How Emotions Are Made

'How Emotions Are Made did what all great books do. It took a subject I thought I understood and turned my understanding upside down' – Malcolm Gladwell, author of Talking to StrangersWhen you feel anxious, angry, happy, or surprised, what's really going on inside of you?Perhaps you thought of your emotions as automatic and reactive, a response to the world around you. The thrill of seeing an old friend, the fear of losing someone you love – each of these sensations seems to arise automatically and uncontrollably.

But in How Emotions are Made pioneering neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett shatters everything you thought you knew with a compelling new argument: emotions aren't universally pre-programmed into our brains and bodies but, rather, are unique psychological experiences constructed through our personal history, physiology and environment. Relationships, health, parenting, even national security – emotions have serious implications for them all. How Emotions are Made offers a radical new framework that finally explains what you’re feeling – and why it matters so much.