The Antidote

Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking

This product is featured on the Booko Blog
Cover Art for 9781847678652, The Antidote by Burkeman Oliver
ISBN: 9781847678652
Publisher: Canongate Books Export
Published: 21 June, 2012
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Links Booko's Blog
Editions:
25 other editions of this product

If only we'd stop trying so hard to be happy, we'd have a pretty good time.Self-help books don't seem to work. Few of the many advantages of modern life seem capable of lifting our collective mood. Wealth - even if you can get it - doesn't lead to happiness. Romance, family life and work often seem to bring stress as much as joy. We can't even agree on what 'happiness' means. So are we engaged in a futile pursuit? Or are we just going about it the wrong way?As he travels from Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico to a slum outside of Nairobi and to a meditation retreat deep in the Massachusetts woods, Oliver Burkeman introduces us to an unusual group of people who share a single, surprising way of thinking about life. Whether experimental psychologists or terrorism experts, Buddhists or hard-headed business consultants, they argue that in our personal lives, and in society at large, it's our constant effort to be happy that is making us miserable. And that there is an alternative, 'negative path' to happiness and success that involves embracing failure, pessimism, insecurity and uncertainty - the very things we spend our lives trying to avoid. Thought-provoking, counter-intuitive and ultimately uplifting, The Antidote is a celebration of the power of negative thinking.

Booko is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Shop Preferences

Customize which shops to display. You can include the following shops by logging in to change your settings.

Booko is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Historical Prices

Loading...
This graph is for informational purposes only. Occasionally pricing data is captured incorrectly, through bugs in Booko or the stores supplying data, which may distort the graph, providing undue hope that even lower prices sometimes appear.

Recently Updated