Quiet by Susan Cain

QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking is a fascinating book that explores introversion. The author, Harvard Law School graduate Susan Cain, practiced corporate law for seven years and teaches negotiation skills at corporations, law firms, and universities. Cain uses her personal experience, as well as the experiences of others, to introduce the many skills of introverts. I rarely read Nonfiction but I found this book fascinating.

QUIET is well researched and demonstrates although introverts appear to be "quiet" they have a skill set that is invaluable but often undervalued. More than 33% of people are introverts. Through research in psychology and neuroscience, along with personal interviews and anecdotes, Cain demonstrates the difference between introverts and extroverts and our country's perception of the "Extroverted Ideal."  From her research and interviews, the author turns her focus to the power of introversion and shows ways introverts have successfully coped with living in an extroverted world. She also provides suggestions for how introverts can harness this power while still remaining true to themselves.

While reading this book, I kept thinking about my personal understanding of personality traits and where I land on the continuum between introversion and extroversion based on the most common personality type test, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. I've had an opportunity to take this test many times at different jobs, in graduate school, and (after finishing this book) on my own for fun. I have an equal number of tests that suggest introversion (ISTJ) and extroversion (ESTJ). Cain's book helped me understand some of my personal coping strategies.

Whether you are introverted or extroverted, I highly recommend QUIET. I listened to this book and Kathe Mazur's narration is excellent. ~Enjoy~