A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER How We Learn to Be Brave is an inspirational guide to the key
junctures in life that if navigated with faith and discernment pave the way for us to become
our most courageous selves by the bishop of the famed Episcopal Diocese of Washington
D.C.—now includes a new Preface and the 2025 Inauguration prayer service sermon. On January
21 2025 many Americans were introduced to Bishop Mariann Budde thanks to what The New York
Times called “an extraordinary act of public resistance.” During her prayer service for Donald
J. Trump’s second inauguration Bishop Budde addressed the president directly imploring him
“to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now ” from those who are part of the
LGBTQ+ community to immigrants and refugees. But for Bishop Budde this moment was the
culmination of a lifetime spent thinking about those pivot points when we’re called on to push
past our fears and act with strength. With How We Learn to Be Brave she teaches us that being
brave is not a singular occurrence it’s a journey that we can choose to undertake every day.
Here Bishop Budde explores the full range of decisive moments from the most visible and
dramatic (the decision to go) to the internal and personal (the decision to stay) to brave
choices made with an eye toward the future (the decision to start) those born of suffering
(the decision to accept that which we did not choose) and those that come unexpectedly (the
decision to step up to the plate). Drawing on examples ranging from Harry Potter to the Gospel
According to Luke she seamlessly weaves together personal experiences with stories from
scripture history and pop culture to underscore both the universality of these moments and
the particular call each one of us must heed when they arrive. With Bishop Budde’s wisdom
readers will learn to live and to respond according to their true beliefs and in ways that
align with their best selves. How We Learn to Be Brave will provide much-needed fortitude and
insight to anyone searching for answers in uncertain times.
