10% Happier (10th Anniversary): How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help

Name: 10% Happier (10th Anniversary): How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help
SKU: 153017
Availability: InStock

4.5 | 20,323 ratings

Price: 22.04

Last update: 01-02-2025

About this item

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, a revised and updated edition of the award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller that changed the way we look at meditation, expanded with new material by Dan Harris.

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.

We all have an inner narrator. It’s what has us losing our temper unnecessarily, checking our email compulsively, eating when we’re not hungry, and fixating on the past and the future at the expense of the present. Most of us assume we’re stuck with this voice—that there’s nothing we can do to rein it in—but Harris stumbled upon an effective way to do just that.

10% Happier is now considered a classic text on the power of meditation, an introduction to the practice that can convert even the most hardened skeptic. With over a million copies sold, 10% Happier is the go-to guide, and with meditation now a widely accepted and encouraged practice, Dan Harris is a pivotal and approachable figure in the field who has built a thriving platform based on the ideas he first presented in this book.

In this 10th Anniversary Edition, Harris offers a new preface reflecting on how much has changed—for him and for the public perceptions of meditation, plus a revised and expanded appendix, filled with guided meditations and practical advice for people looking to boot up a habit.

S. Walton

Entertaining and enlightening

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2015

I picked up the kindle version of this book when it was offered at a super low price, partly because I've been curious about meditation, partly because the idea of increasing my happiness by even 10% was very attractive, but mostly because I'd heard stories of Dan Harris' on-air panic attack and I was curious to learn more.
This book is more memoir than how-to, and I'm okay with that. As an ABC viewer it was interesting to read stories of people I'd watched on tv for years. The writing style appealed to me - it is intelligent but self deprecating, with an off beat sense of humor. I enjoyed seeing how his journey (sorry for the woo woo word) progressed through stages, from skeptic to cautious interest to serious practitioner and near-believer. It made sense to me, and I recognized myself in many of his descriptions, especially the cacophony of my inner voice and the tendency to default to worst case scenario.
I see this book as a stepping stone, an introduction to meditation. Its purpose is not to teach meditation, but to explain its benefits and convince the reader that meditation is worth pursuing. There were several insights that were clearly explained, and I've shared several aha moments from the book with those around me. (To me that's the sign of a good book; to my friends and family it's a bit of an annoyance.) I learned some important things that I've already tried to put to use, but I recognize that I need to study and practice more before applying these ideas can happen smoothly and instinctively. I have high hopes that it can be done - after all, if the guy at the beginning of this book could become the guy at the end, there's a good chance I can make some changes for the better too.
One thing to note for kindle readers: the kindle told me I was at the end of the book and popped me to the "review me" screen, but curiosity led me to read through the acknowledgments. I was surprised to find an appendix after the acknowledgments. This is one of the biggest downfalls of ereaders, because with a physical book I would have seen the many pages remaining and investigated. Be sure to read the appendix! It distills the best of the meditation parts of the book into a manageable and encouraging guide.

Mary Lee M.

Minus 1 star for language stigmatizing mental illness

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2014

Near the middle of this well-written, engaging, useful book, the author is describing persons at a meditation retreat as looking like they are from "the loony bin". It is a funny book, and I know he was going for humor, but.....please. (My mother, who was born in 1923, used this expression. No one should be using it in 2014.) Dan Harris is an intelligent reporter, knowledgeable about so many subjects, and I'm sure he must have an awareness of brain disorders and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, for which people often need to be hospitalized. If not, he can get info from NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) about their excellent "Stigma Busters" program. (Maybe he could do a story about this for ABC.) As someone who has worked and volunteered in psychiatric hospitals for many years, it saddened me to see this carelessness and implied disrespect for people who, through no fault of their own, are ill. He wouldn't say cancer patients are from "a malignancy bin"!!! Language is powerful; there are many ways to be funny without harm.

OK, off my soapbox. It really is a wonderfully informative book and it held my interest from page 1. I loved his personal story, and the honesty with which he moves it forward. He is great at description and anecdotes, and he writes about other people in the news business, and about meditation experts, with candor and just enough restraint. Highly recommended. Mary Lee Moser

PS A week or so later--my husband is reading it now, and we have both started to meditate in the mornings, inspired by this book.

Melissa G

Very interesting and Entertaining Read

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2014

ABC has been the news network of choice for me for most of my adult life, so I have seen Dan Harris many times over the years, and actually do recall his on air melt down/panic attack. I was intrigued by Dan's honesty in admitting to his drug use/abuse that led (or at least contributed) to his problems, and have been interested in the concept of mindfulness for a while now. I have never though of myself as any type of "new-ager" though and am just a pretty normal and busy person - who could not really see myself meditating. Honestly I kind of scoffed at the idea, mostly because it seemed the folks who did meditate were a bit flaky. But the one thing that I have been bothered about (in regards to my own issues) is the constant ruminating over the past and worry about the future. It does seem we (I) don't spend enough time living in and enjoying the present. The multi-tasking we have all been programmed toward in the last few years, has only made the problem worse, as it seems hard to ever concentrate on one thing. Thus I really wanted to read this book.

As you can tell from the rating, I really enjoyed and got a lot out of the book, and was entertained in the process. Dan is a strong writer and keeps the book lively and entertaining at all times. There is a lot of humor and self-reflection that I think most folks can relate to. If I had any criticism - it might be that Dan LOVES to throw in some really obscure words, where other words (ones that most of us have at least heard used once or twice) would have sufficed. I read a lot, think I have a pretty good vocabulary, but honestly - some of them were just over the top. However don't let that dissuade you from picking up the book. For the most part - you can figure them out based on the context of his sentences..I just think that his editor might have recommended a few changes in this regard. That being said, this book is a good exploration of meditation, especially for those who are skeptical. It provides some reasons why we all might start the practice of meditation/mindfulness, though it is not a real "How-to book" about the nuts and bolts. What is also refreshing is that this book does not try and tell you that meditation will solve all your problems or lead to everlasting "Zen." As Dan suggests, the practice can make you more relaxed, more hopeful, more at home in the world, a bit less judgmental and less quick to get riled up. It can make you 10% (or a bit more) happier. Definitely a good thing.

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