#1 New York Times Bestseller Winner of the 2014 Living Now Book Award for Inspirational Memoir“An enormously smart, clear-eyed, brave-hearted, and quite personal look at the benefits of meditation.”—Elizabeth GilbertNightline anchor Dan Harrisembarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get … skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable.
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.
Finally, 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.
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I enjoyed reading this very lovely narrative by one guy seeking balance, some bit of serenity, in a crazy world. I finished this book in love with the author. Down to earth, real and helpful. The writer saves you the trouble of investigating the wide array of systems out there designed to help you feel better. I feel better having read it.
I discovered this book a few years ago, right around the time when I became interested in meditation. It was so relatable and realistic, and helped me down the path to the regular meditations I enjoy today. Highly recommended!
Focused meditation can help with so many things. I read this some time back and still pick it up now and then. It provides a good, basic primer on mediation techniques and, more importantly, how they changed the author’s life for the better. 10% better, in fact.
No, meditation isn’t a panacea. On the other hand, it’s drug-free, risk-free, and doesn’t take hours of your time. Give it a try!
Meditation was a life-saver to me when I was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease and had to wait until eventually being cured by a life-saving transplant. When people ask me where to start with meditation, I always recommend this book, which is subtitled “Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics” . Dan Harris is a compassionate, vulnerable, hilarious writer and his own journey to mindfulness is something we can all learn from (not to mention laugh along with).
I never heard of Dan Harris before this book. I got it on CD from the the Library and LOVED IT! The only problem with audio books is, when your driving, it is hard to make notes about what is said or not page numbers to look stuff up later. I had to buy the Hard Copy and bought his newest book immediately after it came out. Loved his sarcastic sense of humor.
If you have ever considered meditation this book is what you need to read. Written by a journalist who went on the meditation journey as a skeptic and ends up with a podcast and a best seller on the benefits of meditation.
I enjoyed getting to know Dan and the TV NEWS business. I liked many of the things he said about his practice. I was very happy when I got to the end and found instructions on how to do the practices.
A great read for anyone interested in meditation (or the TV NEWS business).
This deal was timely, given that I have a goal to learn to meditate this year. The personal story is long, and I have to say more than once I thought, oy is this going to be another of those horrid pushing-pseudoscience books? But for some reason I stuck with it and was rewarded, in the end, by lots of excellent, practical, and heartening information. Now my own far-from-perfect journey has a model.
10% happier is not a book to take lightly. I expected a feel-good, comical story of glorious news anchor life. What I heard was a story of a hardworking, active man who loved his family, followed his dreams, had an annoying sibling (or maybe he was the annoying brother), made poor choices, dropped what didn’t work, and found an unexpected path to redemption.
Dan Harris’s writing is honest, engaging, and reflective of a wandering soul. Towards the last half, there are lighter moments, not comical but light-hearted. There is a point where Dan opens his life, begins therapy, falls in love, marries, and finds a new balance.
The openness of his research, notes, and life story are commendable.
I think I became 15% happier after I read this book! I actually listened to Dan Harris read his book, which made it so much better. He really opened up to reveal all his insecurities, vulnerability, and fears – and he is incredibly funny! I loved the way he described his introduction to mindfulness meditation, which helped me start my practice. I highly recommend his other book Meditation ‘for fidgety skeptics’ – so fun and hilarious – and I really love the 10% Happier app. I use this app everyday for guided meditation, education talks, and support from amazing teachers. No, Dan Harris did not pay me to write any of this!
Great read just wish it would have inspired me to meditate but maybe I’ll keep trying.
Not as good as I had hoped. He could have summed it all up in the first chapter. Still, it is an easy read with nothing that could offend anyone and could help.
Who does t want to be 10% Happier and not in a trite way. Worth a read, look at the app and learn how to be happier.
I thoroughly enjoyed Harris’s account of his journey to meditation and mindfulness.
I give away most of my books when I’m done with them but I can’t part with this one. So inspirational, so interesting.
Part biography, part adventure into the world of meditation and the monkey mind that works to run from it… a laugh-out-loud and informative read.
Very timely for our fast paced, stressed out world. Dan Harris is really down to earth and enjoyable in this researched perspective on optimizing our thought process.
People always surprise you. Dan went from being a superficial character to embracing a great truth and he did with what proved to be both an entertaining and an enlightening narrative.
Humorous account of the struggles in decreasing stress and tackling meditation as a tool.
It feels like the author was in my head. While I understand and believe in the benefits of meditation, practice does not come naturally to me. This is more a biography than a self-help book, but as the author shares his journey to meditation, he shares very useful and practical information.