Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole

The bestselling sensation Quiet's author, in her latest work of art, explains the significance of having a bittersweet perspective on life and the reasons we have been so unaware of it.

With Quiet, Susan Cain urged our society to cultivate space for the undervalued, indispensable introverts among us, thereby revealing an untapped power hidden in plain sight. Now, she explores why we feel sadness and yearning as well as the unexpected lessons these emotional states teach us about creativity, compassion, leadership, spirituality, death, and love. She does this by combining research, narrative, and biography in the same way.

Bittersweetness is characterized by a propensity for feelings of melancholy, sadness, and yearning; a keen sense of time passing; and an oddly piercing delight when one is surrounded by beauty. It acknowledges that bitter and sweet—light and dark, birth and death—are inextricably linked. A song in a minor key, an elegiac poem, or even a touching television commercial all can bring us to this sublime, even holy, state of mind—and, ultimately, to greater kinship with our fellow humans.

However, contrary to popular belief, bittersweetness is more than simply a fleeting emotion or occasion. It's also a way of life, a rich history. Its strength is imparted to us by our creative and spiritual traditions, reinforced by contemporary scientific and managerial study.

Cain shows how a bittersweet state of mind is the quiet force that helps us transcend our personal and collective pain. She claims that if we don't face our own pain and desires, we may wind up abusing, dominating, or neglecting other people. However, if we acknowledge that everyone has experienced—or will experience—pain and suffering, we may turn to one another. Additionally, we are capable of transforming our own suffering into transcendence, creativity, and connection.

In the midst of intense conflict and personal unease, Bittersweet unexpectedly and profoundly unites us.