Sick Souls, Healthy Minds

How William James Can Save Your Life

By: John Kaag

Narrated by: Daniel Henning

From the celebrated author of American Philosophy: A Love Story and Hiking with Nietzsche, a compelling introduction to the life-affirming philosophy of William James

In 1895, William James, the father of American philosophy, delivered a lecture entitled "Is Life Worth Living?" It was no theoretical question for James, who had contemplated suicide during an existential crisis as a young man a quarter century earlier.

Indeed, as John Kaag writes, "James's entire philosophy, from beginning to end, was geared to save a life, his life"- and that's why it just might be able to save yours, too.

Sick Souls, Healthy Minds is a compelling introduction to James's life and thought that shows why the founder of pragmatism and empirical psychology -and an inspiration for Alcoholics Anonymous - can still speak so directly and profoundly to anyone struggling to make a life worth living.

Kaag tells how James's experiences as one of what he called the "sick-souled," those who think that life might be meaningless, drove him to articulate an ideal of "healthy-mindedness" - an attitude toward life that is open, active, and hopeful, but also realistic about its risks. In fact, all of James's pragmatism, resting on the idea that truth should be judged by its practical consequences for our lives, is a response to, and possible antidote for, crises of meaning that threaten to undo many of us at one time or another. Along the way, Kaag also movingly describes how his own life has been endlessly enriched by James.

Eloquent, inspiring, and filled with insight, Sick Souls, Healthy Minds may be the smartest and most important self-help book you'll ever read.

©2020 John Kaag (P)2020 Recorded Books

A chance introduction

I thoroughly enjoyed Kaags writing of William James, and couldn’t have been more happy at the chance I took on it after listening to Kaag speak on The psychology podcast!

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Overall, book was nice, quite sincere, but sadly, a bit less than I expected — lovable, but a bit too breezy and didactic. As to the reading, the voice was smooth and amiable, but: it’s not permissible for an audio artist not to look up the names of those he’s pronouncing. Peirce is pronounced ‘purse,’ and Leibniz is ‘lie-bnitz,’ not ‘lee-bnitz.’ Overall, not a bad purchase, but best to read some James yourself, first. I’d go with the Varieties.

I'll Take What I Can Get

I like John Kaag. I love William James. But I got so frustrated with this narrator that I nearly gave up on this one. I can get past the mispronunciations (Pierce should be 'purse", etc.), but the affect that he assumed when reading quotes by James I just couldn't stomach. Maybe I don't know enough about William James and he really did sound like a pretentious, sniveling prude, but that certainly isn't the voice I hear when reading him. Why on Earth would you land on that voice for William James? I don't want to come down too hard on the fellow - he otherwise did a fine job of narrating - but, man, it's William James and I just hated that particular choice.

Great premise, but the narrator detracts from the story.

I love this unique angle of embedding an author’s personal spiritual journey in the life and writings of a well known thinker.

Unfortunately, the narrator flipping back and forth to an almost mocking British accent detracted so much from the story that I wish I’d have read the non-audio version instead.

Narrator belittles Janes

The book itself is interesting. The narrator is awful, awful. Every time he quotes William James, he speaks in an affected, priggish voice. It's as if he thoroughly dislikes William James and wants to make him seem like a snotty pretend-aristocrat. Why in the world does he do this? Unbelievable. Does Audible actually review these things?

Narrative is terrible - I had to quit

The book is great, but the narrator puts on a horrible fake accent for James. It ruins the book

Great subject - Rough delivery

The reader tries far too hard and over dramatizes his reading so much that it gets in the way of the content. There were many times I had to take a break from the voice due to its irritating nature. I did enjoy the content and really appreciated the layout of James' life and ideas.

I cannot bear listening to that affected accent

The material is great, but I cannot bear listening to the affected accent the narrator uses for reading quotations.

Great narration! Great writing!

The author leads you into the life and ideas of William James in an interesting and accessible way.

Great overview of William James

I love William James. This was a great introduction to his thought and his life. It’s short but good. If you are interested in James and want a little background info before you jump in, this is a perfect start.