The Gratitude Diaries - by Janice Kaplan (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In this New York Times bestseller, Janice Kaplan spends a year living gratefully and transforms her marriage, family life, work, and health.

On New Year's Eve, journalist and former Parade editor in chief Janice Kaplan makes a promise to be grateful and look on the bright side of whatever happens. She realizes that how she feels over the next year will have less to do with the events that occur than her own attitude and perspective. Getting advice at every turn from psychologists, academics, doctors, and philosophers, Kaplan brings readers on a smart and witty journey to discover the value of appreciating what you have.

Relying on both amusing personal experiences and extensive research, Kaplan explores how gratitude can transform every aspect of life, including marriage and friendship, money and ambition, and health and fitness. She learns how appreciating your spouse changes the neurons of your brain and why saying thanks helps CEOs succeed. Through extensive interviews with experts, and lively conversations with real people, including celebrities like Matt Damon, Daniel Craig, and Jerry Seinfeld, Kaplan discovers the role of gratitude in everything from our sense of fulfillment to our children's happiness.

With warmth, humor, and appealing insight, Kaplan's journey will empower readers to think positively and start living their own best year ever.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Gratitude Diaries

"Uplifting and entertaining, this book is sure to give readers a more positive perspective."--Booklist

"If you liked Sheryl Sanberg's Lean In . . . read Janice Kaplan's The Gratitude Diaries."--TIME

"Kaplan's plan to be more grateful is approachable for anyone. Her conversational tone is encouraging, like talking to a good friend who's having a great day and wants to share it with you. . . . Simple, effective procedures that can be easily incorporated into even the busiest lifestyle."--Kirkus Reviews

"Kaplan's study is insightful and loaded with compelling research and solid techniques for positive thinking, and her own example provides the most convincing testament to her ideas."--Publishers Weekly

"The subtitle says it all: How a Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life. Kaplan interweaves anecdotes from her year of living gratefully with interviews with doctors, psychologists, philosophers, artists, and A-list actors, teaching you that working at being happy pays off."--American Way

"A heartfelt, thoughtful, and entertaining read on how we can bring more gratitude into our lives. It's like The Happiness Project meets Thanksgiving--a guided tour through the science and experience of appreciation."--Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take

"Janice Kaplan has written a warm, inspiring, wonderful book, showing each of us how gratitude and focusing on our blessings can transform our lives."--Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author of Jemima J and The Beach House

"Can there really be such a thing as a hardheaded woman's practical guide to living in gratitude? There can and there is. After reading about Janice Kaplan's transformative year, I'm here to say I believe it!"--Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Deep End of the Ocean

"I recognized myself in almost every word of Janice's excellent book. And tracking my hours was an eye-opener for me, as it appears I'm one of the people who's been unrealistic about how I spend my days. This book is liberating, useful, and so important in this era in which everyone seems to feel overwhelmed."--Celeste Headlee, author of We Need to Talk

About the Author

Janice Kaplan has enjoyed wide success as a magazine editor, television producer, writer, and journalist. The former editor in chief of Parade magazine, she is the author or coauthor of fourteen books, including the New York Times bestseller I'll See You Again. She lives in New York City and Kent, Connecticut.