Lasting Happiness: A Guide for Teens and Young Adults, is a practical template for the development of kindful habits that nurture happiness in individuals and their communities. Using personal narratives from youth in diverse circumstances, who have found kindfulness to be an asset and including incarcerated, homeless and LGBTQ voices, all readers will recognize the emotional and social dynamics that are affecting their lives. This book gives youth the opportunity to change their self-defeating habits through mindful kindness. The book's research documents the critical role of mindfulness and kindness in nurturing relationships, which are the gateway to lasting happiness.
Carnine and collaborators Opalenik and Cox adapt key ideas from How Love Wins, Carnine’s guide to “mindful kindness,” for younger audiences. Carnine’s focus is on “kindfulness,” a philosophy and practice that combines a mindful approach to daily living with the powerful human instinct to manifest kindness to self and others, here presented in an inviting workbook style fitting for younger readers. Drawing on his experiences working with youth and inmates, Carnine outlines a process of replacing “unkind habits” in thought and action, including self-directed ones like substance abuse and other-directed ones such as contempt and defensiveness, with more kindful alternatives—gratitude-infused habits (meditation and engaging in fun activities, among others) that will empower readers to become “Kindness Ambassadors.”Carnine effectively converts simple, powerful concepts into a format that will encourage the development of mindful behaviors and prosocial habits in both individual and group contexts. He breaks the material down into easily processed chunks in line with teen levels of patience and focus, offering systematic skill-building with plenty of space for practice, including writing prompts and self-assessments in each chapter. Carnine treats his readers with profound respect, and even adults who appreciate workbook formats will find this guide useful. Readers need not work the entire program to benefit from Carnine’s writing, either: his compassionate explanations of how to make behavioral choices will help those who just want to learn how to better process everyday frustrations as well.
Carnine displays a deep sensitivity to youth experiencing challenging life situations, such as being incarcerated, having an abusive home life, or facing discrimination. He affirms that teens choosing negative behaviors due to trauma are still good people capable of positive change. His belief in the desire of humans to be kind to one another, even when they have been marginalized, poorly treated, or have a difficult history, is palpable and will ring true with teen readers.
Takeaway: This powerful workbook clearly and appealingly guides young readers toward habitual practices of mindful kindness.
Great for fans of: Diana Winston’s Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens, Thich Nhat Hanh’s A Pebble for Your Pocket.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
