Book Recommendation: 10% Happier

After listening to this Tapestry podcast, I was interested to read Dan Harris' account of his own anxiety and journey towards mindfulness and meditation. His book  10% Happier: How I tamed the voice in my head, reduced stress without losing my edge, and found self-help that really works - a true story, has been a really enjoyable, interesting, and useful read.

Dan Harris is an ABC news anchor who has been in war zones and who used to be a drug addict. Then he had a panic attack on air. This began a journey for him of getting better, which for him meant learning about meditation and mindfulness. It's a great book for a lot of reasons: the writing is engaging and snappy; the information is solid; and his story is interesting. Plus, he fully admits he was a skeptic but this technique won him over. He is honest about his challenges and how it has and hasn't worked for him. And at the end, he gives a great practical summary of how to meditate, what's important, and how to deal with some of the pitfalls. He is sometimes quite brash - there is swearing in the book, for example, which usually you don't find in a meditation book - but I see that as just another example of his honesty.

If you are already engaged in meditation and mindfulness practise, you may enjoy reading another person's account of his journey to the same place. If you think this stuff can't possibly work for you, you will likely relate to Dan Harris' stance throughout the book - and he may just win you over. The fact that Harris isn't an "expert" but rather an ordinary person who has found the usefulness in this practise means that I think his book carries a unique perspective and some extra weight. If nothing else, it's an interesting and engaging memoir, and well worth a read on a summer's afternoon!