The Neurobiology of 'We'

Outstanding! Pure genius...

I am currently, at the age of 42, finishing up two bachelor degrees - one in psychology and the other in anthropology. I have also been practicing mindfulness through disciplines like Tai Chi, Yoga and seated meditation for the last 12 years.

I think Siegel has done the most holistic and comprehensive job of covering the power of being mindful, and what it means to our social relationships! There is an amazing amount of digestible information in this book. Highly recommend it! If you are NOT a student of neurobiology you may want to take some notes so as not to get lost; there are a lot of layers to what he is offering within this work.

Keep an eye on this man's work, he is onto some powerful ways of understanding the processes of what it is to be a human being.

40 of 41 people found this review helpful

among the best

What made the experience of listening to The Neurobiology of 'We' the most enjoyable?

I think it is so important that nonfiction audiobooks be given by the researcher/teacher. These topics are complex and just reading them from a script by a vocal performer can be brutal to a listener, so I truly loved hearing Siegel talk about his work. I could not tell if he was reading the book/script but the information was effectively delivered in a way that felt like we were having a conversation.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole "book" moved me. The whole field of neuroscience "moves" me. I am a different person because of it and I highly recommend this text for those interested in the subject. I will also say I listened to this book cleaning my house during the day while reading The Body Keeps the Score when I went to bed a night--and between these two very complementary texts everything has changed for me.

Any additional comments?

I would like to personally thank the author for sharing his work in a way that is accessible to the broad public. He has been given a true gift for teaching and research. No, it wasn't always easy to understand some of the science but he asked his listeners to bear with him, and so I stopped my cleaning or whatever and hung on trying to do so.


Which leads to my one minor but really important suggestion, and that is to provide the listeners with a few handouts of some of the brain roles and processes described within if this is at all possible. As I listened I found myself with a burning desire to plot out some of what was presented on a big chalkboard so I could get a grip on these big brain ideas that had my forehead bunched up and aching as I searched for understanding and clarity on a subject (brain science) I know very little.


Siegel did provide good verbal direction for visualizing the brain stem as your arm, and reptilian brain as thumb, with other parts folded over but somehow I didn't get that until a friend showed me. Maybe even just offering little suggestions for visual learners to draw and map out a few of these processes on a piece of paper might offer an additional accessibility to the ideas presented. Of course, listeners could just buy the book in it's physical form, but buying twice isn't always an option.

So, fellow "readers," if you are wondering if to click that button to purchase, I would highly suggest that you do.

17 of 17 people found this review helpful

great information and perspective

I've read several of Dan Siegel's books, but this is the one that focuses on interpersonal neurobiology, which I'm most interested in. I would have preferred a written book because Dan speaks with so much vocal fry that I found it difficult to listen to him for more than a few minutes at a time. He holds such ownership of the perspective that it makes sense for him to present it, but I had to listen in short chunks. Definitely worthwhile: an easy-to-understand explanation of some very complex and important information.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Excellent teacher.

Where does The Neurobiology of 'We' rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top.

What did you like best about this story?

The detailed explanation of how the brain is structured compared to the clenched hand.

What about the narrator’s performance did you like?

The narrator goes into great detail about the thinking process. This detail enabled me to apply what I was listening to.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me feel enormous joy that there were people like Dr. Siegel in the world.

Any additional comments?

I am looking forward to listening to this book again. I wish that this book's subject was mandatory teaching in all schools.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

a physiological basis for meditating

If you could sum up The Neurobiology of 'We' in three words, what would they be?

anatomy, physiology, synergy

What did you like best about this story?

Research is synthesizing some real understanding of how our brains and bodies work together to produce the personal psychologies we experience as individuals.

It brings to mind Emotional Intelligence, Taming Your Gremlin, and Gray's Anatomy.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Why We is so Crucial

What did you love best about The Neurobiology of 'We'?

Neurobiology of We is easily understood assembly of developmental concepts which shape our life, our relationships, and even our brain. Dr Siegel writes in a comfortable style that is similar to sitting around and chatting. This doesn't mean it's not rigorous, it means you can tell he's speaking to you, not over you.

What other book might you compare The Neurobiology of 'We' to and why?

Several - The Buddha's Brain, The Mindful Therapist for a bit more rigor, Attachment in Psychotherapy. These books look at the brain, the mind, our relationships and what is healthy.

What does Daniel J. Siegel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

In a word- emotion!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The entire book is moving to me.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Fabulous overview and exploration of brain/mind

Would you listen to The Neurobiology of 'We' again? Why?

If you are interested in understanding the underpinnings of the brain as it relates to the mind this book is fabulous. It is beneficial to have a foundation in therapeutic language as it relates to the functions of the brain. At times, my previous understanding of the brain was indispensable. Still, the content is relative and useful to anyone.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Neurobiology of 'We'?

Exploring the relationship of the brain and the mind has been incredibly helpful. It is somewhat like nature vs. nurture. How silly to separate one from the other or credit more attention to either. We are complex creatures equipped with the structure of our being made full by the intricacies of our individuality. This book beautifully marries both.

Have you listened to any of Daniel J. Siegel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have read other books by Daniel Siegel. This is the first I have listened to. His presentation is engaging. Humor is appropriate and content is relevant. "The Whole Brain Child" is, perhaps, one of my favorites.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A Journey to Discovering the Mysteries of Self.

Any additional comments?

This book is certainly relevant to everyone. It is beneficial to have a working knowledge of the brain, its functions, and structure. Outside of that, Seigel does a competent job of exploring neurobiology, making it relevant to most.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I Want Everyone to Listen to This!

Dan Siegel does such thorough, thoughtful, and mindful (:^)) job of explaining how the brain, mind, body processes information, and how past "trauma" can influence your relationships with loved ones, and everyone else. Because I'm a therapist, and I do Past Life Regressions, (I was trained by another psychiatrist, Brian Weiss, MD) I especially loved the part of Dan's lecture where he talks about the "healing" mechanism of turning the events of your life into a meaningful narrative, a story, so that a person heals fast. In Past Life Regression people see their lives from a different perspective, and that help them to "re-do" the event in their brain. And thus helps them heal their present life "traumas," because they experience them as "soul-directed" learning opportunities. Thank you, Dan! I love all your work, and ask all my clients to listen to this!!

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

Exactly what I was looking for!

Easy to understand. Daniel Siegel shares his knowledge about how the brain and mind work. It is an excellent book. I bought this to help better my understanding of others, mainly children.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Very good at what it is

Not just an audio book, but an audio presentation that feels more natural than someone reading from a book. This is more like a podcast feel. Though not necessarily the fault of the author, I was expecting more neurobiology and less social science. Obviously both were present and to be expected, but the neurobiology evidence was used - sometimes seemingly ad hoc, to rationalize the social science theories. I was expecting the limbic system to be discussed more, the brains of other social animals, eeg studies etc. Though for what it is, a conversation about mindfulness, and integrating the mind with the world around it, it succeeds at that.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful