“I don’t trust myself and I always worry about what others think of me”...
Sound familiar? With astounding clarity, Chapman identifies “othering” as women’s internalized gender conditioning, which creates disempowering beliefs that cause them to doubt their own worth and lose themselves in relationships. Based on decades of study, this warm and practical book is an intimate journey exploring mindfulness as a powerful practice aimed at transforming these patterns.
Chapman encourages compassionate insight, connection with authentic self, and respect for inner authority. The ultimate destination is unshakeable confidence: the deep, stable, inner trust to handle whatever is happening in life—from the awful and unbearable to the outrageously amazing and wonderful.
The book is beautifully designed to follow Chapman’s popular nine-week meditation class that trains the mind, heart, and body. It builds on "Ownwork" practices the reader can use in formal meditation sits, or informally, in daily moments like sitting in the car or waiting in line. Each chapter includes easy-to-follow Check-Ins and Practice sections leading the reader toward gentle yet unflinching connection with one’s own direct experience.
UNSHAKEABLE CONFIDENCE is a book for every woman
• it’s about giving yourself loving kindness.
• it’s about gaining self-confidence through
mindfulness meditation.
• it’s about finding steadfast, unshakeable, authentic, lasting change through practice.
• it’s about anchoring yourself in the midst of gender-conditioned ‘shoulds’.
• it’s about Mare being right there with you, cheering you on every step of the way!
"Mare Chapman has given us a wonderful resource for transforming suffering. Unshakeable Confidence lovingly reveals painful ways women tend to hold themselves, then outlines deeply empowering alternatives by providing mindfulness-based tools to bring them to life. Highly recommended for any woman who feels stuck with insecurity.”— Sharon Salzbergauthor of 'Lovingkindness' and 'Real Happiness'
“Unshakeable Confidence illuminates the cultural conditioning that adversely affects nearly all women—in body, mind, and spirit. Its reframing of codependence, learned helplessness, and relationship addiction as "othering" is groundbreaking. And, most importantly, it gives all of us precise instructions for how to come back home to our essential, healthy, confident selves. Every woman needs to know and practice what’s in these pages.”—Christiane Northrup, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Goddesses Never Age, Wisdom of Menopause, and Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom
“Unshakeable Confidence clearly and directly shines the light of mindfulness on our cultural conditioning as women. With kind expertise, Mare Chapman teaches mindfulness with an eye toward gender equity, guiding the reader toward more ease, empowerment and freedom. This special book is so needed for women, especially at this time!”— Tara Brachauthor of 'Radical Acceptance' and 'True Refuge'
"Every so often a book comes along that has the potential to change your life. In her groundbreaking book Unshakeable Confidence, Mare Chapman offers a unique and loving vision of how women can reconnect to the luminous depths of our true selves. Drawing on years of experience as a mindfulness teacher, Unshakeable Confidence reflects the author’s profound understanding of the roots of women’s suffering and provides a wise and practical guide to rediscovering self-love. A pure gem of a book!"— Dale M. Kushner author of 'The Conditions of Love'
Mare Chapman. M.A., is a psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher in private practice since 1983. An insight meditation vipassana practitioner for 30 years. Mare finds mindfulness to be the most transformative tool for working with the mind to handle the gamut of life's challenges with greater ease and stability. Also trained in interactive guided imagery, Mare brings a holistic approach to her work. She began her work at a psychiatric hospital in Detroit, MI, and taught at Wayne State University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1976 she founded and directed the Yahara House, the first non-profit in Wisconsin to offer day treatment service to adults with chronic mental illness.
Mare teaches a popular nine-week "Mindfulness for Women" class, on which this book is based. She has mentored more than 5000 students on a range of applications including self-acceptance, compassion, befriending fear, chronic pain and life-threatening illness, eating disorders, Loving Kindness, LGBTQ issues, and teen challenges. She leads meditation retreats, makes presentations, conducts trainings, and consults with companies and non-profits on mindfulness. She teaches clinicians through the Dept. of Psychiatry, and Dept. of Continuing Education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is the author of five journal articles and two audio podcasts; "Cultivating Mindfulness Through Insight Meditation", and "Cultivating Mindfulness: Physical Pain and Difficult Emotions" available at MareChapman.com.
An avid bicyclist, track racing champion, and nature lover, Mare has two children and four grandchildren, and lives in Madison with her spouse Pam, their dog Gracie and cat Smokie Joe.
