What Looks Like Bravery

An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love

By: Laurel Braitman

Narrated by: Laurel Braitman

A true story about the ways loss can transform us into the people we want to become.

“What Looks Like Bravery is a gorgeous, tender, and beautiful book. I'm in tears with the happy-sad truth and beauty of it. Laurel is a magnificent writer.” —Cheryl Strayed, New York Times bestselling author of Wild

Laurel Braitman spent her childhood learning from her dad how to out-fish grown men, keep bees, and fix carburetors. Diagnosed young with terminal cancer, he raced against the clock to leave her the skills she’d need to survive without him. This was one legacy. Another was relentless perfectionism and the belief that bravery meant never acknowledging your own fear.

By her mid-thirties Laurel is a ship about to splinter on the rocks, having learned the hard way that no achievement can protect her from pain or remove the guilt and regret her dad’s death leaves her with. So, she determines to explore her troubled internal wilderness by way of some big exterior ones—Northern New Mexico, Western Alaska, her Tinder App. She finds help from a wise birder in the Bering Sea, a few dozen grieving kids, and a succession of smart teachers who convince her that you cannot be brave if you’re not scared. Along the way, she faces a wildfire that threatens everyone and everything she cares about and is forced by life to say another wrenching goodbye long before she wants to. This time she may not be ready, but she’s prepared. Joy in the wake of loss, she learns, isn’t possible despite the hardest things that happen to us, but because of the meaning we forge from them.

Critic reviews

"Laurel Braitman has worked hard to get to a place of peace and self-awareness after years of ignoring the grief of losing her father to cancer. That knowledge imbues every word she speaks, resulting in a performance that further elevates her story. Even when she’s making lousy choices and oversharing them, her authenticity draws the listener in. Braitman has a fine voice and beautiful pacing, and she captures emotional depth like a professional. Her memoir is a love letter to her parents, both of whom are quirky, loving, and resolute. As an adult, Braitman volunteers at a center for grieving children, and those children are full of wisdom. She concludes that maybe there isn’t a happy-ever-after in life, but if you can get to happy-sad, that’s a pretty good outcome."

Holy wow, this is now one of my favorite books!

I cannot say enough about this incredible story and Laurel's telling of it - just wow. I love her writing and her voice, and her truth is better than any fiction I've read in as long as I can remember. Such a beautiful and poignant story that just kept unfolding in surprising ways and often had me in tears (in the best of ways!). I could not put it down.

The honesty

I love how this book made me laugh, and cry and feel from beginning to end.

Braitman is an alchemist

Braitman is an alchemist, transforming her grief into something of great value—a beautifully written, generous memoir which illuminates a path of endurance and healing.

Candid and vividly rendered, it’s stayed with me*

Just beautiful

What a beautiful tribute to life and love. I work in the hospital setting and do a lot of grief work at Stanford Children’s. This book was raw & real and I am so grateful for the wisdom I am taking away.

Beautifully told and heart-opening

I started listening yesterday and just finished today. I couldn't put it down. Do yourself a favor and get this book!