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

Written by Dan Harris

Narrated by Dan Harris

#1 New York Times Bestseller

Winner of the 2014 Living Now Book Award for Inspirational Memoir

""An enormously smart, clear-eyed, brave-hearted, and quite personal look at the benefits of meditation.""—Elizabeth Gilbert

Nightline anchor Dan Harrisembarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable.

After having a nationally televised panic attack, 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, which had propelled him through the ranks of a hypercompetitive business, but had also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that provoked his on-air freak-out.

Finally, Harris stumbled upon an effective way to rein in that voice, something he always assumed to be either impossible or useless: meditation, a tool that research suggests can do everything from lower your blood pressure to essentially rewire your brain. 10% Happier takes listeners on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America’s spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062964281

Dan Harris

Dan Harris is host of the 10% Happier Podcast. For 21 years, he worked at ABC News, where he was the co-anchor of Nightline and the weekend editions of Good Morning America. He also reported from all over the world, including war zones and presidential campaigns. Before joining ABC, he worked for local news outlets in Boston and Maine. He lives in New York with his wife, son, and a gaggle of rescue cats. 

Reviews for 10% Happier Revised Edition

[Shawn Morehouse · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great book. Dan reading it just makes it that much better. I really enjoyed the personal references and honesty that Dan gave in this book it makes it relatable. His skepticism, humor and ability to laugh at himself was a comforting aspect of this book. Thank you Dan for letting the world peer into your life and your struggles shamelessly to help bring awareness to this wonderful world of meditation, growing and getting to know who we really are!

[Steven Kupchan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good story! I want to meditate. Thanks for inspiring

[Maja Jensen · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

was so excited to read it, but the narrating is like nails on chalkboard, just can't keep going..

[Tunde · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book. I highly recommend this book. Meanwhile I signed up with the App too,

[Marco Gabaldon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed this book and have ordered in paperback so I can go back an highlight / review. Dan is able to tell a great story about himself while weaving in all the research and science behind the positive benefits of mindfulness and meditation making it all very accessible . I would also give 5 stars to the 10% Happier app as it helps you really put the lessons into practice.

[Nathan Miller · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Must read - will remove all doubts on the practicality of meditation

[jthierer_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For those looking for more practical tips on stress reduction, this is probably not the book for you. It's not until the final few pages that Harris gives actionable advice beyond "Start meditating." That said, for those who might be looking for a witty, insightful story of how one person journeyed through a journalism career and a meditation practice at the same time, this one is highly recommended. Dan Harris is funny and just the right amount of self-deprecating to keep from descending into self-pity.

[steve02476 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised at how much I liked this book, especially given my strong bias against TV news announcers. Funny and inspiring and a pleasant read and concise to boot!

[clairefun-979518 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I finally get round to reading the book that's always at or near the top of my reading list when I sort by title! Yes, I think I got round to it because it kept getting 'in the way' of the fiction I *actually* want to read - I'm awful at reading non-fiction books, or anything that sounds a bit self-help. I buy them, whenever they catch my eye, 'cause I read reviews, think they sound great, and then they sit on my kindle and I forget why I bought them. Still! Good for this one - the title worked out well, as I finally decided to start it!
I also have been known to *start* non-fiction and / or self-help type books fairly often. I generally don't then finish them, as I get bored and end up switching to the newest sci-fi I've just picked up in the sale...Not so much with this! I read it in two? three? days, and that because it's the very start of the year and there's families to visit and Christmas decorations to take down, so I couldn't read as much as I wanted to. This book was such a surprise for me!
It wasn't a dry slow wordy book with long factual chapters on what it was like for the author growing up and the hardships he had to work through (yawn). No, the author is a self-confessed jerk of a News Reader - not one I knew, as he's on American news and I'm in the UK - and his life is full of everyday moments that we can all relate to, where nothing is that bad, but our minds have decided that they are that bad after all, and have to fixate...
It was also not a book full of the buzzwords of mindfulness, and 'all that spirituality stuff' - that he admits is what completely puts him and indeed most people, off from the subjects of meditation, mindfulness, buddhism, etc. I've been interested in a vague way for a while, and tried a few apps on my phone, before I lost interest. It's hard to meditate when you have two beagles wrestling in your living room. I picked up this book because I was still interested in the whole thing in a vague way, however - which seems to be more interested that Dan Harris is at the start of the book.
It's written in such a way that you never reach that dull-as-dishwater or that cringy new-agey point of a lot of books on similar topics, and for that I'm grateful, because, while it's *not* a self-help book, it's definitely a book that piques your interest and perhaps will make some of those further reading books easier to take. It's like an everyman's basic guide to finding yourself and your way to..mindfulness? Self-awareness? while still being a book you could give to your most skeptical relations. I really want to force my hubby to read it because I know that he could relate to a lot of the work pressures and the ways to deal with them, and he could use it, too. I don't think he'd read it though, he's too busy to read...(see? definitely could use it!). It has a great easy, conversational style that made it a really welcoming read, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about his progress. Though, man, I'm *never* going on a retreat. Yikes.
Overall, I found it really interesting, I'm absolutely convinced I want to try exploring all that malarkey again for myself, and I feel almost like I'm a better, calmer person just for having read his progress towards trying to become the same himself - which makes no real sense, so I'm just going to be glad it's how it has made me feel, pick up some of the recommended reading, and re-download some of those meditating apps...

[brianinbuffalo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps the most glowing testimonial I could give would be to acknowledge the following reality. After reading Harris’ engaging book, I’m actually considering meditation for the first time (the emphasis on “considering.”) “10% Happier” is a highly readable tome that skillfully blends self-help tips with Harris’ fascinating career (including a panic attack he suffered during a live network show as five million viewers watched). True, I might be especially enamored of this book given the fact that I’ve been a journalist for several decades. I can’t honestly say I would have enjoyed the tale nearly as much if Harris was an accountant or electrical engineer (nothing against accounting or electrical engineering, of course). Here’s my take-away: If practicing meditation techniques can actually make someone more clear-headed, rooted in “the now” and 10% happier, it sounds like a solid bang-for-the-buck.

[reluctanttechie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read the original edition on the recommendation of a friend. An interesting memoir of a broadcasting journalist who discovers and investigates meditation. Details of how to do it yourself are in the Appendix. Interesting and, perhaps, useful book.

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this really interesting, and, a little inspiring as well.

[cataloger623 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s part autobiography and part how to work on meditation. Mr. Harris has gotten me interested in meditation and mindfulness. He is forthright about his journey and the places where it worked and worked didn’t work.

[101reasonswhy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The self-deprecation seemed a bit forced. His story was interesting but I would have appreciated less biography and more on actual meditation and knowledge on how to reduce stress.

[theidlewoman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Some years ago, the American news anchor Dan Harris had a problem. His successful television career was blighted by anxiety and a constant desire for the 'next big thing'. Having tried, and failed, to control his demons through drug use, Harris found a more practical source of help in therapy. However, even this didn't help to calm his cyclical, repetitive fretting about his performance, his rivals, his appearance, and his future. In this, his first book, Harris discusses how he gradually became aware of the potential of meditation to diffuse his worries and help him develop a calmer approach to life. A confirmed agnostic, he finds it difficult to wrestle his way past meditation's new-age associations, and we follow his encounters with various practitioners and 'gurus', who gradually help him to explore its benefits - complete with a semi-painful, semi-revelatory silent retreat. Harris is a good writer, alert to a pithy turn of phrase as you'd expect from a professional journalist, and the book skews much more strongly towards memoir than - as I imagined when I bought it - offering practical impersonal advice about how to be happier. There is a guide to meditation at the back, however, which summarises his own experiences, and this is helpful. I suspect that the book would have meant more if I'd known who Harris was but, being British, I was blissfully ignorant. That's probably a good thing, as I tend to avoid anything celebrity-related. For me, this was simply an engaging journey with a man of self-professed self-centredness, on his mission to cut his ego down to size. Grounded, sarky and clear-eyed, Harris is an entertaining guide and he doesn't make the great claims that you often find in self-help books - or, indeed, in any book plugging a particular practice, theory or belief. He doesn't pretend that meditation can solve all your problems, and reacts with suspicion to anyone who claims that it can. All he claims is that it can help to make life 10% happier - and that seems worth a shot. Although the book definitely wasn't quite what I was expecting, it was a pleasant, amusing and thought-provoking read. I tried meditation for a while myself some months back, courtesy of the secular and distinctly unfussy Headspace app, and I'm now inclined to go back and give it another try - something of which Harris, I feel, would approve.

[amandanan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love his down to earth take on meditation.

[thegreatape-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, it convinced me to give meditation another shot. Great introduction for giving the Westerner who doesn't have much patience for incense and we're-all-connected-man mantras a reason to give meditation and Buddhist philosophy a serious look.

Probably longer than it needed to be, but still quick and easy enough read that I didn't mind.

[terran_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is not an expert's introduction to meditation, and the author doesn't claim that it is. Dan Harris pooh-poohed meditation until he needed help clearing his mind and maintaining his successful television career. In his job, he was privileged to come in contact with many of the practitioners that most of us would never encounter in a lifetime, and he took advantage of those opportunities to increase his understanding of the practice. I enjoyed his sense of humor and honesty in detailing his shortcomings and failures, including calling himself "a jerk."

[ajlewis2_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting story of his life experience and his process of getting involved in meditation. There is a lot of humor and his move into meditation is very down to earth. The book is not designed to teach meditation, but there is an appendix with good information on technique for a beginner.

[ainevethe-773847 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Admittedly, when I picked up this book, I had no idea what I was in for. The book was good. At least 10% better than I thought it would be. ;) Like another reviewer stated previously, as soon as I read the author state "The voice in my head is an asshole" I knew this was the sort of book that I could enjoy. My inner critic tends to the realm of jerkish also. What I really didn't expect, was a not-quite-apologetic but down to earth and unassuming vote for meditation as a truly valid tool to make you appreciate and enjoy your life more: in the real world. And yes, maybe even end up 10% happier. I could recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about meditation from a somewhat unlikely modern source.

[askelmore · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Best for: People who find meditation interesting but maybe aren’t ready to jump into reading the Dalai Lama’s works just yet.In a nutshell: TV journalist has panic attack on air; tries to do something about it.Worth quoting: “Make the present moment your friend rather than your enemy.”“Acceptance is not passivity. Sometimes we are justifiably displeased. What mindfulness does is create some space in your head so you can, as the Buddhists say, ‘respond’ rather than simply ‘react.’“Perhaps ask yourself the following question: ‘Is this useful?’”Why I chose it: Over the holidays I was visiting my parents, and they often have morning news on. Mr. Harris was on promoting his newest book. I was about to move across the world, so decided that maybe a thick hardcover wasn’t the best purchase; then I saw this one (which is a few years old) and picked it up instead.Review: I’ve meditated before. I’ve read books on Buddhism and mindfulness and meditation. I even have a little meditation timer. My partner meditates. I haven’t done it in awhile, so this seemed like a good idea for what has ended up being some of the most stressful weeks of my life.Mr. Harris has worked for ABC news for years, hosting at times the weekend edition of Good Morning America, as well as reporting segments for the national evening news. He also had a panic attack on TV one time, which led him to reevaluate how he was living his life. Turns out that part of that panic attack was related to cocaine use (hello!), but also by his constant need to be in his thoughts. So he took the opportunities alloted to him as a journalist to research more about meditation and mindfulness, interviewing folks like Eckard Tolle, Depak Chopra, and even the Dalai Lama himself. This book is the story both of how he overcame his skepticism as well as how meditation has helped him in his life.I appreciated how Mr. Harris was upfront about his faults and flaws, and didn’t act as though meditation fixed all the things in his life immediately, or even ever. In fact, his overall premise is that it can help you be about 10% happier. That seems reasonable. I also appreciated that he did look at the religious aspect of it, but there were definitely some moments where I wondered if this was the equivalent of the 20-something white woman who decides to teach yoga without really investigating the history behind it. Is this another example of white westerners picking and choosing things from other cultures without properly respecting them? I’m not sure.That said, I’ve meditated a bit since I moved 7000 miles from home last week. It’s been exhausting, stressful, and at times a bit scary (I mean turning my cats over to cargo at 3AM, knowing we wouldn’t see them again for at least 24 hours was horrible), but as we’ve faced unforeseen challenges (who knew that it’s extraordinarily difficult to internationally wire money from credit unions ?) I’ve mostly been able to sort of keep my shit kind of together by taking to heart some ideas from this book. Especially the “is this useful” concept. Yes, I can be worried about a lot of things, but once I’ve done what I can do, that worry is only giving me a headache and/or stomachache. It was useful in helping me to be careful in the steps I took, but now it’s just a literal pain. So am I going to meditate every day? Maaaaaybe. Maybe not.

[berthashaver · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really struggled to get through this book. I don't watch Good Morning America or Night Line so I didn't know the author. It is the story of his life of drugs, having a breakdown on air, and then turning his life around by meditation. He learned to "Live in the Moment.." I don't know that I would ever give meditation a try, and he certainly did not make it very appealing to me.

[michelleannlib · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Dan Harris has an engaging writing style, and I related to his skepticism. I think I might give this whole meditation thing a try.

[bness2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent memoir on the author's experience with discovering meditation and mindfulness and their benefits. Many times Christians have a fear that meditation will somehow corrupt their spiritual practice, but given what science is learning about the mind, meditation and mindfulness could enhance the spiritual experience of individuals regardless of their religious affiliation. The author himself is not even religious, appearing to consider himself an atheist, and even he sees, and has reaped, the benefits of meditation and mindfulness. To top it off, Harris' writing is by degrees hilarious, insightful and brutally honest.

[krazy4katz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Amusing anecdotal account of how meditation helped an insecure overachiever become a well known correspondent and newscaster without losing his mind and all his friends. Anti-spiritual in a way but he gets the results. Perhaps "real" in the sense that his practice takes the edge off rather than curing his anxieties.

[deankut · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Give it a read - give it a try.. I did and instantly saw the benefit. Now I'm a meditator & proud of it.

And to boot??? It's the next BIG thing!

[klburnside · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dan Harris is a national television news broadcaster who discovered meditation as a way to quiet his mind, ease anxiety, and find a little more happiness. Early in his career on national television, he was dealing with a lot of anxiety, and doing some pretty self-destructive things, which led him to have a nationally televised panic attack while delivering the news. When he was assigned to be the religion correspondent for his network, he was able to meet with all sorts of religious leaders and self-help gurus. A lifelong skeptic, he was surprised to find himself beginning to take to heart some of the things these gurus were teaching. Slowly, he finds his skepticism waning (though never vanishing) as he begins a daily meditation practice, befriends mindfulness teachers, and even participates in a 10 day meditation retreat. I liked Harris's take on meditation. He is initially turned off to the idea, because so much of what is written and said about it feels so spacey, unrealistic, and sometimes just way too far out in left field. I found the questions that Harris asks Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra regarding their teachings to be some of the same questions I would ask, and I found myself equally unsatisfied with their answers. I had a similar reaction to Harris when reading Tolle, a mix of awe and skepticism. Throughout his meditation journey, Harris had mostly decoupled meditation from spirituality, as many are doing since meditation is becoming more and more mainstream. The military and corporate executives are using meditation to sharpen focus and mental clarity, and many on the more Buddhist end of the spectrum see that sharper minds in these fields might not be such a great thing if not backed with the Buddhist tenants of compassion and loving-kindness. Harris ends up working a little bit of that into his practice. In the end, I liked Harris's story. I appreciated his skepticism, but also his ability to not let this skepticism close his mind, but instead to keep exploring, challenging himself, and asking questions.

[neale_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Audio Book review. Interesting perspectives. Takes a bit to get going as he goes through the back story. Some parts are a bit long winded, but over all worth a listen.

[clara53_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Simply put - a very useful book. Notwithstanding the title - which is a bit too catchy for my taste. But the subtitle - that's the vital thing! This is a hands-on take on mindfulness meditation and Buddhism in general, coming from the experience of a modern man who learned how to meditate and profoundly benefited from it.Dan Harris, a TV news anchor, is mercilessly candid, not without dark humor, in the description of the road that took him to meditation. The first few chapters are about that. But the rest of the book is what impressed me most. It's very relatable, as for the struggles any newcomer to meditation might face. And his insights and revelations are quite valuable. The concepts such as "Acceptance in not passivity" (!), or "Respond, not react" are so monumental that reiterating them only serves us best. Harris went straight for and managed to bring to light "an accurate diagnosis" of numerable examples of "our inner lunacy".I am with Harris - I don't think it's over-reaching to say that "Mindfulness.... could... change the world". In the long run, I think he has really managed to make meditation more appealing to anybody even hardly interested in it. Somebody who couldn't understand Eckhart Tolle - would surely get this guy, even though the message is basically same. After all, as Harris says - "If it could help a monumental skeptic like me, I could imagine what it could do to others."

[mdoris_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a book, a very personal book, about meditation,10% happier by Dan Harris. He is a major network T.V. journalist, anchorman, an announced agnostic who professionally researched and covered various spiritual avenues/events for his work assignments. It seems a courageous memoir in that he shows an exposed side that searches for meaning and self improvement . He tries searching for things to support his emotional needs for growth, to keep his "chattering" ego under control, often going against the grain of his professional peers and the milieu in which they operate. It is refreshing and honest as he faces the ideas he has and the conclusions he draws and he admits that he often gets it wrong. I liked this book! It is practical, gives lots of explanations for Buddhism and its practises, especially meditation and gives lots of real information. He certainly puts a very big postive plug in for this practice. He's a bright guy and he writes well. We saw his interview on Charlie Rose about this book and he is funny and self depreciating while being smart. He mentioned that while he was 10% happier from his new meditation regime, he is, according to his wife, still 90% of an a**hole! I thought this was funny!