book! —Susan Hyatt, author of Bare and host of the You’ve Got Nerve podcast