The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness

What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the much more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and healthier lives. If truth be told, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life.

The invaluable insights in this book emerge from the revealing personal stories of hundreds of participants in the Harvard Study as they were followed year after year for their entire adult lives, and this wisdom used to be bolstered by research findings from many other studies. Relationships in all their forms—friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups—all contribute to a happier, healthier life. And as

Dr. Waldinger’s TED Talk about the Harvard Study, “What Makes a Good Life,” has been viewed more than 42 million times and is likely one of the ten most-watched TED talks ever. The Good Life has been praised by bestselling authors Jay Shetty “an empowering quest towards our greatest need: meaningful human connection”), Angela Duckworth (“In a crowded field of life advice…Schulz and Waldinger stand apart”), and happiness expert Laurie Santos (“Waldinger and Schulz are world experts on the counterintuitive things that make life meaningful”).

With “insightful [and] interesting” (Daniel Gilbert, New York Times bestselling writer of Stumbling on Happiness) life stories, The Good Life shows us how we will be able to make our lives happier and more meaningful through our connections to others.