Here is a book about meditation for those who are scared off by the typical meditation books in the new age or spiritual sections of the book store. Dan Harris is a successful reporter for ABC news, who is plagued by stress, worry, and the non-stop to-do list running through his mind. His tipping point is an on-air panic attack where freezes, starts speaking incoherently, and then completely stops. For the sake of his health and career, he realizes something needs to change.

Dan ends up exploring meditation as way to calm his racing mind. He reads about and interviews many of today's gurus, which provides interesting fodder for the book (wary of Eckhart Tolle at first, he ends up admiring his teaching. He thinks Deepak Chopra is essentially a charlatan). After much frustration (typical of anyone beginning a meditation practice) he comes to find meditation deeply helpful, although he is quick to note that it's not an absolute panacea. ( )

This was more about Dan Harris and less about meditation than I expected but it was still a worthwhile read for me.

At times I considered abandoning it but pushed on and was ultimately worth it to take away the message that it's at least worth trying the practice to see if it helps. Having a skeptic who voices some of my own misgivings come around to supporting the idea is certainly compelling.

What I found most interesting is that many of the ultimate lessons Harris learned are things I think I already recognize and practice. I'm not sure if it's the Catholic upbringing (I've often said to my husband Mass to me is less about true faith and more about getting an hour to zen out in a place with familiar/comforting ritual) or the marathon running where I spend hours and hours in my own head doing little but breathing in and out and "noting" what's going on with my body. Perhaps I've been meditating all this time and just didn't know it!
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I originally bought and read this book for a psychology class I was in during undergrad. At that time I was 20, and in a very different place in my life. Reading the memoir now, as a 25 year old (which is both no time and all the time difference at the same time), I found that I felt much more connected to and invested in the information. Before, I skimmed the book and briefly reflected on how I could probably benefit from meditation. However, when I read this story this time around I spent a lot of time making connections from the authors mindset to my own, and how meditation has and continues to improve my daily life.

Comparative to most self-help books, I think that Dan Harris really recognizes how those books aren't a cure all, and his book won't be either. Rather, he acknowledges there are benefits to mindfulness when you put the effort in yourself. There is a sense of personal responsibility in your own mindfulness and it made me feel powerful. ( )

Entertaining and informative. Dan Harris does a great job telling his story. I enjoyed his humor as well as his introspective insights and blunt perspective. Highly recommended. ( )

Half memoir, half self-help guide into meditation, because this is just as much about Dan Harris' journey into meditation and mindfulness as it is about the practice itself...or maybe even more so. If you're a skeptic or looking into the phenomenon rather than specifically exploring it (ie, looking for the WHY more than the HOW), this book does a good job of telling the story of how a egotistical junkie (drugs & adrenaline) eventually finds some zen and how he wrestles with the whole notion when he does find it. Listening at 1.4x, it flows pretty quickly. But the narrative always moves forward, it doesn't rest in platitudes, and it's a bit interesting to read some behind the scenes journalism, too. (Harris spends the first 4 chapters at least just setting up his character and lifestyle as a lead into why and how he encountered meditation). Even if you're not looking to go zen, the book is rather interesting.