Staff Pick
Entertaining and deeply personal yet packed with information about the human brain, 10% Happier is a book about meditation for the unconvinced. If you're prone to anxiety or compulsive thoughts (who isn't?), do yourself a favor and pick this up. Recommended By Renee P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Winner of the 2014 Living Now Book Award for Inspirational Memoir
After having a nationally televised panic attack, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes. A lifelong nonbeliever, he found himself on a bizarre adventure involving a disgraced pastor, a mysterious self-help guru, and a gaggle of brain scientists. Eventually, Harris realized that the source of his problems was the very thing he always thought was his greatest asset: the incessant, insatiable voice in his head, which had propelled him through the ranks of a hypercompetitive business, but had also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that provoked his on-air freak-out.
Eventually Harris stumbled upon an effective way to rein in that voice, something he always assumed to be either impossible or useless: meditation, a tool that research suggests can do everything from lower your blood pressure to essentially rewire your brain. 10% Happier takes readers on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America's spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.
Review
"Startling, provocative, and often very funny...[10% Happier] will convince even the most skeptical reader of meditations potential." Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
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"10% Happier is hands down the best book on meditation for the uninitiated, the skeptical, or the merely curious. . . . an insightful, engaging, and hilarious tour of the minds darker corners and what we can do to find a bit of peace." Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence and Focus
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"The science supporting the health benefits of meditation continues to grow as does the number of Americans who count themselves as practitioners but, it took reading 10% Happier to make me actually want to give it a try." Richard E. Besser, M.D., Chief Health and Medical Editor, ABC News
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"An enormously smart, clear-eyed, brave-hearted, and quite personal look at the benefits of meditation that offers new insights as to how this ancient practice can help modern lives while avoiding the pitfall of cliché. This is a book that will help people, simply put." Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
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"This brilliant, humble, funny story shows how one man found a way to navigate the non-stop stresses and demands of modern life and back to humanity by finally learning to sit around doing nothing." Colin Beavan, author of No Impact Man
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"In 10% Happier, Dan Harris describes in fascinating detail the stresses of working as a news correspondent and the relief he has found through the practice of meditation. This is an extremely brave, funny, and insightful book. Every ambitious person should read it." Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith
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"A compellingly honest, delightfully interesting, and at times heart-warming story of one highly intelligent mans life-changing journey towards a deeper understanding of what makes us our very best selves. As Dan's meditation practice deepens, I look forward to him being at least 11% happier, or more." Chade-Meng Tan, author of Search Inside Yourself
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"10% Happier is a spiritual adventure from a master storyteller. Mindfulness can make you happier. Read this to find out how." George Stephanopoulos
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"Part-science, part-memoir, and part self-help, Harris outlines specific ways he learned to, well, chill the f#%k out." GQ
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"A self-help guide even skeptics will embrace....Harris crushes stereotypes about meditation and recounts how it slashed his stress and quieted his anxious mind." Parade
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"Revealing....I'd recommend this to anyone." USA Today, Pop Candy
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"Harris never loses his sense of humor as he affably spotlights one mans quest for internal serenity while concurrently navigating the slings and arrows of a hard-won career in the contemporary media spotlight. Friendly, practical advocacy for the power of mindfulness and enlightenment." Kirkus
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"Harris's journey of discovery brought back lessons for all of us about our lives, too." Diane Sawyer
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"Lively...part reporting, part personal experience....By letting us hear the voice in his head before and after he starts meditating Harris makes a convincing case that if he can do it, we can, too." Richmond Times-Dispatch
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"Nightline co-anchor Dan Harris is an unlikely ambassador for mindfulness, but his new book...might be just the thing that gets people to unplug and recognize that all this multitasking is making us miserable and unhealthy." xoJane
About the Author
Dan Harris is the coanchor of Nightline and the weekend editions of Good Morning America. He regularly reports for 20/20, World News with Diane Sawyer, and the weekday editions of Good Morning America. Before joining ABC News fourteen years ago, he worked for local news outlets in Boston and Maine. He lives with his wife, Bianca, in New York City. This is his first book.