10% Happier by Dan Harris

10% Happier is another one of the books that my mother loaned me that I'm trying to get through so that I can return them to her. Much like my last read, Born Round, this is a book that I never would have picked up on my own. Its main theme of achieving more happiness, however, definitely appealed to me, so I went into this one hoping to gain some tools I could use in my own life.

10% Happier could best be classified as a part-memoir, part-self-help book. In it, ABC News anchor Dan Harris chronicles how a lifetime of being too hard on himself and making unwise decisions in pursuit of stress relief led to him having an on-air panic attack on Good Morning America. Frightened at this uncharacteristic loss of control, he began looking for ways to calm down and deal with his stress better. His search led him to meditation and the idea of mindfulness. He was very skeptical at first, as he was not a spiritual or religious person, but he decided to give it a try and see what happened. To his surprise, it actually worked for him. He went on to read several books and interview many prominent leaders on the subject, including Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, and even the Dalai Lama. After years of practice and study on the subject, he arrived at the conclusion that meditation is not a magic fix for anyone's problems, but it will make you at least 10% happier if you stick with it, which isn't a bad return on your time investment. The back of the book includes an appendix of resources and tips for anyone interested in trying meditation out for themselves.

This novel was quite entertaining, and I learned a lot from it. Harris writes in a down-to-earth style with lots of self-deprecating humor thrown in, which keeps the tone light. Sometimes his jokes fell a bit flat for me, but most of the time they were spot-on, which kept things from getting too boring. He presents the ideas of mindfulness and meditation in ways that a novice can understand, which made the subject matter feel very approachable. I found it interesting to trace how his evolving experimentation with meditation affected his personal and professional life, which is a unique feature of this text that a regular self-help book wouldn't have.

While reading, I found that my brain does a lot of the same, self-sabotaging things that Harris' brain did to him, like being overly judgemental and obsessing about possible future outcomes for every little thing. Being able to relate to what he was going though made me more engaged in his journey--and more willing to look into meditation for myself. I also appreciated that he included some scientific research to back up the benefits of practicing mindfulness. It definitely helped me to believe in the potential benefits of this philosophy.

The only small issue I had with 10% Happier was that I wasn't always excited to pick it up. It wasn't boring or difficult to understand, but I wasn't rushing home to read it either. As a result, it took me longer than it should have to finish it. Ultimately, however, I'm glad that I read it. I know that the ideas in it will stick in my head for a long time, and it has given me a big push towards trying meditation for myself, which is always something I've wanted to do. I think most people would say that they wanted to be at least 10% happier, and this novel provides a way to achieve that. It was a worthwhile read.


Challenge Tally:
True Books 2018: 2/18 + 2 bonus books
Clear the Shelves 2018: 2 books donated

Total Books Read in 2018: 6