Review of The Smartest Person in the Room

[Sasha Edwards]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Smartest Person in the Room" by Christian Espinosa.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Initially, I was expecting to merely get a lesson on cybersecurity while I was reading The Smartest Person in the Room. After finishing the first chapter, I realized I was far from correct. This book gave vital life lessons on interpersonal relationships and what it means to have a connection with your fellow human. We can sum this up with one single word: empathy.

I've always known empathy to be important when establishing connections with others. However, this book beautifies this quality. Not only did it state its importance, but it also demonstrated it by giving various examples of times when others extended it to each other and its impact in return.

The author didn't just give the testimony of other individuals who were on the receiving end of empathy. She also related her testimony. She conveyed that in a way that you could feel the emotions she experienced at that moment.

She relates a time when she was going through a divorce. She was deeply depressed. The author had a lot going on in her life and a lot on her mind. One day, she went to the store. However, the stress she was feeling was evident in her facial expressions. So when her check-out time arrived, the cashier asked her how she was doing. This simple question caught her off guard. The cashier genuinely cared. That was HER moment of empathy. That moment, though brief, stayed with her up to this day.

The moral of the story is to be kind and empathetic. You never know who will need it. Along those lines, I feel that not taking yourself too seriously is helpful. I’ve found that many people tend to be selfish when they take themselves too seriously. It's a little more challenging to have an empathetic disposition when you're self-centered.

I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5.

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The Smartest Person in the Room
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