Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • Sadness is your superpower. In her new masterpiece, the author of the bestselling phenomenon Quiet explores the power of the bittersweet personality, revealing a misunderstood side of mental health and creativity while offering a roadmap to facing grief in order to live life to the fullest. “ Bittersweet grabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go.”—BRENÉ BROWN, author of Atlas of the Heart “Susan Cain has described and validated my existence once again!”—GLENNON DOYLE, author of Untamed “The perfect cure for toxic positivity.”—ADAM GRANT, author of Think Again LONGLISTED FOR THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, Mashable Bittersweetness is a tendency to states of longing, poignancy, and sorrow, an acute awareness of passing time, and a curiously piercing joy at the beauty of the world. It recognizes that light and dark, birth and death—bitter and sweet—are forever paired. If you’ve ever wondered why you like sad music . . . If you find comfort or inspiration in a rainy day . . . If you react intensely to music, art, nature, and beauty . . . Then you probably identify with the bittersweet state of mind. With Quiet, Susan Cain urged our society to cultivate space for the undervalued, indispensable introverts among us, thereby revealing an untapped power hidden in plain sight. Now she employs the same mix of research, storytelling, and memoir to explore why we experience sorrow and longing, and how embracing the bittersweetness at the heart of life is the true path to creativity, connection, and transcendence. Cain shows how a bittersweet state of mind is the quiet force that helps us transcend our personal and collective pain, whether from a death or breakup, addiction or illness. If we don’t acknowledge our own heartache, she says, we can end up inflicting it on others via abuse, domination, or neglect. But if we realize that all humans know—or will know—loss and suffering, we can turn toward one another. At a time of profound discord and personal anxiety, Bittersweet brings us together in deep and unexpected ways.
Lee –
As soon as I heard the title of this new book on one of my favorite podcasts, I knew it would be amazing! “Yes!” I thought “Why do we never talk about this?” Thank you for breaking through our overly optimistic culture and sharing some deep, powerful stories about love, loss and longing. Sometimes when I feel loss and longing, it can feel so lonely (don’t we all?). This is a tremendous help to have on hand and the stories are truly inspiring on a deeper level.
Kindle Customer –
Susan Cain brings out the sorrow and longing. The loss of childhood of lost generations and the quest for immortality. Susan Cain is a good writer and the bittersweet test is really revealing. You laugh and you cry with her and the line between bitter and sweet, sorrow and longing, grief and impermanence, death is a window, not a wall. It is a good journey into the bittersweet.
Just Sayin –
Ms. Cain’s journey to this book started with the question why do people like sad songs so much. As someone whose taste runs just that way, it was an intriguing and unexpected starting point for an exploration of how an appetite for the bittersweet can tell us about ourselves, help point the way to healing and even help us find previously unexpected strengths. Like her previous book Quiet, I found it a helpful walk through an undervalued temperament.
Chloe –
It got to me safe and in a timely manner. I haven’t finished the book yet but it resonates so well with me, especially after feeling so connected with her book Quiet. If you liked that one, I highly recommend this one.
James Cliff –
This book was very moving. It refills the well somewhat of what is missing with her thoughtful writing. I will read it again for sure.