#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • 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 heartbreak in order to
live life to the fullest.Bittersweet has the power to transform the way you see your life and
the world.”—OPRAHGrabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go.”—BRENÉ BROWN author of Atlas of
the HeartSusan Cain has described and validated my existence once again!”—GLENNON DOYLE author
of UntamedThe perfect cure for toxic positivity.”—ADAM GRANT author of Think AgainLONGLISTED
FOR THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street
Journal MashableBittersweetness 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.
