Join us on April 17 at 7 p.m. ET for Random House Studio Sessions: Gretchen Rubin Presents Life in Five Senses, as the author of Outer Order, Inner Calm and The Happiness Project virtually launches her new book, Life in Five Senses. In conversation with Bruce Feiler, Rubin will discuss the surprising path she discovered that led to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning into the five senses.
For more than a decade, Rubin had been studying happiness and human nature. Then, one day, a visit to her eye doctor made her realize that she’d been overlooking a key element of happiness: her five senses. She’d spent so much time stuck in her head that she’d allowed the vital sensations of life to slip away, unnoticed. This epiphany lifted her from a state of foggy preoccupation into a world rediscovered by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.
In this journey of self-experimentation, Rubin explores the mysteries and joys of the five senses as a path to a happier, more mindful life. In the rush of daily life, she finds, our five senses offer us an immediate, sustainable way to cheer up, calm down, and engage the world around us—as well as a way to glimpse the soul and touch the transcendent.
The event will be broadcast via Zoom, and each ticket includes a hardcover copy of Life in Five Senses in addition to event access. Your book order will be fulfilled by one of the following independent bookstore partners of your choice: Rainy Day Books, RJ Julia Booksellers, or The Strand Book Store.
We can’t wait for you to join us for this exclusive conversation.
Event Details
About the Book
Life in Five Senses
How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World
Gretchen Rubin
“Life in Five Senses invites us into the seismic shift toward a life grounded in sensation, vitality, and innate intelligence.”—GLENNON DOYLE, author of Untamed
“An inspiring and practical guide to living in the moment.”—SUSAN CAIN, author of Bittersweet and Quiet
For more than a decade, Gretchen Rubin had been studying happiness and human nature. Then, one day, a visit to her eye doctor made her realize that she’d been overlooking a key element of happiness: her five senses. She’d spent so much time stuck in her head that she’d allowed the vital sensations of life to slip away, unnoticed. This epiphany lifted her from a state of foggy preoccupation into a world invigorated by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.
In this journey of self-experimentation, Rubin explores the mysteries and joys of the five senses as a path to a happier, more mindful life. Drawing on cutting-edge science, philosophy, literature, and her own efforts to practice what she learns, she investigates the profound power of tuning in to the physical world.
From the simple pleasures of appreciating the magic of ketchup and adding favorite songs to a playlist, to more adventurous efforts like creating a daily ritual of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art and attending a flavor university, Rubin shows us how to experience each day with depth, delight, and connection. In the rush of daily life, she finds, our five senses offer us immediate, sustainable ways to cheer up, calm down, and engage the world around us—as well as ways to glimpse the soul and touch the transcendent.
Life in Five Senses is an absorbing, layered story of discovery filled with profound insights and practical suggestions about how to heighten our senses and use our powers of perception to live fuller, richer lives—and, ultimately, how to move through the world with more vitality and love.