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

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.

This book will change your life!

This is amazing! As a woman you have no idea how many things and ideas and habits are subconsciously set up for you not to live your best life! Please read it, live it and share it!!!

100/10, HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

I’ve been listening to Kara Loewentheil’s podcast for years, so I knew this book would be good, but WOW! It’s a concise compilation of all her teachings in one handy place. I don’t know how she put so many concepts into such a short space of time and STILL made it so easy to follow - sorcery!

She explains why our thoughts are unhelpful, how they got there in the first place, and then provides practical, step-by-step ways to change them. Not only does she teach ground breaking concepts, she backs everything up with science, unpacks the big picture impact of socialization, and ties in smaller, everyday, relatable examples. Even though I’ve been following and practicing this work for years, she still dropped little mind blowing nuggets of wisdom that made this sooo worth the listen.

I love her no-nonsense, common sense approach and how she still explains things in a way that’s easy to receive. I am forever grateful for the tools she teachers and know this work has the power to change the world. It certainly has changed mine.

Empowering for All Women; a Must Read!

This book is so empowering! I discovered many new ideas and concepts that will help me let go of a lot of pressure I've been putting on myself my whole life! Now I understand why I am such a perfectionist and how to use it like a superpower instead of a limitation. It is so intelligent, and offers so much to really think about, and re-think about. I want to give this book to all the women I love, especially my daughter and daughter-in-law!

Dropping the truth bombs!

Awesome and eye opening! Loved every single chapter, even those I didn’t think would really apply to me

Forever changed.

Reading Kara’s book and listening to the audiobook has been such a journey of self discovery. I’ve shared this book with all the women in my life, I want everyone to know about this powerful work. I signed up to The Feminist Self Help Society and will never look back. It’s early days but I’m already learning so much and this work amplifies the work I’m doing with my therapist.
I can’t recommend this book and Kara’s work enough!!!