Bren_ Brown , Ph.D., L.M.S.W., is a member of the research faculty at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, where she studies how shame affects the way people live, love, parent, work, and build relationships. She is the author of I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't): Telling the Truth About Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power , and the new book The Gift of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are .