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The Society of Timid Souls: Or, How to be Brave
A journey into the modern life of an ancient virtue – bravery – and a quest to understand who might possess it and how.
With The Society of Timid Souls, or How to be Brave, documentary filmmaker Polly Morland sets out to investigate bravery, a quality that she has always felt she lacked. The book takes inspiration from a vividly eccentric, and radical, self-help group for stage-frightened performers in 1940s Manhattan, which coincided with the terrifying height of World War II and was called The Society of Timid Souls. Seventy years later, as anxiety about everything from terrorism to economic meltdown continues, Morland argues that courage has become a virtue in crisis. We are, she says, all Timid Souls now.
Despite a career in which she has filmed in Colombian rebel-held jungles and at the edge of Balkan mass graves, interviewing convicted murderers, drug-traffickers, and terrorists, Morland herself has never felt brave. Often, the very reverse. So she sets out to discover how and why courage is achieved in an age of anxiety and whether it might even be learned. Drawing on her interviews and encounters with soldiers and civilians, bullfighters and big wave surfers, dissidents fighting for freedom and cancer patients fighting for their lives, Morland examines bravery right across the spectrum: from the first childhood act of defiance by Bernard LaFayette, a leader of the civil rights movement who later faced down the KKK in Alabama, or the reflexive will-to-survive of Vjollca Berisha, an Kosovo Albanian who endured a massacre by playing dead among the bodies of her own family, to the small acts of everyday bravery that quietly punctuate our lives, in schoolyards, labor wards, and hospices the world over.
Along the way, Morland draws attention to some of the myths of bravery that have been conjured and perpetuated over time and argues that, often, courage exists as much in the telling as in the doing. At once an exploration of what bravery means and a chronicle of the author's personal journey among those who embody it, The Society of Timid Souls is a profound, if also approachable, meditation on this most valued and mysterious of human qualities. In setting off on the trail of the lionhearted, Polly Morland finds out a great deal about what makes some of us extraordinary, and what of the extraordinary we all share.
With The Society of Timid Souls, or How to be Brave, documentary filmmaker Polly Morland sets out to investigate bravery, a quality that she has always felt she lacked. The book takes inspiration from a vividly eccentric, and radical, self-help group for stage-frightened performers in 1940s Manhattan, which coincided with the terrifying height of World War II and was called The Society of Timid Souls. Seventy years later, as anxiety about everything from terrorism to economic meltdown continues, Morland argues that courage has become a virtue in crisis. We are, she says, all Timid Souls now.
Despite a career in which she has filmed in Colombian rebel-held jungles and at the edge of Balkan mass graves, interviewing convicted murderers, drug-traffickers, and terrorists, Morland herself has never felt brave. Often, the very reverse. So she sets out to discover how and why courage is achieved in an age of anxiety and whether it might even be learned. Drawing on her interviews and encounters with soldiers and civilians, bullfighters and big wave surfers, dissidents fighting for freedom and cancer patients fighting for their lives, Morland examines bravery right across the spectrum: from the first childhood act of defiance by Bernard LaFayette, a leader of the civil rights movement who later faced down the KKK in Alabama, or the reflexive will-to-survive of Vjollca Berisha, an Kosovo Albanian who endured a massacre by playing dead among the bodies of her own family, to the small acts of everyday bravery that quietly punctuate our lives, in schoolyards, labor wards, and hospices the world over.
Along the way, Morland draws attention to some of the myths of bravery that have been conjured and perpetuated over time and argues that, often, courage exists as much in the telling as in the doing. At once an exploration of what bravery means and a chronicle of the author's personal journey among those who embody it, The Society of Timid Souls is a profound, if also approachable, meditation on this most valued and mysterious of human qualities. In setting off on the trail of the lionhearted, Polly Morland finds out a great deal about what makes some of us extraordinary, and what of the extraordinary we all share.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 9, 2013
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743 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
June 3, 2013
I agree with the previous comment about the bull fighting - the author's analysis of animals in general was a bit odd and not something with which I could identify. She says animals are "not that clever." Then she examines bravery shown by animals used during wartime. With the cute mouse on the cover, I expected more empathy with the animals she examines. I understand that she may not agree that they have bravery, that they just do what they're taught to do, but instead of just saying something like that, argue it. The book seems like she wants to argue something, but instead of actually presenting that argument, she just presents a series of episodes that led to the book's creation. I got the feeling that she was a journalist who was out of work and had nothing better to do, so she started writing this book and using that as an excuse to travel and talk to people. In many cases she gives more of a description of what people were wearing or how they were sitting/standing while she was talking to them than what they were actually saying. The idea behind the book is nice, but it fails to deliver something meaningful or well-constructed.
March 9, 2019
I picked this book up after reading a glowing review by a novelist whose work I enjoy. I can see why it interested her. The book’s philosophical question--“Can ordinary, timid people learn to be brave?”-- is important to any storyteller. (And, of course, teaching and learning virtue is also something classical educators think about).
In order to examine what it means to be brave, the author, a British journalist, interviewed all sorts of people. Soldiers. Skydivers. Bullfighters. Opera singers with stage fright. Survivors of genocide. Labor and delivery nurses. Armed robbers. Civil rights activists. Her own reflections on courage and bravery are interspersed with the stories she’s gathered.
The descriptions of events are clear, but the author’s attitude is less so. She has a tendency to provide a straightforward account of an interview, then end the paragraph with a sly, mocking turn of phrase that left me wondering exactly how sarcastic she really intended to be. It took a while before I found the rhythm of her humor. I think some of my confusion stemmed from a British/American culture clash.
However, I think the issue is also related to the author’s postmodernism. Although she includes quotations from C.S. Lewis, St. Thomas Aquinas, and G.K. Chesterton alongside more secular philosophers, her worldview is different from theirs. She assumes that God and religion are irrelevant. She wants to “find bravery,” but since she must attempt to deduce its essence from human models--all that’s left once one eliminates the eternal--she is left unsatisfied.
In contrast, those who approach bravery through a Christian lens are better able to cope with the fact that humans are flawed and life is messed up. Classical Christian educators also attempt to teach bravery through stories. Generally these are stories that have stood the test of time. Interestingly, they are stories about warriors like Achilles, who sulked in his tent. Or King David, who defeated Goliath but later fled from his own son Absalom. To the classical educator, bravery, like any glimpse of true goodness, exists apart from humans. It’s OK that we reflect it poorly.
In addition, the classical educator is able to judge heroes and anti-heroes against objective standards. This author struggles to find grounds for such judgement. She wonders if the 9/11 Al Qaeda terrorists were brave, and says, “I found myself still intuitively resistant, as many people are, to the baldness of the notion that courage is ‘morally neutral.’ I did not quite want to believe that. I felt that there was a thread of hope in the various braveries I had met so far, even the slightly pointless ones. And this hope seemed tied to some complex idea of the good that was not necessarily always right, but wanted to be. I realized that in the search undertaken on behalf of Timid Souls everywhere, it was not simply a bravery quick-fix that I was after, but some sense of how one might measure up to one’s own life in a way that was meaningful and not blighted by the kind of ‘non-living’ with which timidity can so easily half-smother us.”
Ultimately her picture of courage is highly individualistic. It’s about being true to oneself.
Even though the various stories in this book are interesting--often compelling--they fall flat without a stronger vision of what bravery means.
In order to examine what it means to be brave, the author, a British journalist, interviewed all sorts of people. Soldiers. Skydivers. Bullfighters. Opera singers with stage fright. Survivors of genocide. Labor and delivery nurses. Armed robbers. Civil rights activists. Her own reflections on courage and bravery are interspersed with the stories she’s gathered.
The descriptions of events are clear, but the author’s attitude is less so. She has a tendency to provide a straightforward account of an interview, then end the paragraph with a sly, mocking turn of phrase that left me wondering exactly how sarcastic she really intended to be. It took a while before I found the rhythm of her humor. I think some of my confusion stemmed from a British/American culture clash.
However, I think the issue is also related to the author’s postmodernism. Although she includes quotations from C.S. Lewis, St. Thomas Aquinas, and G.K. Chesterton alongside more secular philosophers, her worldview is different from theirs. She assumes that God and religion are irrelevant. She wants to “find bravery,” but since she must attempt to deduce its essence from human models--all that’s left once one eliminates the eternal--she is left unsatisfied.
In contrast, those who approach bravery through a Christian lens are better able to cope with the fact that humans are flawed and life is messed up. Classical Christian educators also attempt to teach bravery through stories. Generally these are stories that have stood the test of time. Interestingly, they are stories about warriors like Achilles, who sulked in his tent. Or King David, who defeated Goliath but later fled from his own son Absalom. To the classical educator, bravery, like any glimpse of true goodness, exists apart from humans. It’s OK that we reflect it poorly.
In addition, the classical educator is able to judge heroes and anti-heroes against objective standards. This author struggles to find grounds for such judgement. She wonders if the 9/11 Al Qaeda terrorists were brave, and says, “I found myself still intuitively resistant, as many people are, to the baldness of the notion that courage is ‘morally neutral.’ I did not quite want to believe that. I felt that there was a thread of hope in the various braveries I had met so far, even the slightly pointless ones. And this hope seemed tied to some complex idea of the good that was not necessarily always right, but wanted to be. I realized that in the search undertaken on behalf of Timid Souls everywhere, it was not simply a bravery quick-fix that I was after, but some sense of how one might measure up to one’s own life in a way that was meaningful and not blighted by the kind of ‘non-living’ with which timidity can so easily half-smother us.”
Ultimately her picture of courage is highly individualistic. It’s about being true to oneself.
Even though the various stories in this book are interesting--often compelling--they fall flat without a stronger vision of what bravery means.
May 22, 2013
The title of this book caught my eye, and I was surprised to learn in the first few pages of the book that there really was a Society of Timid Souls in the early 1940s, a group to help performers overcome stage fright.
Despite that good start, this book started to turn sour for me fairly early on. One of the first examples of bravery the author was used was the bravery of bullfighters. I don't deny that these people are brave, but it seems to me that bravery does not excuse cruelty, and bullfighting is undoubtedly, barbarically cruel. It is torture. The bull has no say in the matter; it is not a sport to him.
Why, with all the brave people, past and present, in the world, does she write so much about bullfighters? I understand writing about career criminals, which she does, as well as soldiers, the most obvious example, rock climbers, even those whose courage is moral rather than physical.
I don't know the author and she may be a lovely person, but I got a negative feeling about her attitude towards animals. Back to the bullfighting, she writes, “It is remarkable how terrifying a dumb animal can be.” Well, yeah, it's fighting for its life. Then, about the death of the bull, “It was not a perfect death, but it was not bad.” In a heroic dog story, she mentions a “Staffordshire bull terrier,” but in an awful dog story, it is a “pit bull.” Doesn't she know that bull terriers are part of that group of breeds often called pit bulls, or does she use that term only when the story is negative?
While talking about criminals later in the book, she asks if it is possible to be both brave and bad. She answered that question much earlier in the book.
The writing has some odd turns of phrase like “Pray silence, if you will, for A Tale of Two Timid Souls.” It just seems a little too contrived for me.
There was quite a bit that interested me in the book but it did drag in some parts, and the negatives outweighed the positives.
Because I was given an advance reader's copy for review, the quotes may have changed in the published edition.
Despite that good start, this book started to turn sour for me fairly early on. One of the first examples of bravery the author was used was the bravery of bullfighters. I don't deny that these people are brave, but it seems to me that bravery does not excuse cruelty, and bullfighting is undoubtedly, barbarically cruel. It is torture. The bull has no say in the matter; it is not a sport to him.
Why, with all the brave people, past and present, in the world, does she write so much about bullfighters? I understand writing about career criminals, which she does, as well as soldiers, the most obvious example, rock climbers, even those whose courage is moral rather than physical.
I don't know the author and she may be a lovely person, but I got a negative feeling about her attitude towards animals. Back to the bullfighting, she writes, “It is remarkable how terrifying a dumb animal can be.” Well, yeah, it's fighting for its life. Then, about the death of the bull, “It was not a perfect death, but it was not bad.” In a heroic dog story, she mentions a “Staffordshire bull terrier,” but in an awful dog story, it is a “pit bull.” Doesn't she know that bull terriers are part of that group of breeds often called pit bulls, or does she use that term only when the story is negative?
While talking about criminals later in the book, she asks if it is possible to be both brave and bad. She answered that question much earlier in the book.
The writing has some odd turns of phrase like “Pray silence, if you will, for A Tale of Two Timid Souls.” It just seems a little too contrived for me.
There was quite a bit that interested me in the book but it did drag in some parts, and the negatives outweighed the positives.
Because I was given an advance reader's copy for review, the quotes may have changed in the published edition.
November 12, 2018
This is an excellent book. It's about courage: what it is, how it works, people who demonstrate it--all kinds of people, in all kinds of ways--the question suggested by the title, which is: Can people who don't think they are brave learn how? (The answer seems to be at least a partial yes. For example, studies have found that if people know about the Bystander Effect, they are much less likely to fall prey to it. Or the fact that people who teach nonviolent resistance are essentially teaching people to be brave. At least in some forms, it's a learnable skill.) Morland proceeds by interviews, with people who do or have done brave things, or people who have witnessed bravery. I found it interesting that almost all of the people who were interviewed denied that they were courageous. We seem to think courage is something that only manifests in other people.
Morland's tone throughout is warm, thoughtful, dryly funny. She says straight out that she is a Timid Soul (although she's a documentary maker who has worked in extremely dangerous places) and the book is structured as her quest, which she is sharing with her readers. She is always inclusive, always insisting that Timid Souls need not be trapped in timidity forever. She ranges widely, from a man dying of ALS to soldiers on the battlefield to a guy who free climbs skyscrapers to opera singers to Bernard Lafayette. All kinds of courage.
I respected and appreciated how careful Morland was and how much thought she put into her quest. This could have been a glib and surfacey book (like, for instance, The Survivors Club), but it was insightful and compassionate and proceeded with a gentle but determined intellectual rigor.
Morland's tone throughout is warm, thoughtful, dryly funny. She says straight out that she is a Timid Soul (although she's a documentary maker who has worked in extremely dangerous places) and the book is structured as her quest, which she is sharing with her readers. She is always inclusive, always insisting that Timid Souls need not be trapped in timidity forever. She ranges widely, from a man dying of ALS to soldiers on the battlefield to a guy who free climbs skyscrapers to opera singers to Bernard Lafayette. All kinds of courage.
I respected and appreciated how careful Morland was and how much thought she put into her quest. This could have been a glib and surfacey book (like, for instance, The Survivors Club), but it was insightful and compassionate and proceeded with a gentle but determined intellectual rigor.
May 9, 2014
The author tells you what she's going to say, then she says it, then she expounds a bit on what she just said, and she does all that without getting to the point much of the time, spending too many pages on what courage isn't. Overall, the book does not deliver on the promise of the title. It is more of a rambling essay on things that touch on the topic.
I recently read Flash Boys by Michael Lewis, and that's about this guy Brad who is the only person on Wall St. to stand up to the systematic corruption of the high frequency traders. He risks his career to do the right thing. That is the kind of courage I had hoped Timid Souls would get to: what ordinary people can do in their everyday lives to fight the Dark Side. Stories of bullfighters, daredevils, even soldiers, are about something else.
I recently read Flash Boys by Michael Lewis, and that's about this guy Brad who is the only person on Wall St. to stand up to the systematic corruption of the high frequency traders. He risks his career to do the right thing. That is the kind of courage I had hoped Timid Souls would get to: what ordinary people can do in their everyday lives to fight the Dark Side. Stories of bullfighters, daredevils, even soldiers, are about something else.
August 9, 2013
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to review this. I went from thinking of this as a 4 star to a 5 star book as it progressed. It took time to get into it, but I was glad to have given it the time. Morland does a tour de force in terms of looking at what philosophers, artists, writers, entertainers, military, first responders, medical pros, patients, educators, athletes and on and on say about courage and what is instinct and what can be learned. Is courage for the good only or can bad people be brave? When is it OK to walk away? Or is it never OK to do so? How are courage and peace related? There are so many ways of looking at this topic, but she pulls it into a unified framework so that by the time she gets to the last, best and most inspiring chapter, I felt a call to action to rethink some things in my life see what I can still do to leave the world a better place over what I've done. I believe I've become too complacent, but people older than me have done amazing things we'd call courageous. I also realize the debt I owe to so many for the courage they have shown. From suffragettes to freedom riders, our world would have been so much less without courage.
October 17, 2013
This is an investigation into what it means to be brave. Of course everyone knows what it means to be brave. A firefighter rushing into a burning building to save someone inside, definitely brave. An actor with stage fright doing a monologue in front of an audience? That requires courage to overcome a fear, so it's a kind of bravery, but no one would put it in the same category as the firefighter risking his life to save another. What about the mountain climber who risks her life to scale a dangerous peak for kicks and/or recognition? Is that brave? Does bravery require a moral dimension? A bank robber armed with a toy gun risks getting shot by the guard but is he brave? And the very troubling observation made by Susan Sontag and Bill Maher, among others, that the men who flew airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon were brave, in a horrifyingly twisted way.
Journalist Polly Morland interviews dozens of people to see if she can get a grip on bravery, courage, and cowardice. Soldiers, felons, firefighters, opera singers, police officers, and bullfighters are among her targets. It's fascinating to tussle with the definition that seemed so clear until you start thinking about it.
Journalist Polly Morland interviews dozens of people to see if she can get a grip on bravery, courage, and cowardice. Soldiers, felons, firefighters, opera singers, police officers, and bullfighters are among her targets. It's fascinating to tussle with the definition that seemed so clear until you start thinking about it.
August 26, 2016
Don't read this book if you're looking for something philosophical or introspective regarding fear.
The first 2 chapters are called "Man" - about the British Army in Afghanistan - and "Beast" about the author's bullfighting tourism. It seems to me that any analysis of bravery worth its salt would include why an individual takes on a risky act and then analyze the value of that reason. Morland touches on the why in chapter one with this charming quote from a British Corporal: "This is going to sound pretty politically incorrect-- I don't care about the Afghans or their terror of the Taliban or hearts and minds, all I know is I want my boys to survive." So making the decision to risk your life in a war you don't believe in, killing people you don't care about either way, that's bravery? Because you care about your team? Seems like the noble thing to do would be stay home and tell everyone to do the same if that's the case. The bullfighter has even less of a reason for his courage: manufacturing a scenario where an animal is driven to involuntary violence and then slaughtered inhumanely for sport? That's courage that we all should learn from?
I've never been so turned off to bravery in my life.
The first 2 chapters are called "Man" - about the British Army in Afghanistan - and "Beast" about the author's bullfighting tourism. It seems to me that any analysis of bravery worth its salt would include why an individual takes on a risky act and then analyze the value of that reason. Morland touches on the why in chapter one with this charming quote from a British Corporal: "This is going to sound pretty politically incorrect-- I don't care about the Afghans or their terror of the Taliban or hearts and minds, all I know is I want my boys to survive." So making the decision to risk your life in a war you don't believe in, killing people you don't care about either way, that's bravery? Because you care about your team? Seems like the noble thing to do would be stay home and tell everyone to do the same if that's the case. The bullfighter has even less of a reason for his courage: manufacturing a scenario where an animal is driven to involuntary violence and then slaughtered inhumanely for sport? That's courage that we all should learn from?
I've never been so turned off to bravery in my life.
April 15, 2015
An extraordinary and brave book. The stories in themselves are powerful. (My wife kept asking why I was crying, or laughing, or flinching.) The tales of warfare, bomb disposal, firefighting and high-wire walking first make you ask yourself: could I do what they did? Would I ever react that way? But then we are gently brought back to a kinder question: could I, at least, be a little braver in the life I do lead?
The way the stories are woven together is engaging and intricate. What I most loved was the non-judgemental style of the interviews. With the clinical eye of the expert documentary maker, the author describes little details of the bull-fighter, the building climber, the VC collector and the animal bravery committee. She doesn't criticise; she doesn't mock. We are left to make the judgements by ourselves - the most generous thing a writer can do.
Which means we enjoy the book twice: first for the stories in themselves, and then for the cast of characters, through whom we are gently teased into a greater understanding of courage, and of ourselves. An immensely warm book, a book full of humanity and admiration and kindness. Thoroughly recommended.
The way the stories are woven together is engaging and intricate. What I most loved was the non-judgemental style of the interviews. With the clinical eye of the expert documentary maker, the author describes little details of the bull-fighter, the building climber, the VC collector and the animal bravery committee. She doesn't criticise; she doesn't mock. We are left to make the judgements by ourselves - the most generous thing a writer can do.
Which means we enjoy the book twice: first for the stories in themselves, and then for the cast of characters, through whom we are gently teased into a greater understanding of courage, and of ourselves. An immensely warm book, a book full of humanity and admiration and kindness. Thoroughly recommended.
March 28, 2014
Some of this book I really liked — particularly looking at the world through the lens of bravery/courage, which I don't often think about. I liked the IDEA of timid souls working together to learn courage, but then most of the stories were extravagant, big brave acts, like military heroism and BASE jumping and bullfighting and saving babies from Rottweilers. Which is all fine and good but maybe not the book I was looking for, which maybe would be bravery on an interpersonal level, which wasn't really addressed at all. The only chapter about women, really, was about if it takes bravery to give birth. The other women in the book are in more traditionally masculine roles — soldier, medic, firefighter. I think bravery unique to traditional femininity (other than making babies) could have been explored much more. The bravery of reporting a rape, the bravery of bucking cultural traditions meant to keep women second-class, etc.
June 25, 2013
I struggled with the opening chapter(s) of this non-fiction study of the concept of courage. Too much space spent going in circles about the similarities and differences between bravery, courage, valor, etc. Though the entire book continues to ask the question of how bravery or courage can be defined or demonstrated, the "case studies" that Morland includes are well chosen and interesting enough to keep the reader engaged. I was particularly struck by the contrasting discussions of courage in warfare, facing disease, weather, catastrophe, self-doubt, deadly flora and fauna, and, even, in the commission of a crime. Thought-provoking and inspirational, if a little wordy in parts.
August 27, 2013
One of the best non fiction books I have ever read. Beautifully written and packed with the most incredible stories of courage and bravery. Did it make me less timid? Perhaps not, but it taught me that feeling paralysed by imagined fears does not necessarily mean that when the chips are down one won't have it in one to act with courage.
January 20, 2014
I thought I would find this interesting. But other than the fact that there really was a Society of Timid Souls, during WWII, I just couldn't get into this. I can't say why. I guess I just didn't find the author's presentation of these stories too engaging. I would like to know more about the members of the society that gave this book its title, though.
August 28, 2020
While this book tells some incredible stories, it was painful for me to finish it. The author is, frankly, very annoying. Her subtle misogyny, regurgitation of obvious information, and mystical innuendos take away from the power of the stories of bravery she sought out. The book should've been half its length, with way less commentary.
August 31, 2018
There are few kinds of fears. fear of death, pain(mentally or physically), fear of height, fear of being in front of others (as spotlight). Many of us overcome fears in life with training or with time.
I found particularly courageous to become brave after being through the traumas. Imagine those who have lost the family in front of their eyes, rebuilding a new life that was collapsed. We often talk about the victims of 911 in 2001, many examples in this book were mentioned as soldiers who witnessed the traumas. However, in this world, while many consider waking up in the morning is normal, some regions of the war zone not quite same. People live in war zones experience ground zero every single day that being able to falling asleep at night become a bliss.
Being brave is an individual training, but should we all try not to cause pain to others?
--世界上的人，不只是分方下巴的英雄和爱哭鼻子的懦夫这两种。无论是在过去还是现在，在时局动荡得令人心生恐惧之时，我们中的大多数的人其实都属于中间那一部分，我们渴望变得勇敢，却又无法做到无畏无惧。无论是因为整个时局都令人不安，还是某一天我们要面临真正的危险，就算一些小事也可能将我们吓破胆。
--我们比以往面临着更多令人恐慌的东西。无论这个时代多么温馨舒适——或者可能也正是因为这一点——我们的集体勇气却衰退了。我们似乎已经忘了如何开始行动，我们全球的媒体都已向各类恐怖事件缴械投降：全球变暖、银行家挥霍无度、恐怖分子爆破、心怀不轨的恋童癖者。也许这看似与你无关，或者毫无道理，但恐惧的确会传染，一旦你开始为一件事忧心，似乎一下子一件接一件的事都能刺激到你的神经，尽管那些只是再平常不过的事情。随后，你的母亲，你的孩子，你的邻居们，然后你在的整条街，都被你的这种恐惧感染，而且它的影响还在继续扩大。不久后，你所到之处，每个人都不寒而栗。
--“子弹真正打中我的时候，”乔恩回忆道，“我记得那种感觉就像一列火车在我的脸上碾过。几秒钟后我就人事不省了，等到后面我醒过来，我只知道我躺在地上，但我没有丝毫知觉。当时全身都是麻的。我看得见，也听得见，也能动，但就是没有一点感觉。当时我其实并没有特别沮丧或者担心自己快死了”——乔恩坐着椅子上稍微变换了一下姿势——“我很快就对那种想法没什么感觉了.
--事实上，人类头脑中有完全属于恐惧的一块领域，在那里恐惧轻松自在。处于颞叶前内侧深处，被称为扁桃核，包括人类在内的所有复杂脊椎动物里的一个扁桃核形状的结构。脑科学家早已知道扁桃核在与恐惧相关的行为和记忆中起着举足轻重的作用，刺激下丘脑激活交感神经系统，促生肾上腺素、皮质醇、多巴胺和其他有支持战斗还是逃跑的激素。此外，自从1888年在扁桃核双边病变的恒河猴实验以来，大家都知道如果大脑这部分受损，那么恐惧反应则逐渐减弱。然而，只有到了最近，人类才了解到这在人类上是如何起作用的。这主要是得益于先进MRI脑扫描以及对罕见病例的介绍和随后的研究：是的，你猜到了，一位患有扁桃核双边病变的女士没有恐惧感。乍看起来，缺乏恐惧看起来就像勇敢，听起来像是勇气，但是事实是否如此呢？
--在某种意义上，我们受恐惧控制时兽性最强。恐惧让我们不得不屈从于大脑所控制的一系列化学和物理性反应。同时，如何感到恐惧，包括我们所有的想象力、对时间和死亡的认识——所有的希望——似乎将人类与其他野兽区分开。这对人类而言，既是祝福也是诅咒。人类与野兽每次对抗性的相遇都增加了固化的“我不知道”……动物在对抗时刻的压抑并不是个人的——他并没有那么聪明——但如果你以进化论学者的眼光看问题，那么你会马上意识到，这也是非常个人化的，无论是你还是他。而他也并不是唯一一个带着一生的情绪包袱战斗的。
--我意识到，这些人满载悲伤的回忆。他们是不是正试图用某种可展示的、身体上的痛苦，来回报衣服后背上那些已逝亲人的令人敬畏的、决定性的勇气？似乎健身馆已变成了21世纪的教堂——即使你并不常去，或下大力气才会去，成为成员仍是好的——所以这群慢跑者更像是中世纪的朝圣而非马拉松比赛。对一些人来说，这明显成了关于疾病、死亡的一种仪式。勇气超过了普通人身上其他的品质，所有的汗水和痛苦都是对勇气的献祭。
--但是如果我恐惧死亡，我会死。但是如果我不惧怕，我还是会死。所以，重点是什么？享受当下。
--临终关怀运动就是要发现“更好”的死亡方式，一种“美好的死亡”，就如哲学家一直以来讨论的一种“美好生活”。濒死之人和家人在往后的岁月中被鼓励着抓住粗暴的医学干预，来购买病人的时间，延迟死亡时间，或者用委婉语掩饰，而非寻找一种更加平静坦率的结束方式，而临终关怀运动给出的是合理的回应方式。所以这些拒绝社会福利机构显然是懦弱的表现，埃皮克提图和塞内加毫不犹豫同意了我们在这点上的期望调整。
可是我忍不住想，不管我们现在能多大程度上免于衰老的痛苦，人类始终都惧怕濒死时刻。现在人类的寿命比过去延长了，但最终还是死；这一点没有变过。
--正如另一位著名的ALS患者，历史学家托尼·朱特（Tony Judt）在2010年去世前七个月时告诉记者：“我只是一堆能够思考的坏死的肌肉。”意识清醒而肢体死亡，这种情况被描述为“活埋”一点儿也不夸张。我回想起，一位在圣克里斯托弗临终关怀院长期工作的一位护士说，运动神经元疾病是“最坏的疾病”，并且她总是认为ALS病人是最勇敢的病人。
--蒙田曾写过：“如果你不知道怎么死亡，不要麻烦自己。大自然会一下子完全足够地告诉你该如何做；她会非常完美地为你把这件事做好，所以不必为此烦心。”
选择用一种也许是最危险，最致命的方式接纳自然母亲，以此来驱赶走内心的孩子气和胆怯。
--我曾考虑过在面对真正的危险如子弹、公牛、肿瘤、暴动、火灾时人们的勇气和面对由环境导致的其实并未有任何危及生命和伤害肢体的恐惧时人们的勇气有何不同。我们都同意对胆小的人来说在面对一定程度的恐惧，或至少是意识到了这种恐惧时还能隐隐的放松其实是一种莫大的勇气。即便是亚里士多德，他将自己赞赏的勇气当作一种个性特征，就如同行为需要毅力一样，已知的恐惧就如同磁铁的北极，也正是其相对的勇气所生的地方。他所秉持的中庸之道使其将勇气的美德（andreia）置于恐惧（phobos）和信心（tharsos）中间，坚持正义之人既不轻率也不怯懦。然而真实情况如果是任何实际的甚至道德上所必需的勇敢也被剥除，唯余需要克服的恐惧情绪该如何？
--大卫·阿尔德森让我想到这句话，“一个士兵放弃了好多东西，而去得到一些东西。这着实可以使一个人与他人与众不同，但并非没有付出代价。”也许这就是阿尔德森的勇气似乎三倍地得到提炼的原因，就好像水从某种程度上被除去了一样。虽然这种勇敢必定是简单质朴的，但并不是虚无主义。相反，这种生存几乎是一种虔诚的信仰，不可动摇，只剩下最基本的生活必需品来维持。如果阿尔德森胆怯怕事，那这些早就不存在了。
--就算是对于我们当中那些身居高位的，一直幸免于战乱、屠杀、灾难和疾病的人来说，在生存之上，依然存在着这个棘手的问题，即到底该如何最好地度过短暂的人生。而在富足的西部，对个人目标的追求已经变得宛如一种宗教；各种各样的身份预期和“梦想”的一揽子清单已经代替了灵魂与祷告。所以，那哲学家们曾构建的美好生活，现在已经变成了亲历的生活。对于一些人来说，这种亲历的生活可能充满了利他主义的使命感——��想阿尔多·阿尔德森（Aldo Alderson），或者萨利安·萨顿（Sally-Ann Sutton），以及在有人需要帮助时她那无法让自己置身事外的反射性主动吧。
--“当一个人在走钢丝时，”他静静地说，“面临的是有无平衡感的问题，心理有无自信的问题。这事从一开始就很难。因为真正的问题是能否掌控心中的恐惧，而大多数人都会害怕在离地这么高的地方行走。然而，钢丝就像是生活。它就是生活的线，如果你沿着正确的路线前行，则没有什么好怕的。对我来说，最基础的是要有信念，要忠于自己的内心。”
在搭乘区域快铁回机场的路上，轨道上方的天空中，各种线绳纵横交错，随着我们移动的速度时快时慢地起伏着。片刻间，空气鲜活了起来，充满着各种可能的道路，就像是一幅可能性的地图。
--奇怪的是，在现代英语中“courage”（勇气）和“bravery”（勇气）在意义上基本一致。实际上，“courage”的词源与古代灵魂所依的心脏有关，而“brave”与这种高贵的词源无关，更像是一个人拥有几位糟心的祖先。它起源于意大利语“Bravo”，“Bravo”又被认为起源于拉丁语“pravus”，意思是扭曲的或曲解的，或起源于“barbarus”（野蛮的）、rough（���糙的）以及“bravium”，罗马公共游戏中颁发的典型的奖品。“bravery”出现在16世纪上半叶，更为人所知，隐意为“大胆的”和“王之蔑视”，还不具有道德上的褒义色彩。直到16世纪末，“fine”（好的）或“splendid”（极好的）将自身的意义融入“brave”，反过来，也为描述某人“品德高尚”（fine）或“勇敢”（brave）的概念铺路。即使今天，不光彩的幽灵仍旧萦绕着“brave”这个字，使之同“bravado”（故作勇敢）甚至“bravura”（炫耀性的大胆尝试）相关联，具有贬义色彩。
重点是，在描述这个最善变的人物品质和其美德程度的诸多词语中，我们都假定了一个不言而喻的层级。“courage”比“bravery”高一点，“valour”比“pluck”高一点，“gallantry”比“daring”高一点，“fortitude”比“boldness”高一点，“grit”比“derring-do”高一点
--在我见到伯纳德·拉菲特之前的几个月，我一直在思考，道德之勇是如何开始的，又是以什么方式呈现出来的。因此当我第一次在谷歌上输入“乔·格伦顿（Joe Glenton）”的名字后，有关他的消息很是令我震惊。在我还没有把他的全名输完，只输入到第一个“n”的时候，搜索引擎就给出了预测词组“懦夫乔·格伦顿”。
我也知道，报纸上有许多对格伦顿事件的争议性报道，但在现代社会里，这样的诋毁显得很离奇。乔·格伦顿曾是一个年轻的英国士兵，他没有跟随部队返回阿富汗，而是擅离职守当了逃兵。他被判逃亡罪，后来又降为擅离职守罪。2010年，军事法庭判处他有罪，九个月刑期，随后他在一个军事监狱里服刑了四五个月。据媒体报道，他辩护失败主要是因为他对于阿富汗战争深深的道德不安，以及那唯一一次阿富汗之行后他患上了创伤后应激障碍症。
我很好奇暴力与非暴力是如何背道而驰的，因此那年夏天我读了伯特兰·罗素的《智力垃圾素描》（1943）（该书全名为《智力垃圾素描：关于组织和个人的蠢行有趣的目录册》）。之所以读这本书，部分是因为它与当前的军事正统观念几乎完全对立，部分则因为它为胆小鬼们提供了一条完全不同的前行路径。我在其中某段话中找到了心灵归属：
“集体恐惧会激发从众心理……在受到巨大恐惧影响的时候，不能相信一个人，一个群体，或是一个国家，会采取人道行为，或进行理智思考。由于这个原因，怯懦之人（胆小鬼）比勇敢之人更有可能变得残忍……当我说这些的时候，我在想，不仅仅只是面对死亡，一个人在任何时候都可能是勇敢的。很多人都有胆量英勇赴死，但却没勇气说出他为之而死的原因并没有意义，甚至连这样想一想的勇气也没有。”
I found particularly courageous to become brave after being through the traumas. Imagine those who have lost the family in front of their eyes, rebuilding a new life that was collapsed. We often talk about the victims of 911 in 2001, many examples in this book were mentioned as soldiers who witnessed the traumas. However, in this world, while many consider waking up in the morning is normal, some regions of the war zone not quite same. People live in war zones experience ground zero every single day that being able to falling asleep at night become a bliss.
Being brave is an individual training, but should we all try not to cause pain to others?
--世界上的人，不只是分方下巴的英雄和爱哭鼻子的懦夫这两种。无论是在过去还是现在，在时局动荡得令人心生恐惧之时，我们中的大多数的人其实都属于中间那一部分，我们渴望变得勇敢，却又无法做到无畏无惧。无论是因为整个时局都令人不安，还是某一天我们要面临真正的危险，就算一些小事也可能将我们吓破胆。
--我们比以往面临着更多令人恐慌的东西。无论这个时代多么温馨舒适——或者可能也正是因为这一点——我们的集体勇气却衰退了。我们似乎已经忘了如何开始行动，我们全球的媒体都已向各类恐怖事件缴械投降：全球变暖、银行家挥霍无度、恐怖分子爆破、心怀不轨的恋童癖者。也许这看似与你无关，或者毫无道理，但恐惧的确会传染，一旦你开始为一件事忧心，似乎一下子一件接一件的事都能刺激到你的神经，尽管那些只是再平常不过的事情。随后，你的母亲，你的孩子，你的邻居们，然后你在的整条街，都被你的这种恐惧感染，而且它的影响还在继续扩大。不久后，你所到之处，每个人都不寒而栗。
--“子弹真正打中我的时候，”乔恩回忆道，“我记得那种感觉就像一列火车在我的脸上碾过。几秒钟后我就人事不省了，等到后面我醒过来，我只知道我躺在地上，但我没有丝毫知觉。当时全身都是麻的。我看得见，也听得见，也能动，但就是没有一点感觉。当时我其实并没有特别沮丧或者担心自己快死了”——乔恩坐着椅子上稍微变换了一下姿势——“我很快就对那种想法没什么感觉了.
--事实上，人类头脑中有完全属于恐惧的一块领域，在那里恐惧轻松自在。处于颞叶前内侧深处，被称为扁桃核，包括人类在内的所有复杂脊椎动物里的一个扁桃核形状的结构。脑科学家早已知道扁桃核在与恐惧相关的行为和记忆中起着举足轻重的作用，刺激下丘脑激活交感神经系统，促生肾上腺素、皮质醇、多巴胺和其他有支持战斗还是逃跑的激素。此外，自从1888年在扁桃核双边病变的恒河猴实验以来，大家都知道如果大脑这部分受损，那么恐惧反应则逐渐减弱。然而，只有到了最近，人类才了解到这在人类上是如何起作用的。这主要是得益于先进MRI脑扫描以及对罕见病例的介绍和随后的研究：是的，你猜到了，一位患有扁桃核双边病变的女士没有恐惧感。乍看起来，缺乏恐惧看起来就像勇敢，听起来像是勇气，但是事实是否如此呢？
--在某种意义上，我们受恐惧控制时兽性最强。恐惧让我们不得不屈从于大脑所控制的一系列化学和物理性反应。同时，如何感到恐惧，包括我们所有的想象力、对时间和死亡的认识——所有的希望——似乎将人类与其他野兽区分开。这对人类而言，既是祝福也是诅咒。人类与野兽每次对抗性的相遇都增加了固化的“我不知道”……动物在对抗时刻的压抑并不是个人的——他并没有那么聪明——但如果你以进化论学者的眼光看问题，那么你会马上意识到，这也是非常个人化的，无论是你还是他。而他也并不是唯一一个带着一生的情绪包袱战斗的。
--我意识到，这些人满载悲伤的回忆。他们是不是正试图用某种可展示的、身体上的痛苦，来回报衣服后背上那些已逝亲人的令人敬畏的、决定性的勇气？似乎健身馆已变成了21世纪的教堂——即使你并不常去，或下大力气才会去，成为成员仍是好的——所以这群慢跑者更像是中世纪的朝圣而非马拉松比赛。对一些人来说，这明显成了关于疾病、死亡的一种仪式。勇气超过了普通人身上其他的品质，所有的汗水和痛苦都是对勇气的献祭。
--但是如果我恐惧死亡，我会死。但是如果我不惧怕，我还是会死。所以，重点是什么？享受当下。
--临终关怀运动就是要发现“更好”的死亡方式，一种“美好的死亡”，就如哲学家一直以来讨论的一种“美好生活”。濒死之人和家人在往后的岁月中被鼓励着抓住粗暴的医学干预，来购买病人的时间，延迟死亡时间，或者用委婉语掩饰，而非寻找一种更加平静坦率的结束方式，而临终关怀运动给出的是合理的回应方式。所以这些拒绝社会福利机构显然是懦弱的表现，埃皮克提图和塞内加毫不犹豫同意了我们在这点上的期望调整。
可是我忍不住想，不管我们现在能多大程度上免于衰老的痛苦，人类始终都惧怕濒死时刻。现在人类的寿命比过去延长了，但最终还是死；这一点没有变过。
--正如另一位著名的ALS患者，历史学家托尼·朱特（Tony Judt）在2010年去世前七个月时告诉记者：“我只是一堆能够思考的坏死的肌肉。”意识清醒而肢体死亡，这种情况被描述为“活埋”一点儿也不夸张。我回想起，一位在圣克里斯托弗临终关怀院长期工作的一位护士说，运动神经元疾病是“最坏的疾病”，并且她总是认为ALS病人是最勇敢的病人。
--蒙田曾写过：“如果你不知道怎么死亡，不要麻烦自己。大自然会一下子完全足够地告诉你该如何做；她会非常完美地为你把这件事做好，所以不必为此烦心。”
选择用一种也许是最危险，最致命的方式接纳自然母亲，以此来驱赶走内心的孩子气和胆怯。
--我曾考虑过在面对真正的危险如子弹、公牛、肿瘤、暴动、火灾时人们的勇气和面对由环境导致的其实并未有任何危及生命和伤害肢体的恐惧时人们的勇气有何不同。我们都同意对胆小的人来说在面对一定程度的恐惧，或至少是意识到了这种恐惧时还能隐隐的放松其实是一种莫大的勇气。即便是亚里士多德，他将自己赞赏的勇气当作一种个性特征，就如同行为需要毅力一样，已知的恐惧就如同磁铁的北极，也正是其相对的勇气所生的地方。他所秉持的中庸之道使其将勇气的美德（andreia）置于恐惧（phobos）和信心（tharsos）中间，坚持正义之人既不轻率也不怯懦。然而真实情况如果是任何实际的甚至道德上所必需的勇敢也被剥除，唯余需要克服的恐惧情绪该如何？
--大卫·阿尔德森让我想到这句话，“一个士兵放弃了好多东西，而去得到一些东西。这着实可以使一个人与他人与众不同，但并非没有付出代价。”也许这就是阿尔德森的勇气似乎三倍地得到提炼的原因，就好像水从某种程度上被除去了一样。虽然这种勇敢必定是简单质朴的，但并不是虚无主义。相反，这种生存几乎是一种虔诚的信仰，不可动摇，只剩下最基本的生活必需品来维持。如果阿尔德森胆怯怕事，那这些早就不存在了。
--就算是对于我们当中那些身居高位的，一直幸免于战乱、屠杀、灾难和疾病的人来说，在生存之上，依然存在着这个棘手的问题，即到底该如何最好地度过短暂的人生。而在富足的西部，对个人目标的追求已经变得宛如一种宗教；各种各样的身份预期和“梦想”的一揽子清单已经代替了灵魂与祷告。所以，那哲学家们曾构建的美好生活，现在已经变成了亲历的生活。对于一些人来说，这种亲历的生活可能充满了利他主义的使命感——��想阿尔多·阿尔德森（Aldo Alderson），或者萨利安·萨顿（Sally-Ann Sutton），以及在有人需要帮助时她那无法让自己置身事外的反射性主动吧。
--“当一个人在走钢丝时，”他静静地说，“面临的是有无平衡感的问题，心理有无自信的问题。这事从一开始就很难。因为真正的问题是能否掌控心中的恐惧，而大多数人都会害怕在离地这么高的地方行走。然而，钢丝就像是生活。它就是生活的线，如果你沿着正确的路线前行，则没有什么好怕的。对我来说，最基础的是要有信念，要忠于自己的内心。”
在搭乘区域快铁回机场的路上，轨道上方的天空中，各种线绳纵横交错，随着我们移动的速度时快时慢地起伏着。片刻间，空气鲜活了起来，充满着各种可能的道路，就像是一幅可能性的地图。
--奇怪的是，在现代英语中“courage”（勇气）和“bravery”（勇气）在意义上基本一致。实际上，“courage”的词源与古代灵魂所依的心脏有关，而“brave”与这种高贵的词源无关，更像是一个人拥有几位糟心的祖先。它起源于意大利语“Bravo”，“Bravo”又被认为起源于拉丁语“pravus”，意思是扭曲的或曲解的，或起源于“barbarus”（野蛮的）、rough（���糙的）以及“bravium”，罗马公共游戏中颁发的典型的奖品。“bravery”出现在16世纪上半叶，更为人所知，隐意为“大胆的”和“王之蔑视”，还不具有道德上的褒义色彩。直到16世纪末，“fine”（好的）或“splendid”（极好的）将自身的意义融入“brave”，反过来，也为描述某人“品德高尚”（fine）或“勇敢”（brave）的概念铺路。即使今天，不光彩的幽灵仍旧萦绕着“brave”这个字，使之同“bravado”（故作勇敢）甚至“bravura”（炫耀性的大胆尝试）相关联，具有贬义色彩。
重点是，在描述这个最善变的人物品质和其美德程度的诸多词语中，我们都假定了一个不言而喻的层级。“courage”比“bravery”高一点，“valour”比“pluck”高一点，“gallantry”比“daring”高一点，“fortitude”比“boldness”高一点，“grit”比“derring-do”高一点
--在我见到伯纳德·拉菲特之前的几个月，我一直在思考，道德之勇是如何开始的，又是以什么方式呈现出来的。因此当我第一次在谷歌上输入“乔·格伦顿（Joe Glenton）”的名字后，有关他的消息很是令我震惊。在我还没有把他的全名输完，只输入到第一个“n”的时候，搜索引擎就给出了预测词组“懦夫乔·格伦顿”。
我也知道，报纸上有许多对格伦顿事件的争议性报道，但在现代社会里，这样的诋毁显得很离奇。乔·格伦顿曾是一个年轻的英国士兵，他没有跟随部队返回阿富汗，而是擅离职守当了逃兵。他被判逃亡罪，后来又降为擅离职守罪。2010年，军事法庭判处他有罪，九个月刑期，随后他在一个军事监狱里服刑了四五个月。据媒体报道，他辩护失败主要是因为他对于阿富汗战争深深的道德不安，以及那唯一一次阿富汗之行后他患上了创伤后应激障碍症。
我很好奇暴力与非暴力是如何背道而驰的，因此那年夏天我读了伯特兰·罗素的《智力垃圾素描》（1943）（该书全名为《智力垃圾素描：关于组织和个人的蠢行有趣的目录册》）。之所以读这本书，部分是因为它与当前的军事正统观念几乎完全对立，部分则因为它为胆小鬼们提供了一条完全不同的前行路径。我在其中某段话中找到了心灵归属：
“集体恐惧会激发从众心理……在受到巨大恐惧影响的时候，不能相信一个人，一个群体，或是一个国家，会采取人道行为，或进行理智思考。由于这个原因，怯懦之人（胆小鬼）比勇敢之人更有可能变得残忍……当我说这些的时候，我在想，不仅仅只是面对死亡，一个人在任何时候都可能是勇敢的。很多人都有胆量英勇赴死，但却没勇气说出他为之而死的原因并没有意义，甚至连这样想一想的勇气也没有。”
September 16, 2023
The Society of Timid Souls: or, How To Be Brave reads more like a series of interviews bundled into very broadly-themed chapters as opposed to a 'how-to' guide to being brave. This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy flicking through the stories, just that the sheer amount of them and the lack of clarity regarding the order in which they are written left me struggling to find a coherent narrative about bravery and courage. That said, I have some take-aways, which I hope other readers can corroborate (or contradict):
- To say that bravery can be learnt is a grand statement that needs clarification; rather, different types of braveries can be practiced so that they can be enacted over the long term (this applies to military operatives, peaceful protesters, or anyone really). In this sense, being more aware of what it is to be brave can help achieve a higher level of bravery.
- To be brave, it is important to really believe that what you are standing up for is right. This is subjective. A bank robber may have his/her justifications for robbing a bank just as a peaceful protester will feel it is right to stand up against their government. In this sense, being brave is about a sense of what is right.
- To say that bravery can be learnt is a grand statement that needs clarification; rather, different types of braveries can be practiced so that they can be enacted over the long term (this applies to military operatives, peaceful protesters, or anyone really). In this sense, being more aware of what it is to be brave can help achieve a higher level of bravery.
- To be brave, it is important to really believe that what you are standing up for is right. This is subjective. A bank robber may have his/her justifications for robbing a bank just as a peaceful protester will feel it is right to stand up against their government. In this sense, being brave is about a sense of what is right.
June 19, 2020
Unlike the title states, this book does not have a prescriptive method on how to be brave. However, it does guide the reader through a series of interviews and stories that explore a multitude of possible definitions of bravery. I was ready to give it 3 stars, but the last major chapter was really moving, tying together the various themes and definitions, within a discussion of civil disobedience. The sensitivity with which Morland brings together the book's themes right at the end made me bump it up to 4 stars.
Read
August 13, 2019This was...boring lol
July 14, 2021
fantastic; I borrowed this from the library and it is one I'll buy, her writing is sublime, the stories are unexpected and delightful, some heartbreaking...
It is NOT a manual for how to overcome fear, you need to find another book if that's what you're after, read this for entertainment instead
It is NOT a manual for how to overcome fear, you need to find another book if that's what you're after, read this for entertainment instead
May 31, 2013
The author came across information about The Society of Timid Souls which started meeting in New York in 1942. It was primarily a group of musicians who had extreme forms of stage fright and wanted to overcome them. The Society was founded by Bernard Gabriel – a pianist.
The Society’s members overcame their fears by playing in front of the other members of the group and being heckled and told they were rubbish or interrupted with loud noises until they felt they could cope with anything the public could throw at them. This small group of Timid Souls struck a chord with the author and she decided to write a book about being brave.
This is an intriguing book which examines the nature of courage – not just physical courage but the moral courage of people such as conscientious objectors in war time. I found this book inspiring and poignant reading and it reduced me to tears as well as amusing me at times. Many of the examples from the armed forces were of people who had died in the course of their courageous exploits usually helping to save their comrades.
While the armed forces in war are obvious examples of courage in action the book shows that courage can be displayed in many different situations. Examples are used from mountain climbing, crime, confrontations with dangerous animals and public performance in many different situations. While most of the book deals with physical courage there are sections where moral courage is also discussed.
This book reminds us that courage is a morally neutral virtue and that criminals as well as their victims can display courage even though this may seem an unacceptable use of the word courage to many people. Can you learn to be brave? This is the question the book asks. Can training overcome the natural human instinct to fear certain situations? The result seems to be that you can learn to be brave if you are by nature a timid soul.
I enjoyed the book and liked the style in which it was written. I found it thought-provoking and intriguing partly because it covered so many different examples of courage from all walks of life and all parts of the globe. There is no index – which might be seen as a disadvantage to some readers but it does have notes on each chapter and a list of further reading.
The Society’s members overcame their fears by playing in front of the other members of the group and being heckled and told they were rubbish or interrupted with loud noises until they felt they could cope with anything the public could throw at them. This small group of Timid Souls struck a chord with the author and she decided to write a book about being brave.
This is an intriguing book which examines the nature of courage – not just physical courage but the moral courage of people such as conscientious objectors in war time. I found this book inspiring and poignant reading and it reduced me to tears as well as amusing me at times. Many of the examples from the armed forces were of people who had died in the course of their courageous exploits usually helping to save their comrades.
While the armed forces in war are obvious examples of courage in action the book shows that courage can be displayed in many different situations. Examples are used from mountain climbing, crime, confrontations with dangerous animals and public performance in many different situations. While most of the book deals with physical courage there are sections where moral courage is also discussed.
This book reminds us that courage is a morally neutral virtue and that criminals as well as their victims can display courage even though this may seem an unacceptable use of the word courage to many people. Can you learn to be brave? This is the question the book asks. Can training overcome the natural human instinct to fear certain situations? The result seems to be that you can learn to be brave if you are by nature a timid soul.
I enjoyed the book and liked the style in which it was written. I found it thought-provoking and intriguing partly because it covered so many different examples of courage from all walks of life and all parts of the globe. There is no index – which might be seen as a disadvantage to some readers but it does have notes on each chapter and a list of further reading.
November 4, 2013
This is an exploration of what it means to be brave and if the timid can plug into a source of bravery.
The assumption being to live a life less fearfully is a good thing. The evolutionary advantage fear must have given us is only lightly touched on.
In a great many of these books of this ilk it is the journey not the destination which is important. This is usually down to the fact there are usually very few useful clear cut answers but here there is a thread to be followed while some interesting tangents are explored.
Military training seems a fair start and it is best to come from a broken home as that is over represented in people joining the army.
Bull fighting seemed a less practical road to bravery.
The tone of the book is set early as the original timid souls were stage frightened musicians that were given an early form of exposure therapy by a young quack in the US during the war years.
Polly Morland maintains a sense of humour throughout. Particularly enjoyable was the meeting with folks from the PDSA when it came to the discussion of medals for animal bravery.
Every so often an attempt is made to define bravery but it stumbles into philosophy into which Polly refuses to venture so it never gets far and achieves little that is useful.
This refusal seems more about keeping the book readable as where it is necessary or informative Polly has plenty of facts and figures at the ready.
In other instances brave people are interviewed who for the most part do not see themselves as being brave. This takes us to some dark places, some unlikely ones and occasionally bizarre ones.
Thankfully Polly breaks it down for the reader and some central themes flow through the book , immersion in the fear blunts it's hold over you. As long as you are not pushed beyond a breaking point exposure to frightening things will make you less frightened of them. It also seems there is an element of "fake it till you make it", a process of thinking yourself brave, having that mindset.
Eventually though the book began to drag and it felt like the same path was being repeatedly trodden, there was an increasing sense of repetition, the same ideas going round and round, dressed up in different paragraphs.
In summary, a book that did not hold my interest despite some gimmicky attempts to do so.
The assumption being to live a life less fearfully is a good thing. The evolutionary advantage fear must have given us is only lightly touched on.
In a great many of these books of this ilk it is the journey not the destination which is important. This is usually down to the fact there are usually very few useful clear cut answers but here there is a thread to be followed while some interesting tangents are explored.
Military training seems a fair start and it is best to come from a broken home as that is over represented in people joining the army.
Bull fighting seemed a less practical road to bravery.
The tone of the book is set early as the original timid souls were stage frightened musicians that were given an early form of exposure therapy by a young quack in the US during the war years.
Polly Morland maintains a sense of humour throughout. Particularly enjoyable was the meeting with folks from the PDSA when it came to the discussion of medals for animal bravery.
Every so often an attempt is made to define bravery but it stumbles into philosophy into which Polly refuses to venture so it never gets far and achieves little that is useful.
This refusal seems more about keeping the book readable as where it is necessary or informative Polly has plenty of facts and figures at the ready.
In other instances brave people are interviewed who for the most part do not see themselves as being brave. This takes us to some dark places, some unlikely ones and occasionally bizarre ones.
Thankfully Polly breaks it down for the reader and some central themes flow through the book , immersion in the fear blunts it's hold over you. As long as you are not pushed beyond a breaking point exposure to frightening things will make you less frightened of them. It also seems there is an element of "fake it till you make it", a process of thinking yourself brave, having that mindset.
Eventually though the book began to drag and it felt like the same path was being repeatedly trodden, there was an increasing sense of repetition, the same ideas going round and round, dressed up in different paragraphs.
In summary, a book that did not hold my interest despite some gimmicky attempts to do so.
December 4, 2013
When I first read the blurb for this book, I assumed a work of fiction. The stories sounded so wonderfully fantastical and exciting that I thought it had to be so. From the personal courage of a woman who gave herself a caesarean to a firefighter’s fearless act of bravery and kindness in the presence of a suicide bomber, ablaze as a result of his failed mission. One thing this book has definitely taught me is that people do far more interesting things in real life than they could ever possibly do in novels.
Polly Morland is on a mission to explore the notion of the ‘timid soul’ and how one might embrace such a label in order to escape it. What makes us act bravely, or courageously? And what really is the difference? My only gripe is that at times this determination to create an intellectual distinction between the two feels a little like reading a dissertation, breaking away from the smooth prose recounting the faultlessly fascinating encounters with those who have committed ‘brave’ or ‘courageous’ acts.
What I absolutely love about this book is that it is merely the trunk of a tree with many, many branches. The interviewees’ stories become all the more fascinating when you can put the book down: to Google or YouTube someone and find information for yourself. For instance to accompany a chapter entitled ‘Elemental’, you may watch a video of surfer Mike Parsons’ most famous conquest (a viral sensation); this may lead, as it did for me, to a happy half-hour of video hopping via YouTube’s suggestion panel. The fact is that you could Google any name in this book and find out more for yourself; in this way the book felt like a process, a journey (oh the cliché) that I enjoyed being an active part of. As with my previous review for ‘The Gamal’, I love books that encourage me to look at things away from the pages within; to step outside of the book world for a moment and create a link with your lived ‘outside’ world.
A heart-warmingly insightful read.
Polly Morland is on a mission to explore the notion of the ‘timid soul’ and how one might embrace such a label in order to escape it. What makes us act bravely, or courageously? And what really is the difference? My only gripe is that at times this determination to create an intellectual distinction between the two feels a little like reading a dissertation, breaking away from the smooth prose recounting the faultlessly fascinating encounters with those who have committed ‘brave’ or ‘courageous’ acts.
What I absolutely love about this book is that it is merely the trunk of a tree with many, many branches. The interviewees’ stories become all the more fascinating when you can put the book down: to Google or YouTube someone and find information for yourself. For instance to accompany a chapter entitled ‘Elemental’, you may watch a video of surfer Mike Parsons’ most famous conquest (a viral sensation); this may lead, as it did for me, to a happy half-hour of video hopping via YouTube’s suggestion panel. The fact is that you could Google any name in this book and find out more for yourself; in this way the book felt like a process, a journey (oh the cliché) that I enjoyed being an active part of. As with my previous review for ‘The Gamal’, I love books that encourage me to look at things away from the pages within; to step outside of the book world for a moment and create a link with your lived ‘outside’ world.
A heart-warmingly insightful read.
August 3, 2013
The Society of Timid Souls was inspired by a society of the same name which existed during World War II and helped members overcome stage fright. Inspired by this society and her own desire to be brave, the author interviews a variety of people who have been brave in an equal variety of ways. She also asks a lot of interesting questions about the nature of bravery and whether people can learn to be brave.
I had heard good things about this book, loved the cover, and really wanted to love the book as well. I was hoping for that holy trinity of self-help books: advice, solid science, and relatable anecdotes. In reality, the book was almost exclusively filled with interviews and stories without any research presented or conclusions drawn. The stories were incredibly interesting and often moving – sometimes to the point where they were difficult to read. They just weren’t what I was looking for when I started the book.
The author does pose some interesting question about the nature of bravery. In particular she asks can there bravery in the absence of real danger (facing down stage fright, for example)? And can bravery be learned? While I liked that she made me think about these questions, I felt like they were referred to in a repetitive way without the author ever getting close to an answer. Basically, this book wasn’t what I expected and so I enjoyed it, but ended up disappointed. If you go into it expecting more of a modern micro-history focusing on bravery, I think you’d potentially enjoy it a lot more.
This review first published on Doing Dewey.
I had heard good things about this book, loved the cover, and really wanted to love the book as well. I was hoping for that holy trinity of self-help books: advice, solid science, and relatable anecdotes. In reality, the book was almost exclusively filled with interviews and stories without any research presented or conclusions drawn. The stories were incredibly interesting and often moving – sometimes to the point where they were difficult to read. They just weren’t what I was looking for when I started the book.
The author does pose some interesting question about the nature of bravery. In particular she asks can there bravery in the absence of real danger (facing down stage fright, for example)? And can bravery be learned? While I liked that she made me think about these questions, I felt like they were referred to in a repetitive way without the author ever getting close to an answer. Basically, this book wasn’t what I expected and so I enjoyed it, but ended up disappointed. If you go into it expecting more of a modern micro-history focusing on bravery, I think you’d potentially enjoy it a lot more.
This review first published on Doing Dewey.
September 8, 2013
My wife, an actress, tells me that, when a first-night performance has been disastrous but you are faced with saying something nice in the bar afterwards to the actor in question, the worst option is to tell him how brave his performance was. This might have affected my idea of courage. However, Morland makes the opposing case for, as she quotes CS Lewis, courage is 'not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point'. In this book, through interviews and examples, Morland takes the titular Timid Souls (an actual society that existed in the 1940s to help the fearful overcome their terrors) on a tour through courage in action, from its best-known military and martial form through bravery in the face of the elements and the feral, resolution against pain and physical degeneration, and on to moral courage in the face of tyranny. The chapters will resonate variously with different people - I myself saw little courage but much bravado in base jumpers for instance - but the overall effect is to prove Lewis's point in the introduction: courage is virtue in extremis. And, as such, although the other virtues have been belittled and reduced over the centuries (since when did you hear anyone praised for their temperance?), the disasters of life, both everyday and extraordinary, serve to always rescue courage from such a face. We need brave people, and we need bravery in ourselves, to live, at our testing points, as genuine human beings.
October 29, 2014
An intriguing exploration what it is to be brave, this book takes its name from a group of performers with stage fright in 1940s Manhattan who got together 'to play, to criticise and be criticised, in order to conquer the old bogey of stage fright'.
Morland sets out to find out if bravery can be learnt. The book is most illuminating when Morland interviews people who deliberately expose themselves to risk: soldiers, high wire walkers, climbers and BASE jumpers. People who through self-mastery and self-discipline can try to control the risk. As a world famous matador who recalls being a scared little boy explains 'Fear is always there... You have to dominate yourself. You must be friends with fear.' Her digression on the commodification of medals and the trade in valour is particularly insightful.
Morland has a jaunty and slightly theatrical writing style and a penchant for evocative alliteration' that transforms a bullfight into a 'pantomime of peril'. The book at times feels a disjointed - a collection of essays riffing on a theme rather than a cohesive, persuasive argument. Some of the stories, while interesting, do not illuminate Morland's central argument: that no one is born brave. Instead you become brave by being brave, by practicing the brave thing to do until it becomes second nature.
Morland sets out to find out if bravery can be learnt. The book is most illuminating when Morland interviews people who deliberately expose themselves to risk: soldiers, high wire walkers, climbers and BASE jumpers. People who through self-mastery and self-discipline can try to control the risk. As a world famous matador who recalls being a scared little boy explains 'Fear is always there... You have to dominate yourself. You must be friends with fear.' Her digression on the commodification of medals and the trade in valour is particularly insightful.
Morland has a jaunty and slightly theatrical writing style and a penchant for evocative alliteration' that transforms a bullfight into a 'pantomime of peril'. The book at times feels a disjointed - a collection of essays riffing on a theme rather than a cohesive, persuasive argument. Some of the stories, while interesting, do not illuminate Morland's central argument: that no one is born brave. Instead you become brave by being brave, by practicing the brave thing to do until it becomes second nature.
November 24, 2014
The Society of Timid Souls was a decent book; it was compelling enough that I read through until the end. I went into the book thinking that it was about the actual Society of Timid Souls and would be more of a historical discussion about that group; instead, it was a collection of musings on courage. The book is at its most interesting when telling stories of courage; however, when it edged into philosophical discussions, I started skipping pages. I don't quite know why, but the book felt fragmented. Maybe it's because the book's chapter topics are so broad, or maybe it's because the transitioning between stories isn't that great. This book feels like half newspaper "story of interest", half philosophical treatise, and the two don't mesh very well. Also, it felt like the author originally had enough material for a few good magazine articles until someone persuaded her to stretch it out into a full length book; it's stretched rather thinly at some points. Courage is a difficult topic to write about due to its intangible nature, but I don't think the author is a good enough one to make this into a brilliant book. Note: I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program.
January 26, 2014
A thoughtful, endearing meditation on bravery that I read for a review I'm writing for a senior citizen monthly (something about living well despite being almost dead? I don't know, this is the first one I've done). Documentary filmmaker Morland travels the world interviewing people who have displayed varying degrees of bravery, from tightrope walkers who don't use nets to bomb diffusers to sopranos who perform nightly for thousands of critical fans. In the end, she doesn't quite get there -- "there" meaning a satisfying conclusion of what it means to be brave, and whether it really is possible for us Timid Souls to achieve heroic courageousness or not -- but the anecdotes of humanity at its best are fascinating (scaling the side of a skyscraper sans rope? marching into a war zone riddled with invisible explosives? throwing oneself between a charging Rottweiller and a complete stranger?) and, now that I think of it, did bolster my reserves of courage for a while at least. The morning after finishing the book I ordered a latte, full caf, for example.
August 5, 2013
Polly Morland makes documentaries. Even if I wasn’t told this about her, I would have been able to figure it out from this book. Rather than a documentary, this time, however, Morland decided to write a book. Her subject is courage.
Morland opens by taking us to a meeting of the Society of Timid Souls, an organization that formed after Pearl Harbor, when America, both individually and as a country, was fearful, and which was created to encourage bravery. Morland confides that she herself should be a member of such a society and she invites all of us readers to join her in her search to become more courageous. Like a documentary, Morland, in her book, seeks out and shares stories of great courage. Somehow, just reading about people who have done brave acts seems to encourage all of us to engage in a life of less fear.
Morland opens by taking us to a meeting of the Society of Timid Souls, an organization that formed after Pearl Harbor, when America, both individually and as a country, was fearful, and which was created to encourage bravery. Morland confides that she herself should be a member of such a society and she invites all of us readers to join her in her search to become more courageous. Like a documentary, Morland, in her book, seeks out and shares stories of great courage. Somehow, just reading about people who have done brave acts seems to encourage all of us to engage in a life of less fear.
July 17, 2013
This book was extremely hard to get into, I found myself putting it down time and time again. It just was not my cup of tea. It was uninteresting and unable to hold my attention. The parts that i did get through were about the group the timid souls formed in the 1940's that helped singers get over stage fright.It goes on to talk about bravery. However, the examples that were used I personally do not think of as brave men. Please don't get me wrong, instead of using dead service men as an example where was Ghandi or Martin Luther King? These were brave men! Men that stood up for the rights of one another not some some killing machine. Anyone can kill but it takes guts to stand up and LOVE. This is what true bravery is about.
June 26, 2013
I received this through First Reads and I'm glad I did, as it's a book that would have been added to my "To Read" list and it would have taken years to get around to it.
I understand that some people are disappointed with the book, hoping for more scientific and concrete. The "How to Be Brave" part of the title is rather misleading, as the author never really tells us how.
Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed this book. I was moved to tears several times while waiting for my flights. The interviews are interesting for the stories they tell and also because it shows that people have different ideas of what being brave is.
I understand that some people are disappointed with the book, hoping for more scientific and concrete. The "How to Be Brave" part of the title is rather misleading, as the author never really tells us how.
Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed this book. I was moved to tears several times while waiting for my flights. The interviews are interesting for the stories they tell and also because it shows that people have different ideas of what being brave is.
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