Bittersweet

How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole

De: Susan Cain

Narrado por: Susan Cain

#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.

*Includes a downloadable PDF containing a Bittersweet quiz from the book

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A thoughtful examination of the melancholic disposition . . . a unique blend of psychology, biography, spirituality, musical references and pop culture. For those feeling sorrowful or dealing with a loss, the idea of transforming pain into creativity, transcendence and love is a compelling one. Cain does an excellent job of using research, case studies and personal stories to justify her argument. It is a unique view in a culture that tends to medicate strong feelings rather than welcome them.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Bittersweet is astonishing—one of the most gracefully written, palpably human books I’ve read in years. Its powerful case will reshape how you think about yourself and those you love. Its sheer beauty will linger in your heart long after you turn the final page.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind

“Susan Cain does it again! As the author of the worldwide phenomenon Quiet, she changed how the world sees introverts. Now she has written a book that will change how the world sees sorrow and longing. This book is an absolute triumph: It’s for anyone who has ever really lived, loved, or lost.”—Greg McKeown, host of the What’s Essential podcast and the author of the New York Times bestsellers Effortless and Essentialism

“Susan Cain’s Bittersweet grabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go. I’ve thought about the depth and beauty in Cain’s research and storytelling every day since I finished the book. I will always be grateful for how much Quiet and Bittersweet have helped me understand myself and how I engage with the world.”—Brené Brown, Ph.D., author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Atlas of the Heart

“A decade ago, I found myself inside Quiet. With Bittersweet, Susan Cain has described and validated my existence once again! Her new book reaffirms that my constant, achy awareness of life’s brutiful is a way of being shared across the ages with artists, healers, and anyone who pays deep attention. I’ll place Bittersweet in the hands of all my feely, achy, beautiful friends.”—Glennon Doyle, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed and founder and president of Together Rising

“This is the rare book that doesn’t just open your eyes—it touches your heart and sings to your soul. Susan Cain gave a voice to introverts, and now she masterfully paints our heaviest emotions in a light that’s long overdue. Bittersweet is the perfect cure for toxic positivity and a sparkling ode to the beauty of the human condition.”—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again

Insightful Book for Today

Susan Cain has another great book for us to ponder: Bittersweet. The depth of the stories, others as well as hers, will lead you deeper to understand others as well as yourself. You may not agree with everything she writes, but you will grow in knowing more of what it means to be human. Thanks, Susan. You have graced us again.

A Bittersweet Revelation

This book explains those lifelong festering feelings of longing for something which you’ve never experienced. I’ve had these longing feelings since childhood…and she puts it into perspective into how it shaped her life. For those who said they stopped after chapter 2 and felt it was too autobiographical: YOU MISSED THE ENTIRE POINT—and are probably not the bittersweet type. But this can be a great way to show those non bittersweet types how to recognize these feelings in others—and maybe develop a bit of empathy. Some atypical/typeA personality people who don’t understand human emotion need examples in how to recognize when or why people feel the way they do. Bittersweet types aren’t just people with clinical depression (but as someone with it this book touches my very core).

This book is a vulnerable gem in the rough world of non-fiction “self-help” books. I will replay this book when I’m losing sight of why I am feeling melancholic. Worth the wait for a Quiet sequel, and it’s equally illuminating and wonderful.

Beautiful!

At 53, this is the most beautiful book I’ve ever experienced to date. Admittedly “bittersweet” IS my favorite emotion.

it good

it was a good book, It introduced a lot of new ideas to me. I enjoyed it ps the physical book is a great.

Life changing

Absolutely amazing and Susan voice is heavenly, I learned so much and seems like a book I would read again and again