Kelli harding - The Rabbit Effect Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness

Praise for THE RABBIT EFFECT

A beautifully written, inspiring book! The Rabbit Effect is truly eye-opening and a joy to read. It illuminates vital public health research showing kindness in our day-to-day lives can make the world a healthier, happier place. I recommend this book highly for anyone who wants to live more healthfully.

Christy Turlington Burns , humanitarian and founder of Every Mother Counts

A wonderful demonstration of how our physical health is affected by the kindness we receiveand the kindness we give. Beautifully written and based on really hard science.

Professor Lord Richard Layard , director of the Well-being Program, Center for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science; coauthor of The World Happiness Report ; and cofounder of Action for Happiness

[V]ery persuasive. This book provides welcome relief from the over-used and endlessly repeated prescription of diet, sleep, exercise, etc. In a voice that is warm, open, inquisitive, and optimistic, Dr. Harding weaves together compelling clinical vignettes with fascinating medical evidence. This comprehensive, holistic view of health is critical, much needed, and absolutely convincing.

Arthur J. Barsky, MD , professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

The Rabbit Effect is a blockbuster book that will help all of us have a new view of how we create health. It succeeds at putting relationships where they belong: at the center of life, health, and medicine. Dr. Harding shows us that, by being compassionate, giving, and kind human beings, we can win the great rewards of vitality and longevity for ourselves and the whole world. Read this book! It will change your life.

Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD, LFAPA, HonAIA , author of Urban Alchemy: Restoring Joy in Americas Sorted-Out Cities

In this brilliant and delightfully practical book, Dr. Kelli Harding unveils the hidden factors that determine our health and well-being. In a series of fascinating case studies, The Rabbit Effect shows how our social environment, from our families to our neighborhoods and workplaces, shapes how we live and whether we heal. Its radical argument is that the most promising remedies for our biomedical problems will come from the social world, not the doctors office or pharmaceutical lab. Whether we rebuild it is up to us .

Eric Klinenberg , professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, and author of Palaces for the People and the #1 New York Times bestseller Modern Romance

An inspiring, evidence-based, and beautifully written exploration of the profound impact that love, connection, and kindness have on our health. Hardings book should be required reading for all health practitioners and anyone with an interest in living a longer, healthier, and happier life. This is a timely call for a radical rethink in our approach to health care. Compassion and kindness are not fluffy nice-to-haves, they are the vital foundations for our collective well-being and a thriving society.

Mark Williamson, PhD , director of Action for Happiness

This book is fascinating because of Dr. Kelli Hardings unique ability to combine stories with a deep understanding of the scientific foundation of the stories. This is an extremely compelling book, which will entertain, educate, and impact the readers.

Moshe Szyf, PhD , GlaxoSmithKline and James McGill Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at McGill University Medical School

Its utterly wonderful. Dr. Harding has reviewed the science on why community matters to individuals physical and mental health in a truly masterful manner, which will reach both scientific and lay audiences. I learned a great deal.

Laurence Guttmacher, MD , professor of clinical psychiatry, clinical medical humanities, and bioethics at the University of Rochester, School of Medicine & Dentistry

Dr. Harding knows what our mental health needs. More kindness! This book has a powerful message for us allbacked by ample researchand woven together with the warmth of an expert clinician.

Drew Ramsey, MD , assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and author of Eat Complete

When we first conducted the rabbit studies over forty years ago, we never imagined the critical role that relationships play in health. Im excited that those studies helped motivate this splendid book. Dr. Hardings evidence-based exploration provides readers with a new way to think about human disease, one rooted in the importance of kindness and relationships. As stated in the Ecclesiastes proverb quoted in the book, a faithful friend is the medicine of life.

Robert M. Nerem, PhD , professor emeritus, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Institute of Technology

Blest are those patients cared for tenderly and wisely by Dr. Kelli Harding. Blest, too, are those who read her book and absorb it into their physical and spiritual lives.

Colman McCarthy , journalist and peace teacher

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Copyright 2019 by Kelli Harding

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First Atria Books hardcover edition August 2019

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Interior design by Kyoko Watanabe

Jacket design by James Iacobelli

Author photograph Agaton Strom

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Harding, Kelli, author.

Title: The rabbit effect : live longer, happier, and healthier with the groundbreaking science of kindness / Kelli Harding.

Description: New York : Atria Books, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018059576 (print) | LCCN 2018060169 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501184284 (eBook) | ISBN 9781501184260 (hardback)

Subjects: | MESH: Quality of Lifepsychology | Health | Emotional

Intelligence | Social Support | Happiness | Empathy

Classification: LCC RA776 (ebook) | LCC RA776 (print) | NLM WA 30 | DDC 613dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018060169

ISBN: 978-1-5011-8426-0

ISBN: 978-1-5011-8428-4 (ebook)

This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed in the publication. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in the book. The reader should consult his or her medical, health, or other competent professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

The author and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.