A new book debuting about "the power of introverts"

Growing up, I was a daydreamy little girl, fairly quiet, shy, and very observant.  I loved reading books and writing stories, but I also enjoyed playing outdoors with friends and roughhousing with my two older brothers. I think I was pretty well-balanced.  As I moved through college and young adulthood, I was known as a good listener and a consistently strong student. After a first career in K-8 education, I moved into the corporate world and found myself as a "creative" in the midst of business and marketing folks whose personalities were quite different than mine.  And, they kept trying to make me more like them.  I did learn to be more outgoing, but at the core, I was an introvert, and kept wanting to return from meetings to my desk where I could think freely and focus on my work.

My story is similar to at least one third of the population, according to a new book by Susan Cain titled Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  Our world is busy and fast and those who speak up loudly get heard more. It's a world where extraverts are revered and introverts are sometimes seen as less productive. Cain turns these ideas upside down in this book in which she explores the positive attributes of introverts and what they offer to us all, including inventions, discoveries, books, art and much more.


I'm at the point in my life where I like who I am and know how to step out of my comfort zone when I need to.  I even teach college part-time (some friends say I can do this because of some innate ability to act).  Introverts aren't always locked away in an office or studio, but can mix and mingle, and even become effective leaders.

I just found out about this book and plan to read it.  It sounds like a thought-provoking study of a large part of the population. My wish is that we all come to understand each other a little better and that we accept what each of us has to offer, whether we're introverts, extraverts, or (I just learned this word) ambiverts.