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  • Published: 29 November 2022
  • ISBN: 9781529111064
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $22.99

The Sweet Spot

Suffering, Pleasure and the Key to a Good Life




Revealing the surprising roots of lasting happiness, The Sweet Spot by pre-eminent psychologist Paul Bloom explains why suffering is an essential source of both pleasure and meaning in our lives.

Revealing the surprising roots of lasting happiness, The Sweet Spot by pre-eminent psychologist Paul Bloom explains why suffering is an essential source of both pleasure and meaning in our lives.

'Paul Bloom can always be counted on to take your confident assumptions about humanity and turn them upside down' SUSAN CAIN, author of Quiet
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What if experiencing a good life involves more than just pleasure?

It seems obvious that pleasure leads to happiness - and pain does the opposite. And yet we are irresistibly drawn to a host of experiences that truly hurt, from the exhilarating fear of horror movies or extreme sport to the gruelling challenges of exercise, work, creativity and having a family.

Drawing on groundbreaking findings, pre-eminent psychologist Paul Bloom explores the pleasures of suffering and reveals why the activities that provide the most satisfaction are often the ones that involve the greatest sacrifice. Embracing this truth, he shows, is the key to a life well lived.
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'An exhilarating antidote to toxic positivity, this captivating book will challenge you to rethink your vision of a good life' ADAM GRANT, author of Think Again

'This delightful and wonderfully written book gets to the heart of one of the most important questions in modern thought, illustrating how complex and paradoxical human happiness really is' GREG LUKIANOFF, co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind

  • Published: 29 November 2022
  • ISBN: 9781529111064
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $22.99

About the author

Paul Bloom

Paul Bloom is Professor of Psychology at Yale University. He is an internationally recognised expert on the psychology of language, social reasoning, morality and art. His previous books include Just Babies and How Pleasure Works, and he has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times, New Yorker and the Guardian. Bloom has won several awards for his research, articles and teaching, and his ‘Introduction to Psychology’ class was one of seven selected by Yale to be made available worldwide. His TED talks have been viewed 2.8 million times.

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Praise for The Sweet Spot

Wonderfully humane, lucid and entertaining ... a brave and necessary tract for the times

Telegraph (on Against Empathy)

A great, provocative book ... that will legitimately change how you think about the world and your own sense of morality

New York Times (on Against Empathy)

An exhilarating antidote to toxic positivity, this captivating book will challenge you to rethink your vision of a good life

Adam Grant, author of Think Again

Paul Bloom can always be counted on to take your confident assumptions about humanity and turn them upside down. This time, his eloquent and erudite investigations ask - and answer - the perennial question of what makes life worth living

Susan Cain, author of Quiet

Paul Bloom has a gift for spotting paradoxes in human nature and resolving them with deep, satisfying explanations. This lucid and fascinating book does it again

Steven Pinker, author of How the Mind Works

Provocative, fascinating and insightful - from one of the world's best writers and deepest thinkers about human behaviour

Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness

A fun, thought-provoking and insightful journey into the most curious parts of human pleasure

Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab podcast

A profound meditation on happiness, family and meaning from one of the best writers we have about the human condition. A joy to read

A. J. Jacobs, author of It’s All Relative

Paul Bloom is a phenomenal psychologist. His research is always thought-provoking, and his writing clear and eloquent

Maria Konnikova, author of The Biggest Bluff

This delightful and wonderfully written book gets to the heart of one of the most important questions in modern thought, illustrating how complex and paradoxical human happiness really is

Greg Lukianoff, co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind

Forget your favourite motivational speaker for a moment and read this book. Paul Bloom gives you the real scoop on what it takes to live a good life, and it's not what you may think

Scott Barry Kaufman, host of The Psychology Podcast

Clear, rightly sceptical, impossible to dislike

Stuart Ritchie, Guardian