The good life : lessons from the world's longest scientific study of happiness /
Material type: TextPublisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2023Description: ix, 341 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:- text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781982166694
- 198216669X
- 158.1 23
- 302/.1
Item type | Current library | Home library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Loan | Coeur d'Alene Library Adult Nonfiction | Coeur d'Alene Library | Book | 158.1 WALDING (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610023743250 | |||
Standard Loan | Hayden Library Adult Nonfiction | Hayden Library | Book | 158.1/WALDING (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610024222742 | |||
Standard Loan | Liberty Lake Library Adult Nonfiction | Liberty Lake Library | Book | 158.1 WAL (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 31421000692161 | ||||
Standard Loan | Rathdrum Library Adult Nonfiction | Rathdrum Library | Book | 158.1/WALDING (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Checked out | 05/31/2024 | 50610024106945 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
A New York Times Bestseller
What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? In their "captivating" ( The Wall Street Journal ) book, the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, show that the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize.
What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life.
The invaluable insights in this book emerge from the revealing personal stories of hundreds of participants in the Harvard Study as they were followed year after year for their entire adult lives, and this wisdom was bolstered by research findings from many other studies. Relationships in all their forms--friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups--all contribute to a happier, healthier life. And as The Good Life shows us, it's never too late to strengthen the relationships you already have, and never too late to build new ones. The Good Life provides examples of how to do this.
Dr. Waldinger's TED Talk about the Harvard Study, "What Makes a Good Life," has been viewed more than 42 million times and is one of the ten most-watched TED talks ever. The Good Life has been praised by bestselling authors Jay Shetty "an empowering quest towards our greatest need: meaningful human connection"), Angela Duckworth ("In a crowded field of life advice...Schulz and Waldinger stand apart"), and happiness expert Laurie Santos ("Waldinger and Schulz are world experts on the counterintuitive things that make life meaningful").
With "insightful [and] interesting" (Daniel Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness ) life stories, The Good Life shows us how we can make our lives happier and more meaningful through our connections to others.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
What makes a good life? -- Why relationships matter -- Relationships on the winding road of life -- Social fitness: keeping your relationships in good shape -- Attention to relationships: your best investment -- Facing the music: adapting to challenges in your relationships -- The person beside you: how intimate relationships shape our lives -- Family matters -- The good life at work: investing in connections -- All friends have benefits -- Conclusion: it's never too late to be happy.
"What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and overall healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life."--Provided by publisher.
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Publishers Weekly Review
Waldinger and Schulz, director and co-director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, unpack in this fascinating outing some key findings of the landmark 84-year survey of human happiness. Beginning in 1938, a group of 724 male participants submitted to interviews every two years; the now three-generation enterprise involves their approximately 1,300 descendants (the study now also includes female descendants). Researchers have pinpointed one vital ingredient for happiness: good relationships. The authors paint vivid portraits of participants, among them Leo DeMarco--a high school teacher who defined himself by his relationships, and was one of the study's happiest participants--and John Marsden, a successful lawyer certain that his "career...would bring him happiness... was never able to find a path to joy." As well, the authors explain the health benefits that positive social relationships can confer (promoting a stronger immune system), and share tips for cultivating strong relationships (consciously using empathy to help connect) and weathering challenges within them (striving for "reflective" rather than "reflexive" responses to difficult situations). Exercises and prompts appear throughout and are intended to help readers recognize and maintain the connections they value. Combining intensive research with actionable steps, this penetrating testament to the power of human connection offers gems for almost anyone looking to improve their happiness. (Jan.)CHOICE Review
Waldinger (Harvard Medical School) and Schulz (Bryn Mawr College) direct the Harvard Study of Adult Development, a longitudinal study of men over the life course that began in 1938. Over time, the study came to include subjects' partners and children as well. In this book the authors also draw on a few other long-running studies, but mainly they review findings from the Harvard study's 700-plus original participants, most of whom have completed their lives, and a further 600 related people. The key finding: the quality of our relationships is the most important factor in our happiness and flourishing, both in the short term and over a lifetime. The authors consider predictable challenges at different stages of the life course, in chapters on spouses and other family members, friends, and workmates. At each stage examined, the lonely and disconnected are the worst off--the least happy, the most sick, the most likely to die younger. Those who have invested in their relationships are better off in all of these respects. The relationship effect beats money, status, and exercise. According to the study, good relationships have mitigated the effects of poverty and trauma. The authors, being clinicians, also offer exercises and practical suggestions in addition to discussing the academic research. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty. General readers. --Beau Weston, Centre CollegeBooklist Review
Since 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked the lives of 724 participants (268 Harvard students and 456 inner-city Boston teens, all male and white) and their descendants (including women). Every two years, participants are sent a questionnaire requesting data on physical fitness, social changes, and emotional status. Every 15 years, questions are asked in person so that interviewers can add their own observations. Pouring through the collected data, the authors began to see patterns in their lives. Whether they became scholars, blue-collar workers, or served in the armed forces, the participants' responses pointed to successful relationships rather than money earned as an indicator of their overall happiness. Dipping into the data, Waldinger and Schulz explore the power of strong relationships at home, at work, and in the community. Each chapter begins with a sampling of the questions posed to the participants. The responses are placed in context as the authors provide background information for the participants. Readers are able to pose these questions to themselves and compare responses, thus acquiring an unusual and valuable perspective.Kirkus Book Review
A comprehensive examination of what makes a "good life," based on a study that "has followed the lives of two generations of individuals from the same families for more than eighty years." Waldinger and Schulz, the current director and associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which began in 1938, use the data from this massive research project to make a convincing argument about what constitutes a good life. Early in the book, they give their conclusion: "Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period." The authors present consistently fascinating insights about the lives of many of the study's participants, as well as those in related studies, showing what aspects of life are most beneficial, regardless of age, gender, class, wealth, or status. Encompassing the experiences of more than 1,300 descendants from the original 724 participants, the project is "the longest in‑depth longitudinal study of human life ever done"--and it is ongoing. The resulting book, write Waldinger and Schulz, "is deeply informed, appropriately, by the long and fruitful friendship of its authors." Most readers fully understand the chaos of modern-day life, "a haze of competing social, political, and cultural priorities, some of which have very little to do with improving people's lives." The Harvard Study, on the other hand, has always remained devoted to illuminating the "lived experiences" of the participants, showing the value of a wide variety of relationships, whether focused on family, friends, romantic partners, or work colleagues. Throughout, the authors maintain a conversational tone and include many of the questions and exercises used in the study to allow readers to examine their own relationships and to develop them further. The book is perfect for readers of Arthur Brooks, Daniel Pink, Angela Duckworth, and other writers who delve into how to fashion prosperous, fulfilling lives. An engrossing look at why relationships matter, featuring an unprecedented abundance of data to back it up. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.Author notes provided by Syndetics
Dr. Robert Waldinger is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development at Massachusetts General Hospital, and cofounder of the Lifespan Research Foundation. Dr. Waldinger received his AB from Harvard College and his MD from Harvard Medical School. He is a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, and he directs a psychotherapy teaching program for Harvard psychiatry residents. He is also a Zen master (Roshi) and teaches meditation in New England and around the world.Marc Schulz is the associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development and the Sue Kardas PhD 1971 Chair in Psychology at Bryn Mawr College. He also directs the Data Science Program and previously chaired the psychology department and Clinical Developmental Psychology PhD program at Bryn Mawr. Dr. Schulz received his BA from Amherst College and his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a practicing therapist with postdoctoral training in health and clinical psychology at Harvard Medical School.
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