The Hope Effect (The Science of Healing, Achieving, and Breaking Through)

Forty percent of American teenagers report persistent feelings of hopelessness. Nearly 80 percent of Americans do not expect their children to have a better life than they did. We are living through a crisis of hopelessness. But what if hope is not a vague feeling or wishful thinking at all? What if it is a measurable, trainable skill—one backed by decades of scientific evidence?

In THE HOPE EFFECT, physician-scientists Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli, authors of WONDER DRUG, synthesize hundreds of peer-reviewed studies to show that hope is far more powerful than most people realize, and fundamentally different from optimism, denial, or “positive thinking.” Drawing on Rick Snyder’s Hope Theory, they reveal hope as a three-part cognitive process—goalpower, waypower, and willpower—that can be strengthened with practice.

The evidence is staggering. Among adults over fifty, higher hope is associated with a 16 percent lower risk of death, a 43 percent lower risk of depression, and lower risks of cancer, chronic pain, and sleep problems. Hope is not only linked with longevity and recovery from serious illness, but also better outcomes in school, athletics, work and business. Neuroscience is beginning to map some of the circuitry that helps explain why: the brain can be trained away from helplessness and toward agency.

But this book does more than make the case. It gives readers a practical nine-part Hope Prescription grounded in science. From vividly futurecasting a better tomorrow, to building alternate pathways around obstacles, to strengthening the inner engine of action, Drs. Trzeciak and Mazzarelli translate the research into concrete strategies readers can use immediately. Hope, they argue, is like oxygen: it doesn’t cure the disease, but it keeps you alive while you fight.

This is not a pep talk. This is not magical thinking. This is hope you can believe in.