A Book That Names What Many Have Felt
Elaine Aron’s The Highly Sensitive Person is a book that changes lives. First published in 1996, it introduced the idea that 15–20% of people are “highly sensitive.” For many, this recognition is transformative. It explains why the world can feel too loud, too fast, or too overwhelming — and why sensitivity is not a flaw, but a natural trait.
Aron blends research, stories, and advice to show how sensitivity works. Sensitive people often notice subtleties others miss, reflect more deeply, and feel more intensely. These qualities bring creativity, empathy, and conscience, but they also carry challenges in cultures that prize toughness and speed.
Reading this book is like stepping into a more compassionate story of selfhood. Instead of seeing yourself as fragile, you begin to understand sensitivity as a form of intelligence. Aron also stresses responsibility: sensitive people thrive best when they honour their energy, choose nourishing environments, and give themselves permission to rest.
This review opens my Sensitivity series of articles, which reframes sensitivity as a soulful strength. From reclaiming it as an undervalued gift to recognising it as an evolutionary asset, the series explores why the world needs sensitive people right now.
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