He wore a mask of certainty for decades-until it nearly cost him everything.
Author Benjamin Plumb's life reads like an introvert's worst nightmare: terror during US Army field training, fear during enemy night attacks in Vietnam, forced extroversion at the Harvard Business School, chaos during economic collapse in Chile, and shock from an extortion attempt by Manuel Noriega in Panama.
In The Satisfied Introvert-part gripping memoir, part practical self-help book-Plumb tells the story of how he tried and failed to endure these and other pressures by clinging to a carefully crafted persona.
Plumb recognized he was an introvert at age four, when he ran away from home to escape his talkative mother. By age ten, like most introvert children, he had devised a "winning recipe"-a protective mask built to succeed in an extroverted world. But like almost all such recipes, it brought anxiety and a life of performing instead of living.
Through raw personal storytelling and structured reflection, Plumb shows how "winning recipes" prevent introverts from being authentic. The mask of his own recipe-an obsession with process and certainty-brought him academic acclaim, yet eventually led to personal ruin.
What changed everything was learning to live without the mask.
Inside The Satisfied Introvert . . .
- You'll discover how to recognize and detach from the detrimental "winning recipe" you have likely been relying on since childhood.
- If you're a family member or friend of an introvert, you'll learn how it feels for them to navigate our extroverted society.
- If you're a curious extrovert, you'll come to recognize the quiet strengths of introverts.
To his fellow introverts, Plumb invites you to live openly as the quiet person you truly are. Through stories, insights, and deeply humane guidance, this book will help you drop the mask, trust yourself fully, and live with clarity, connection, and joy.
About the Author :
Benjamin Plumb was raised in Los Angeles as the only introvert in a family of five. At age ten, he decided he would be methodical in everything he did, a "winning recipe" he created to feel safe in an extroverted world. This strategy brought him honors at Stanford and a Harvard MBA, but it enticed him into unsatisfying careers as an entrepreneur and an executive. Those roles ultimately led to a divorce, a bankruptcy, and two job losses in a row.
At last he saw that what all these failures had in common was the recipe. He taught himself to detach from it, openly embraced his introversion, and thereafter worked quietly as a writer and researcher, finally attaining the success and safety he had always desired.
Ben and Sandy, his wife of more than forty years, live in the Tampa Bay area. They have four children and ten grandchildren.
Review :
Praise for the first edition of The Satisfied Introvert:
Book Awards:
First Place, 2022 Chanticleer International Book Awards, Instructional & Insightful Non-Fiction
Winner, 2022 Global Book Awards Silver Medal, Motivational Self-Help
Winner, 2022 Reader's Favorite Silver Medal, Non-Fiction-Inspirational
Editorial Reviews:
" . . . an undeniably remarkable life . . ." -Kirkus Reviews
" . . . revealing, and refreshing read . . . RECOMMENDED." -US Review of Books
" . . . a page-turner which one moment would have me smiling and the next brushing away a tear . . ." -Reader's Favorite
"A liberating book . . . a useful tool for both introverts and extroverts alike." -Book Viral
" . . . an immense resource for helping professionals, teachers, and parents . . ." -Reader Views
" . . . a revelation . . . wildly honest . . . humorous, heartfelt, and deeply human . . ." -Self-Publishing Review
"Great for fans of: Holley Gerth's The Powerful Purpose of Introverts, and Jenn Granneman's The Secret Lives of Introverts." -Publisher's Weekly BookLife
" . . . read like a novel at times . . ." -Reedsy Discovery
"People who identify as introverts will find this an excellent read . . . a clear insight to a personality trait that is often misunderstood and little discussed." -Chanticleer Book Reviews
