Lost Connections
Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—and the Unexpected Solutions
“Every human being has basic psychological needs,” says journalist Johann Hari. “And there is growing evidence that our culture isn’t meeting those psychological needs for many—perhaps most—people.” In his New York Times bestselling books and the talks drawn from them, Hari’s authentic, personal perspective is changing how we treat and what we believe about mental illness and addiction, consistently bringing audiences to their feet.
Drawing on international research and diverse studies, Johann Hari’s latest book Lost Connections proposes a simple but radical premise: as depression and anxiety rates rise around the world, maybe we need to look at the causes of mental illness beyond our own brains. His previous book, Chasing the Scream, similarly penetrated our beliefs surrounding addiction. As he persuasively shows audiences, the cure is in solving systemic problems of isolation and poverty—and working towards making people feel they belong, are valued, skilled, and with a secure future. Hari’s is a campaign of human connection.
Hari is the author of The New York Times bestselling book Chasing the Scream, the product of his four-year, 12-country, 30,000-mile journey into the war on drugs. Called “breathtaking” by The Guardian, “gripping” by The Financial Times, and “riveting” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs explores three startling truths: drugs are not what we think they are, and neither is addiction. Hari’s viral TED Talk—viewed online more than 15 million times—is a funny, fascinating, and moving look at the ways in which we turn to addiction as a response to conditions of isolation and disengagement in our lives.
Hari has written for many of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, The Nation, Slate, El Mundo, and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was a lead op-ed columnist for The Independent, one of Britain’s leading newspapers, for nine years, and was named ‘National Newspaper Journalist of the Year’ by Amnesty International twice. He was named ‘Environmental Commentator of the Year’ at the Editorial Intelligence awards, and ‘Gay Journalist of the Year’ at the Stonewall awards. He has also won the Martha Gellhorn Prize for political writing.