When you are at a party, do you suddenly feel the desperate urge to escape somewhere quiet such as a toilet cubicle and just sit there? Until I read Quiet Power, I thought it was just me.

Growing up as an introvert, I wish I read this book. Always feeling that social scenes were not my thing, I preferred being in my room, reading or doing something away from the social scene.

For a long time, I was never the cool kid, always away from the big crowds and hardly making any headlines at school, this made me think that there is something fundamentally wrong with me, until Susan Cain came along.

I loved Susan Cain’s TED Talk: The Power of Introverts, one of the most popular TED talks with over twenty million views and I thoroughly enjoyed her first book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that can’t Stop Talking which sold over 2 million copies.

In this book Quiet Power, Susan Cain talks about introversion from a young age.

She starts talking about introvert kids in primary school, introvert teenagers in high school battling adolescent and introvert young adults in University, then introvert professionals at the work place.

She also talks about introverts in family settings, where one of the parent or kids is an introvert.

I could relate to each phase of introversion from being an introvert at primary school to when I started working.

To introverts, socialising is “an extreme sport.” One of the reasons I left corporate [where I worked] is because Corporate is wired for extroverts and it was frustrating.

Focusing on the strengths and challenges of being introverted, Quiet Power is full of examples from school, family life and friendship, applying the breakthrough discoveries of Quiet to readers that so badly need them.

Cain gives practical tips and advice on how to use introvert strengths like creativity and empathy to succeed in a rather extroverted world.

Full of examples about introverted teens using their introversion to their advantage inspired me to do the same.

Rating

9/10

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was a bit of a sad moment when I finished reading it because I could relate to each chapter.

As an introvert and a parent to an introvert child, I’m better equipped to nurture and unlock her strengths in her own quiet way.

This is an insightful, accessible and empowering book to extroverts and introverts alike.

I recommend it to introverts and extroverts alike.

Favourite Quotes

• “Don’t let anyone tell you that introverts are anti-social – we are just differently social.”

• “Society often overlooks us introverts. We idolize the talkers and the spotlight seekers, as if they are the role models everyone should be emulating. I call this the Extrovert Ideal. This is the belief that we’re all supposed to be quick-thinking, charismatic risk takers who prefer action to contemplation. The Extrovert Ideal is what can make you feel as if there’s something wrong with you because you’re not at your best in a large group. It’s an especially powerful force in school, where the loudest, most talkative kids are often the most popular, and where teachers reward the students who are eager to raise their hands in class.”
• “There’s a word for “people who are in their heads too much”: thinkers.”

• “Don’t think of introversion as something that needs to be cured…Spend your free the way you like, not the way you think you’re supposed to.”

• “They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions.”