Illustrating the little moments in her life, Debbie reveals the inner thoughts and feelings of an introvert in the book “Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert’s Story”. Debbie has always been described as a “too quiet” girl since she was a kid. Turning into a grown-up did not make things better. During her college days, Debbie did not ask professors any questions in class publicly but only after class privately. On her wedding day, Debbie had a panic attack and tried to hide herself from the guests as long as she could. After getting a job, she was still too nervous to get along with her colleagues. Debbie was being reminded repeatedly to be a “normal” person throughout the years. She tried hard to act like an extrovert, but she felt so alienated from herself. The more effort she made to be sociable, the more exhausted she was.

You may not be as introverted as Debbie is, but it is not difficult for you to resonate with her stories. Have you ever secretly prayed for cancellation of a gathering so that you could keep away from spending time with the crowds? Or have you taken much time to recharge your social batteries after a short social interaction? Probably all of us have a strong desire for some alone time once in a while, no matter how extroverted we usually are. This book is a useful guide for both introverts and extroverts to understand that they are free to be themselves. It is perfectly fine to retreat into our inner world whenever we need some me-time. We do not need to force ourselves to fit in the “ideal self” for meeting others’ expectations.