What looks like bravery

"I freaking love this book. It’s about so many things, but mostly love and loss, and how you can’t let fear keep you from experiencing all the love – and pain and joy – in this glorious, heart-breaking, unpredictable world."

— Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle, The Silver Star, and Half Broke Horses

"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 and Tiny Beautiful Things

“One of her closing realizations is worth the cover price alone: 'There is no such thing as happily ever after. There is only happily sad or sadly happy.' An affecting investigation of loss, sorrow, and the search for meaning."

— Kirkus Reviews

Hawk in a redwood tree that Laurel's parents planted, shot by her brother Jake.

what people are saying about the book

  • perfect for anyone looking to heal a broken heart

    “An inspiring memoir...Her prose is shot through with rigor and intellectual curiosity, resulting in a candid study of one woman’s long path to emotional peace. This is perfect for anyone looking to heal a broken heart."

    -Publisher’s Weekly

  • a riveting, mesmerizing tale

    “This memoir is drawn from the deep well of wisdom that only comes from life-altering loss. Told with breathtaking candor, Laurel Braitman sits us down by the campfire and shares with us an amazing life story of family, love and adventure that is so relatable in its humanity but filled with the unexpected details that make for a riveting, mesmerizing tale."

    -Kevin Kwan, #1 NYT Bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians

  • the power of turning toward rather than running away

    “What Looks Like Bravery” is the best kind of breathless, propulsive, rollicking human story — it will surprise you, inspire you, break your heart and make you laugh out loud, all while showing you the power of turning toward rather than running away. "

    -Rebecca Skloot, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

  • how to stay open to life and love in a world we can't control

    “This is a gripping, luminous story -- of a life, a family, and a personal transformation. In What Looks Like Bravery, Laurel Braitman teaches us how to stay open to life and love in a world we can't control, a world in which loss is inevitable but where hope springs eternal. ”

    -Lucy Kalanithi MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine, widow of Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of When Breath Becomes Air

  • A CINEMATIC JOURNEY

    “Laurel's writing is so evocative and clear-eyed that not only will she take you on a cinematic journey through her life, but you'll also find yourself feeling feelings that you weren't quite sure you were capable of.”

    -Samin Nosrat, Chef and NYT bestselling author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

  • TEARS OF SORROW & TEARS OF JOY

    "This beautiful book of life in the light of loss will catch you from falling at just about any height, and it won’t ask you to choose between tears of sorrow and tears of joy. This book will tear you apart and then put you back together again--and it will feel so good."

    -BJ Miller MD, palliative care physician and author of A Beginner’s Guide to the End

  • I freaking love this book.

    “It’s about so many things, but mostly love and loss, and how you can’t let fear keep you from experiencing all the love – and pain and joy – in this glorious, heart-breaking, unpredictable world."

    ---Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle

  • A soaring triumph

    "Read this survivor tale. Braitman transforms a free-fall, into a soaring triumph. It’s a little slutty, a lot brilliant, and you may notice the falcon that was always there, waiting for you to look up."

    — Jillian Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of Some Girls, Pretty, All You Ever Wanted and more

Photos of people and places in Laurel's memoir.

other Writing

Animal madness : inside their minds

**New York Times Bestseller**

“Science Friday” Summer Reading Pick**

**Discover magazine Top 5 Summer Reads**

**People magazine Best Summer Reads**

“A lovely, big-hearted book…brimming with compassion and the tales of the many, many humans who devote their days to making animals well” (The New York Times).

Have you ever wondered if your dog might be a bit depressed? How about heartbroken or homesick? Animal Madness takes these questions seriously, exploring the topic of mental health and recovery in the animal kingdom and turning up lessons that Publishers Weekly calls “Illuminating…Braitman’s delightful balance of humor and poignancy brings each case of life….[Animal Madness’s] continuous dose of hope should prove medicinal for humans and animals alike.”

Susan Orlean calls Animal Madness “a marvelous, smart, eloquent book—as much about human emotion as it is about animals and their inner lives.” It is “a gem…that can teach us much about the wildness of our own minds” (Psychology Today).