51 pages • 1 hour read
Dan Harris10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Epilogue-AppendixChapter Summaries & Analyses
Epilogue Summary
Harris updates his findings in the epilogue, written in the fall of 2013. Here, he notes that studies on long-term meditators (215) show that enlightenment may be possible. Jud Brewer, a scientist from Yale, has found that “[i]f you give your brain enough of a taste of mindfulness, it will eventual create a self-reinforcing spiral—a retreat from greed and hatred that could […] potentially lead all the way to the definitive uprooting of negative emotion (in other words enlightenment)” (216).
Harris has realized his penchant, present throughout the book, of “clos[ing] [his] mind prematurely” (218) to both people and opportunities. Fighting against this while remaining wisely ambitious secures Harris’s promotion to co-anchor of ABC’s Nightline. It also suggests that he will keep seeking new experiences, new principles, and greater knowledge. Harris closes this last part of the 2014 edition with a recounting of pursuing an interview with a drug kingpin in Rio de Janeiro. As he sends the terrifying and armed man a mental dose of metta, he feels triumphant doing his job to the best of his ability. He also shows his knowledge and acceptance of self.
Appendix Summary
An addition to the original text written in 2019, the appendix includes instructions on meditation. They begin with Harris’s top three “bad reasons not to meditate,” which include: “It’s bullshit…It’s too hard for me…[and] I don’t have time” (227-28). Harris rebuffs this by offering instructions on basic meditation followed by tips to help one do so effectively. He includes frequently asked questions that cover concerns that might occur during or after the process, such as “How come I don’t feel relaxed?” (232) and “I keep falling asleep” (233). This is followed by focused meditations developed by some of the teachers featured in 10% Happier, such as Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Spring Washam, along with regular meditation teachers from the 10% Happier app, including Sebene Selassie, Alexis Santos, and Oren Jay Sofer. This section is followed by questions tied to mindfulness, not just meditation. Harris ends by suggesting that
under the sway of ego […] [y]ou are never sated, never satisfied, always reaching for the next thing like a colicky baby. Meditation is the antidote. It won’t’ fix everything in your life…But it can make you 10% happier, and maybe much more (242).
Epilogue-Appendix Analysis
The epilogue and appendix show that, once again, Harris has reevaluated his previous viewpoints, this time on the potential of enlightenment. This reveals that there is always something new to learn if one is open to it. As he puts it, “This whole experience had been a process of my seeing over and over that many of my assumptions were wrong. Enlightenment was perhaps the latest example” (218). Again, this speaks to Harris’s narrative technique of positioning himself as fallible, someone who has to relearn open-mindedness again and again. By modeling the nonlinear process of meditation’s path to increased happiness, Harris wants readers to see that persevering in the practice of meditation pays off.
Harris shows his love of science in this section, as he lauds the scientific discoveries of Brewer. Harris, with his investigative reporter training, never fully believes things he can’t prove, which makes him a thorough, reliable journalist. He was swayed by Brewer’s findings because they offer measurable evidence of the possibility of enlightenment, a concept that is otherwise abstract.
Harris’s literary technique of mixing humor and seriousness is shown here, too, as he recounts his interview with the leader of the gang at the end of the book, noting his “internal plea: Dear Drug Lord, please don’t kill me when I’ve finally gotten my shit together” (220). The idea of death prompts Harris to inventory how meditation has improved his life.
Early in Harris’s journey, he was frustrated by mentors who offered answers but provided no practical methods of easing suffering. The Appendix represents the final stage in the hero’s journey: the return with the elixir. In this case, the elixir is the practical guidance the Appendix lays out and the answers to frequently asked questions. These guides help fulfill Harris’s hope for a world in which meditation can be understandable, accessible, and accepted. In the 2019 Preface, Harris writes that when reading a self-help book, “[w]hat [readers] really wanted to know was: What do you have of use for me?” (xviii). The recurrent idea that it’s worth trying to become a happier person and that meditation can help one do so with ease is the last thought Harris offers. This concept is summed up by a sign from a record store, “ALL DATES CAN CHANGE, SO CAN YOU” (242). Transformation, Harris suggests, is always possible and, with wise guidance, attainable.
