Radical Tenderness

About this item

An inspiring manifesto from philanthropist and advocate Gisele Barreto Fetterman that explores her surprising source of power and strength—vulnerability—and how we can all harness it to effect meaningful change. As a society, we shy away from public expressions of vulnerability, mistaking it for weakness or a lack of grit. To even talk about crying, much less shed tears publicly, is seen as shameful or cringeworthy. But for Gisele Barreto Fetterman, accessibility advocate and wife of Senator John Fetterman, showing strong emotions has always been her default—at events, during speeches, in her car or even at the grocery store. Friends and family warned Gisele that the world would eat her alive if she didn’t toughen up. But over the years Fetterman came to a realization: her emotional tenderness was not her downfall, but her strength— one that could be incorporated into her leadership style to show a different way to create true social