The Map I Draw: Heidi Brown on Identity, Writing, and Reinventing Your Legal Life

In this powerful episode of This Legal Life, Ben Chiriboga sits down with Heidi Brown—law professor, former litigator, and author of The Introverted Lawyer—for an unflinching look at reinvention, authenticity, and navigating fear in the legal profession.

From surviving 9/11 to walking away from tenure, Heidi shares her journey of writing through shame, embracing introversion, and rejecting traditional legal molds. With the release of her most personal work yet, The Map I Draw, Heidi offers a blueprint for building a meaningful career rooted in knowing yourself—and choosing yourself.

Meet Heidi:

Professor Heidi K. Brown is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Associate Dean for Upper Level Writing at New York Law School, and a former litigator in the construction industry.

Heidi is the author of three books about well-being for law students and lawyers, including The Introverted Lawyer, Untangling Fear in Lawyering, and The Flourishing Lawyer: A Multi-Dimensional Approach to Performance and Well-Being. In 2021, she earned a master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the 2023 Recipient of the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Well-Being in Legal Education from the Association of American Law Schools’ (AALS) Section on Balance and Well-Being in Legal Education.

With thirty years of experience in legal practice and academia, Heidi champions the importance of openly discussing stressors, anxieties, and fears in lawyering—and helping quiet and anxious law students and lawyers tap into their individual strengths to become profoundly effective advocates, in their authentic voices.

Her debut travel memoir, The Map I Draw: A Memoir of Travel as a Passport to Self, launched in June 2025.

Connect with Heidi

• Amazon (New Book): The Map I Draw: A Memoir of Travel as a Passport to Self
• Websites: www.heidikristinbrown.com | www.theflourishinglawyer.org
• Instagram: @introvertedlawyer | @heidiographia
• LinkedIn: Heidi Brown
• NYLS Profile: Heidi K. Brown – New York Law School
• Substack: Heidiography