Rapt : attention and the focused life / Winifred Gallagher.

Author: Gallagher, Winifred.

Publisher: New York : Penguin Books, 2010, c2009.

ISBN: 9780143116905 (pbk.)
0143116908 (pbk.)

Description: 244 p. ; 22 cm.

Subject: Attention.

Notes: Originally published: New York : Penguin Press, 2009.

Contents: Pay attention: your life depends on it -- Inside out: feelings frame focus -- Outside in: what you see is what you get -- Nature: born to focus -- Nurture: this is your brain on attention -- Relationships: attending to different worlds -- Productivity: work zone -- Decisions: focusing illusions -- Creativity: an eye for detail -- Focus interruptus -- Disordered attention -- Motivation: eyes on the prize -- Health: energy goes where attention flows -- Meaning: attending to what matters most.

Summary: Acclaimed behavioral science writer Gallagher makes the radical argument that the quality of a life largely depends on what and how one chooses to pay attention. "Rapt" yields fresh insights into the nature of reality and what it means to be fully alive.