Cambridge Forum: John Leland

Cambridge Forum welcomes New York Times reporter JOHN LELAND—author of Hip: The History and Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of “On the Road” (They’re Not What You Think)—as he discusses his views on choosing happiness, and lessons he learned while interviewing the elderly for his New York Times column. Learn more about the event here.

About Happiness Is a Choice You Make

In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of the New York Times to meet members of America’s fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. Despite disparate backgrounds and circumstances, they each lived with a surprising lightness and contentment. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise.

Happiness Is a Choice You Make is an enduring collection of lessons that emphasizes, above all, the extraordinary influence we wield over the quality of our lives. With humility, heart, and wit, Leland has crafted a sophisticated and necessary reflection on how to “live better”―informed by those who have mastered the art.

Praise

“Inspired and inspiring." ―Jane E. Brody, New York Times

"John Leland’s practical, powerful insights into the rich experiences of the 'oldest old' can guide all of us to lead happier lives―no matter what our age.” ―Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

"Engrossing . . . Few books about aging show such clarity and purpose or so deftly blend clear-eyed examinations of social issues with a realistic but hopeful cast of mind. In this edifying and often quite moving book, Leland presents the "lessons" taught by his subjects even as they themselves are learning them, and he does so with an empathy and thoroughness that deserve our gratitude." ―Kirkus (starred review)