Tickled

A Commonsense Guide to the Present Moment

By: Duff McDonald

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

A New York Times best-selling journalist sets out to explore our addiction to the quantification of everything and ends up confronting his own addiction to certainty. In the quiet of quarantine, he decides to choose ease, rather than control - pursuing habits and hobbies that bring joy and “tickles” to each and every moment - and finds peace of mind, renewed creativity, and deepened relationships are the reward.

In 2020, nothing went according to plan. Duff McDonald had intended to write a book about society’s obsession with measurements, data, and predictions, showing how it blunts individual happiness and decision-making while fueling corporate capitalism. But in the quiet of quarantine, McDonald found himself reexamining the assumptions beneath his own life choices. He also reconsidered his book, deciding instead to reframe his approach as an exploration of his own battle with what he calls the “precision paradox” - the existential struggle between our desire for ease and our need to exert control.

Drawing inspiration from an impressive range of sources - from Borges to the Buddha to Bob (Dylan) to Harry Potter - McDonald documents how he let go of his attachment to precision in favor of delving deeper into what it means to be present - in his work, his relationships, and what he calls the “science of experience”. He asks, “What should I have been doing? I should have been focusing on things that I love, not the things that anger or annoy me. I should have been focusing on things that tickle me.”

Part self-help, part memoir, Tickled is a story of how to bring joy and love into your life right now. McDonald acknowledges that tickle is a funny, awkward word. In one context, it’s as innocent as can be. But it also runs deeper. When something tickles you, you are in the moment, experiencing reality itself - at the vortex of truth, consciousness, and bliss. “When something tickles, that’s your soul speaking to you in the language of love, thanking you for experience,” he says. As he lays out his own personal transformation, McDonald invites listeners to begin their own journeys to find out what “tickles” them, too.

This exploration of joy and presence - experiences that tickle - lies at the heart of McDonald’s unusual, moving, and profound book.

©2021 Duff McDonald (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Mindblowingly simple - just Love.

The author circulates around and through deep subjects but brings it back to a simple truth each time.

It was just okay

The narration was good. I really enjoyed the story of the author himself coming to terms with and learning how to be more present and happy. But the book felt a bit too long and tangential. He REALLY likes Harry Potter so it’s a little weird if you don’t because he uses quotes and references like it’s a bible. I don’t feel like my purchase was wasted but definitely won’t be listening again.

Insightful and restorative

I like to thank the author in all sincerity, for having the courage to change his original book idea to writing this book, the book that needed to be written. Also to all that helped in making this book become a reality.

This book found me when I needed it the most (Now).

If you're tired of chasing the shadows of yesterday and tomorrow, always facing life like it is some sort of productivity machine, checking off task always focused on getting to the bottom of a never ending list, and or stuck in a world of numbers and trying to objectify life. Then I recommend taking the time to read or listen to the refreshing views of the author and to chew on them.

Definitely a book that is going to be on replay in my book list. Beautiful book!