10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found a Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story

Nightline anchor Dan Harris embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply 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 on Good Morning America, 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 both propelled him through the ranks of a hyper-competitive business and also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that provoked his on-air freak-out.

We all have a voice in our head. Itamp;#8217;s what has us losing our temper unnecessarily, checking our email compulsively, eating when weamp;#8217;re not hungry, and fixating on the past and the future at the expense of the present. Most of us would assume weamp;#8217;re stuck with this voice amp;#8211; that thereamp;#8217;s nothing we can do to rein it in amp;#8211; but Harris stumbled upon an effective way to do just that. Itamp;#8217;s a far cry from the miracle cures peddled by the self-help swamis he met; instead, itamp;#8217;s something he always assumed to be either impossible or useless: meditation. After learning about research that suggests meditation can do everything from lower your blood pressure to essentially rewire your brain, Harris took a deep dive into the underreported world of CEOs, scientists, and even marines who are now using it for increased calm, focus, and happiness.

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 Americaamp;#8217;s spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.