Why do people who have dogs live happier, longer, and more fulfulling lives? Sociologists and veterinarians have spent years investigating the positive effects that dogs have on people's health and happiness yet their findings are inaccessible to ordinary people, hidden in obscure journals to be shared with other experts. Now the international bestselling author of the 100 Simple Secrets series has collected the most current and significant data from more than a thousand of the best scientific studies on the profound relationship between humans and our canine companions. These findings have been boiled down to the one hundred essential ways dogs positively impact our lives. Each fact is accompanied by a inspiring true story. If you love your dog, and science tells us that you do, this book will inspire and entertain. Communicate Better: It sounds odd to say a creature that communicates with barking and body language can have such a profound effect on human communication. But by providing a common point of reference and concern, dogs help us to feel a connection to other humans. That connection makes us feel more comfortable communicating with each other. When meeting a new person, the presence of a dog reduces the time before people feel comfortable while talking with each other by 45 percent. Live Longer: There is perhaps no better gift that dogs offer us humans than this simple fact. People who care for a dog live longer, healthier lives than those who do not. On average, people who cared for dogs during their lives lived 3 years longer than people who never had a dog. No Monkey Business: Primates are genetically more similar to humans than any other creature. But try to tell a chimpanzee something and you will be hard pressed to get your message across. Dogs are uniquely attuned to the messages we send. Dogs study humans and have evolved to build social skills that help them to function around us. Dogs are 52 percent more likely to follow human cues such as pointing toward a source of food than are primates. Around the Block: Good habits are often misunderstood as difficult or unpleasant chores. But there is tremendous value in the simple act of taking a walk. Walking not only burns calories, it also decreases stress. Having a dog means regularly talking walks – it's something you do for your dog but in truth your dog is doing for you. Dog owners walk 79 percent farther in an average week than non–dog owners.

Outlines methods for training the mind to make constructive everyday choices while shifting focus away from problems in order to increase creativity, energy, and confidence.

Practical advice on how to thrive in the second half of your life, based on scientific studies. The sixth book in the bestselling 100 Simple Secrets series. What do people who relish the second half of their lives do differently than those who dread getting older? Sociologists, therapists and psychiatrists have spent entire careers investigating the ins and outs of successful aging, yet their findings are inaccessible to ordinary people, hidden in obscure journals to be shared with other experts. Now the international bestselling author of The 100 Simple Secrets series has collected the most current and significant data from more than a thousand of the best scientific studies on the second half of life. These findings have been boiled down to one hundred essential ways to find and maintain joy, health, and satisfaction every day of your life. Each one is accompanied by a true story showing the results in action. The Baby Boomers are hitting retirement age. This upbeat, light approach will appeal to the enormous market of citizens grappling with the effects of becoming 'senior', looking to discover the positive benefits of aging beyond discount tickets at the movie theatre. Books about aging well continue to sell year in and year out. The Simple Secrets approach will stand out among the heavier self-help/psychology titles and will without a doubt become an affordable impulse and gifty mainstay in this category. A good inexpensive gift for parents and grandparents.

Insufficient healthcare coverage, a weakened economy, the fragile environment—most people would be hard pressed to find even one example of how things are better today than they were yesterday. How about one for each day of the year? In his engaging and informative new book, Up!, David Niven, the best-selling author of the 100 Simple Secrets series (more than a million copies sold in the U.S. alone), gives us 365 examples of how life is better now than ever before. We think we’re running out of time—but we actually live twice as long as our great-grandparents did. We think our culture is in decline—but worldwide IQ scores are higher today than ever before. We think life keeps getting harder—but the percentage of people who feel happy is growing every year. Well researched and full of insight, Up! not only proves that life today is a vast improvement from the past but also that it continues to get better with each passing day. For those who need convincing or for those who need reminding, Up! is a great resource for appreciating how far we’ve come and realizing that, in all ways, things are truly looking Up!

How do we define happiness in a world where people regularly feel rushed, stressed, and overwhelmed by the daily demands of life? Authors Garry McDaniel and Sharon Massen suggest that we look to our canine companions to learn what happiness is really about. Based on the authors' research and insights as well as real-life stories about dogs and their people, this eye-opening guide helps us explore seven essential traits for happiness through the eyes of our trusted furry friends.Inside The Dog's Guide to Happiness:•The value of loyalty in our personal and business relationships•Canine communication tactics;namely, vocalizations, body language, and eye contact;and a discussion on interpersonal communication•The lost art of play and why it is important for people;and dogs;of all ages•The unconditional love that dogs bestow on their humans and how it applies to our relationships with other people•How an unwillingness to forgive others holds us back, and why dogs are able to "forgive and forget"•How to nurture an optimistic outlook on life's ups and downs•A dog's approach to life balance and why a lack of balance is detrimental to emotional health•Exercises, charts, and worksheets to guide readers in self-exploration through applying the principles set forth in each chapter•Suggestions and activities to help readers attain the seven secrets of happiness

Short stories that are “achingly true to life when it comes to the many ways mothers and daughters grow together and apart, over and over again” (O, The Oprah Magazine). “Mothers and daughters go at it in the way only mothers and daughters can, with full hearts and claws out, in Natalie Serber’s funny, bittersweet collection” of short fiction named a New York Times Notable Book (Vanity Fair). In a battle between a teenager and her mother, wheat bread and plain yogurt become weapons. An aimless college student, married to her much older professor, sneaks cigarettes while caring for their newborn son. On the eve of her husband’s fiftieth birthday, a pilfered fifth of rum, an unexpected tattoo, and rogue teenagers leave a woman questioning her place. And in a suite of stories, we follow capricious, ambitious single mother Ruby and her cautious, steadfast daughter, Nora, through their tumultuous life—stray men, stray cats, and psychedelic drugs—in 1970s California. “The characters are irresistible . . . Serber writes with exquisite patience and sensitivity, and is an expert in the many ways that love throws people together and splits them apart, often at the same time.” —TheWall Street Journal “From its first page, Serber’s debut collection plunges us into the humid heat and lightning of a perfect storm: that of American mothers and daughters struggling for power, love, meaning, and identity. . . . Serber’s writing sparkles: practical, strong, brazenly modern, marbled with superb descriptions.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Mothers and daughters burst from these pages in stories about food, boyfriends, birthdays, husbands and more.” —Houston Chronicle “In the tradition of Lorrie Moore and Tobias Wolff, Natalie Serber’s stories uncover the secret hearts of seemingly ordinary people. Funny, heart-felt, and keenly perceptive, this is a book worth shouting about.” —Dan Chaon, author of If I Loved You I Would Tell You This