The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness

This groundbreaking and life-changing work based on the latest research effectively demonstrates “the profound impact that love, connection, and kindness have on our health” (Mark Williamson, PhD, director of Action for Happiness).

When Columbia University doctor Kelli Harding began her clinical practice, she never intended to explore the invisible factors behind our health. But then there were the rabbits. In 1978, a seemingly straightforward experiment designed to establish the relationship between high blood cholesterol and heart health in rabbits discovered that kindness—in the form of a particularly nurturing post-doc who pet and spoke to the lab rabbits as she fed them—made the difference between a heart attack and a healthy heart.

As Dr. Kelli Harding reveals in this eye-opening book, the rabbits were just the beginning of a much larger story. Groundbreaking new research shows that love, friendship, community, and our environment can have a greater impact on our health than anything that happens in the doctor’s office. For instance, chronic loneliness can be as unhealthy as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day; napping regularly can decrease one’s risk of heart disease; and people with purpose are less likely to get sick.

At once paradigm-shifting and empowering, The Rabbit Effect illuminates vital public health research showing kindness in our day-to-day lives can make the “world a healthier, happier place. I recommend this book highly for anyone who wants to live more healthfully” (Christy Turlington Burns, and CEO of Every Mother Counts).

Dr. Kelli Harding is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, as well as boarded in the specialty of psychosomatic (mind-body) medicine. Kelli works in the emergency room at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and has appeared on Today, Good Morning America, NPR, The New York Times, Medscape, WFUV’s Cityscape, and US News & World Report.

ISBN: 9781501184277
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: November 03, 2020

“A blending of free-flowing confessional prose and scholarly research . . . Amid the clanging political noise about Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance, and thieving pharmaceutical companies, Kelli Harding stands apart from the horde . . .”“[A]n inspiring guide that will appeal to health enthusiasts fed up with the usual '10-step fitness plan or . . . two-week diet.' . . . Harding’s book will leave readers with much to ponder and . . . an encouraging rationale for treating others more kindly.”“Readers will be inspired to make these manageable, life-altering changes.”“[Offering] the kind of do-able and wise solutions that make for a better life, [Dr. Harding] illustrates the deep connections between stress—and the inflammatory response it evokes—and our physical and mental health. . . . She beautifully identifies kindness as an endlessly renewable resource—the light we all can shine on the lives of others and in so doing bathe in its grace ourselves.”“[T]he most interesting [book on kindness] . . . personal, while also steeped in data . . . Harding [shows] how our interconnectedness helps us stay healthier . . . I couldn’t help tearing up.”“An illuminating exploration of a new vision of the practice of medicine and health that demonstrates what our lives could be like if we targeted our ‘hidden factors of health,’ looked more to our social world for solutions to our health woes, and recognized how beneficial and transformative the use of kindness is . . . I give this book a glowing recommendation.”“A beautifully written, inspiring book! The Rabbit Effect is truly eye opening and a joy to read. It illuminates vital public health research showing kindness in our day-to-day lives can make the world a healthier, happier place. I recommend this book highly for anyone who wants to live more healthfully.”“A wonderful demonstration of how our physical health is affected by the kindness we receive—and the kindness we give. Beautifully written and based on really hard science.”“Dr. Harding weaves together compelling clinical vignettes with fascinating medical evidence. This comprehensive, holistic view of health is critical, much needed, and absolutely convincing.”“[A] blockbuster book. . . . Dr. Harding shows us that, by being compassionate, giving, and kind human beings, we can win the great rewards of vitality and longevity. Read this book! It will change your life.”“In this brilliant and delightfully practical book, Dr. Kelli Harding unveils the hidden factors that determine our health and well-being. . . . The Rabbit Effect’s radical argument is that the most promising remedies for our biomedical problems will come from the social world, not the doctor’s office or pharmaceutical lab.”“An inspiring, evidence-based and beautifully written exploration of the profound impact that love, connection and kindness have on our health. Harding's book should be required reading for all health practitioners and anyone with an interest in a living a longer, healthier and happier life.”“This book is fascinating because of Dr. Kelli Harding’s unique ability to combine stories with a deep understanding of the scientific foundation of the stories. This is an extremely compelling book, which will entertain, educate, and impact the readers.”“It’s utterly wonderful. Dr. Harding has reviewed the science on why community matters to individuals’ physical and mental health in a truly masterful manner, which will reach both scientific and lay audiences. I learned a great deal.”“Dr. Harding knows what our mental health needs. More Kindness! This book has a powerful message for us all—backed by ample research—and woven together with the warmth of an expert clinician.”“When we first conducted the rabbit studies over 40 years ago, we never imagined the critical role that relationships play in health. I'm excited that those studies helped motivate this splendid book. Dr. Harding’s evidence-based exploration provides readers with a new way to think about human disease, one rooted in the importance of kindness and relationships. As stated in the Ecclesiastes proverb quoted in the book, a ‘faithful friend is the medicine of life.’”“Blest are those patients cared for tenderly and wisely by Dr. Kelli Harding. Blest, too, are those who read her book and absorb it into their physical and spiritual lives.”