JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is the author of several books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. A recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, he's a contributing editor of The Atlantic. He has also written for The New Republic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among many other publications. He lives with his husband in Washington, DC.
"Rauch fills his book with reassuring research on why a midlife
malaise is normal, as well as some sound lessons on how to
cultivate happiness in general. With strong family relationships, a
trust-filled community, and supportive friends, anyone should be
able to ride out even their darkest years." -Wall Street Journal
"Journalist Rauch (Political Realism) argues for a "happiness
curve" to life--a common, U-shaped path from youthful idealism,
through middle-aged disappointment, to eventual happiness--in this
inspired take on midlife crises. They [readers] will also take
comfort from Rauch's personal investment in the subject--he has
moved through the bottom of his own happiness curve and concludes
his heartening self-help book by writing that it was 'worth the
wait.'" -Publishers Weekly "In a youth-obsessed culture, it may be
difficult to convince some that life gets better after 50. But by
supplanting dated cliches with compelling scholarship, Rauch offers
a fresh and reassuring vision of aging that supersedes superficial
fixations." -The Washington Post "This uplifting report offers hope
and encouragement for aging readers doubting the longevity of
bliss. Stimulating reading for those seeking enlightenment and
joyfulness throughout middle age." -Kirkus "Psychologists agree
that the midlife crisis is a myth. But why are so many middle-aged
people so dissatisfied with their lives? Sifting through happiness
studies and conducting his own interviews and surveys, Rauch
discovers a pattern... This thoughtful study is sure to find an
audience." -Booklist "A refreshingly thoughtful, positive view of
aging." -AARP "The Happiness Curve is about a midlife transition
that empirical life-time studies and "big data" have demonstrated
to be just as reliable a finding as was Stanley Hall's ground
breaking 1907 definition of "adolescence." In order to demonstrate
that our psychological well-being declines until the fifth decade
and then steadily improves, Rauch not only provides illustrative
case histories--always scientifically suspect if reassuring--but
also reviews authoritative lifespan studies, ranging from
primatology to neurophysiology, from demography to frequency of
mood altering medication use. With maturity, gratitude becomes
easier, and "giving it away" becomes a source of joy, rather than a
life sentence of "letting go." The Happiness Curve should be
essential reading for everybody over 40." --George E. Vaillant MD,
professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, director of the
Grant Study of Adult Development, and author of Triumphs of
Experience. "The Happiness Curve delivers on the promise of its
title, with wise insights and practices to help you become the best
you can be. Leave the midlife slump. Enter into an encore adulthood
of powerful purpose." --Richard Leider, international bestselling
author of The Power of Purpose, Repacking Your Bags, and Life
Reimagined
"When I was 40, I used to think that life begins at 40. How naïve I
was in my callow youth! It's 50, of course--no, make that 60. In
this warm, wise, and witty overview, Jonathan Rauch combines
evidence and experience to show his fellow adults that the best is
yet to come." --Steven Pinker, bestselling author of Enlightenment
Now and The Blank Slate
"Do you wish to understand the arc of your life? And why you are
likely to end up happier than you are right now? If so, The
Happiness Curve is the place to start. And I write this as someone
who can vouch that the upper part of the happiness life curve is
very glorious indeed." --Tyler Cowen, New York Times bestselling
author of The Complacent Class and The Great Stagnation "It's a
great paradox of happiness: The decades when we experience our
greatest worldly success are also when our happiness craters. Why
are middle-aged people so miserable? Jonathan Rauch tackles the
question in this helpful, rigorous, and fun book. The Happiness
Curve will make readers smarter - and perhaps even a little more
joyful." --Arthur Brooks, President, American Enterprise Institute
"Jonathan Rauch has taken the midlife crisis and transformed it
into the kinder, gentler happiness curve. He pierces the old,
cliche-ridden landscape of broken marriages and red sports cars,
and replaces it with a new and rich understanding of the natural
lifecycle. The Happiness Curve is a helpful travel guide through
the middle and later years that will be passed from one generation
to another with the reassuring message: "it gets better." --Ellen
Goodman "Anyone between age 35 and 70 must read this book. Armed
with scientific rigor, compelling stories, and winsome
self-revelation, Jonathan Rauch reveals the mystery of midlife."
--Barbara Bradley Hagerty, New York Times bestselling author of
Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife
"Rauch contrasts the happiness people experience in midlife with
the happiness they expect, making an important scientific finding
come to life with urgency and passion. Beautifully written and a
must-read for those who are interested in the science of happiness
and for anyone approaching the age of forty." --Martin Binder,
Professor of Economics, Bard College Berlin "What makes midlife so
difficult for so many? Being human, as this illuminating and
beautifully reasoned book explains. If it's hard to believe that
happiness increases with age, Jonathan Rauch suggests, just wait.
Or read this book." --Ashton Applewhite, author of This Chair
Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism "This brilliant book is chock
full of unexpected findings, revelatory insights, and consoling
wisdom about aging, happiness, and the stages of life. I would say
that everyone in his or her forties should read it--it will be a
soothing balm for those in the dark wood of middle age--but that's
too limiting: really, every thinking adult should read this
stimulating intellectual adventure story, which is also a genuinely
helpful guidebook to life."
--Scott Stossel, author of My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread,
and the Search for Peace of Mind and editor of The Atlantic "This
is a book destined to be passed hand to hand as a balm for the
travails of midlife. Required reading for anyone between the ages
of 35 and 55 who wants to avoid needless suffering." --Miles
Kimball, professor of economics at University of Colorado
Boulder
"Rauch's elegantly lucid and nuanced book, which smoothly
summarizes the work of dozens of economists, scientists and
psychologists, begins by examining the work of "happiness
economists," who use "big data" to trace the arc of happiness.
Filtering out variables such as health, wealth and marital status,
they found a consistent U-shaped pattern." --The Columbus Dispatch
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