10% Happier Revised Edition

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

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Dan Harris: 10% Happier Revised Edition (Paperback, 2019)

Paperback

Published April 16, 2019

ISBN:
978-0-06-291760-7
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Audible ASIN:
B07PQT9LWQ

I wrote a memoir about a fidgety, skeptical newsman who reluctantly becomes a meditator to deal with his issues – and in the process of publishing it, I occasionally, to my embarrassment, found myself failing to practice what I preach. I was kind of like a dog that soils the rug, and the universe kept shoving my face into it.

In 2014, Dan Harris published his memoir 10% Happier. The book—which describes his reluctant embrace of meditation after a drug problem, an on-air freak-out, and an unplanned "spiritual" journey—became an instant bestseller and Dan, to his own surprise, became a public evangelist for mindfulness. Hoist on My Own Petard is the story of what happens to Dan Harris after the runaway success of his memoir and the lessons he had to (re)learn in the process.

2 editions

Think of it as a roadmap to save you from mystical pitfalls

I was engrossed the entire time reading it, and it convinced me to finally start doing the work of meditation. On that basis alone, I give it 5 stars. I enjoyed that the author is a skeptic, and brutally honest when it comes to cutting through the pseudoscience and the "woo woo" of some speakers in the field of meditation. I feel like it saved me a lot of time. I recommend this book for anyone who has been curious about meditation or Buddhism but kept shying away because sometimes you don't know what you'll get mixed in with the scientifically proven useful advice. It's an extremely helpful roadmap. You can be a skeptic, a scientist, facts-driven, and still meditate. In fact, if you identify as any of those, you should really start listening to the evidence given in this book and start doing it.

80% Interesting

This is more memoir than neuroscience analysis, and that's not entirely a bad thing. Harris' journey from skeptic to curious about mediation or mindfulness to full-blown practitioner, told in amusingly sarcastic terms that counter expectations about the topic. It was alright.

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