10% Happier 10th Anniversary - by Dan Harris (Paperback)

About the Book

"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. This fifth anniversary edition features a new preface by Harris and new guided meditations from his favorite teachers, including Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg."--Back cover.

Book Synopsis

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, a revised and updated edition of the award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller that changed the way we look at meditation and mindfulness, expanded with new material by Dan Harris.

After having a nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes for his anxiety. 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.

We all have an inner narrator. It's what has us losing our temper unnecessarily, checking our email compulsively, eating when we're not hungry, and fixating on the past and the future at the expense of the present. Most of us assume we're stuck with this voice--that there's nothing we can do to rein it in--but Harris stumbled upon an effective, science-backed way to do just that.

10% Happier 10th Anniversary is now considered a classic text on the power of meditation, a practical introduction to the practice that can convert even the most hardened skeptic. With over a million copies sold, this popular personal growth memoir is the go-to guide, and with meditation now a widely accepted and encouraged practice, Dan Harris is a pivotal and approachable figure in the field who has built a thriving platform based on the ideas he first presented in this book.

In this 10^th Anniversary Edition, Harris offers a new preface reflecting on how much has changed--for him and for the public perceptions of meditation, plus a revised and expanded appendix, filled with guided meditations and practical advice for anyone looking for stress management tools and how to boot up a habit.

In this no-nonsense guide to taming the inner critic, you'll discover:

• A Skeptic's Guide to Meditation: Follow a cynical news anchor on his bizarre and hilarious journey as he discovers a practical, science-backed way to manage the voice in his head.
• Evidence-Based Anxiety Relief: Learn how to reduce stress without losing your edge, based on insights from brain scientists and Harris's own reluctant experimentation after a televised panic attack.
• Taming Your Inner Critic: Understand the source of the incessant inner narrator that fuels bad habits and learn a simple, effective exercise to rein it in.
• New 10th Anniversary Edition: Explore an all-new preface on the evolution of meditation and an expanded appendix of guided practices to help you start--and stick with--the habit.

Review Quotes

Part-science, part-memoir, and part self-help, Harris outlines specific ways he learned to, well, chill the f#%k out. - GQ

"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

Revealing . . . I'd recommend this to anyone. - USA Today, Pop Candy

"Harris's journey of discovery brought back lessons for all of us about our lives, too." - Diane Sawyer

"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

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

"10% Happier is useful, helpful, and hilarious. And if you are skeptical about meditating at all, know that Dan Harris was the biggest skeptic of all." - Hugh Jackman

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

"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

A compellingly honest, delightfully interesting, and at times heart-warming story of one highly intelligent man's 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

"10% Happier is a spiritual adventure from a master storyteller. Mindfulness can make you happier. Read this to find out how." - George Stephanopoulos

Harris never loses his sense of humor as he affably spotlights one man's 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 Reviews

"With startling, provocative, and often very funny candor, Dan Harris tells the story of why he urgently needed to tame the strident voice in his head, and how he did it. His argument for the power of mindfulness--which he bases both on cutting-edge science and his own hard-won experience--will convince even the most skeptical reader of meditation's potential." - Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

"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. I know a lot of very powerful, very stressed-out, type-A personalities who will be getting this book from me as a gift this year." - Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love