Permission to Feel

By Marc Brackett

Title: Permission to Feel

Author: Marc Brackett

ISBN: 9781250212849

ON SALE: 09/03/2019

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ISBN: 9781250212849

Book cover of 'permission to feel' by marc brackett, emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence with endorsements by brené brown and practical, tactical.

The mental well-being of children and adults is shockingly poor. Marc Brackett, author of Permission to Feel, knows why. And he knows what we can do.
"We have a crisis on our hands, and its victims are our children."

Marc Brackett is a professor in Yale University’s Child Study Center and founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. In his 25 years as an emotion scientist, he has developed a remarkably effective plan to improve the lives of children and adults – a blueprint for understanding our emotions and using them wisely so that they help, rather than hinder, our success and well-being. The core of his approach is a legacy from his childhood, from an astute uncle who gave him permission to feel. He was the first adult who managed to see Marc, listen to him, and recognize the suffering, bullying, and abuse he’d endured. And that was the beginning of Marc’s awareness that what he was going through was temporary. He wasn’t alone, he wasn’t stuck on a timeline, and he wasn’t “wrong” to feel scared, isolated, and angry. Now, best of all, he could do something about it.

In the decades since, Marc has led large research teams and raised tens of millions of dollars to investigate the roots of emotional well-being. His prescription for healthy children (and their parents, teachers, and schools) is a system called RULER, a high-impact and fast-effect approach to understanding and mastering emotions that has already transformed the thousands of schools that have adopted it. RULER has been proven to reduce stress and burnout, improve school climate, and enhance academic achievement. This book is the culmination of Marc’s development of RULER and his way to share the strategies and skills with readers around the world. It is tested, and it works.

This book combines rigor, science, passion and inspiration in equal parts. Too many children and adults are suffering; they are ashamed of their feelings and emotionally unskilled, but they don’t have to be. Marc Brackett’s life mission is to reverse this course, and this book can show you how.

ISBN: 9781250212832

ISBN: 9781250212825

ISBN: 9781250242594

The mental wellbeing of children and adults is shockingly poor. Marc Brackett, author of PERMISSION TO FEEL, knows why. And he knows what we can do.

“We have a crisis on our hands, and its victims are our children.”

In the decades since, Marc has led large research teams and raised tens of millions of dollars to investigate the roots of emotional well being. His prescription for healthy children (and their parents, teachers, and schools) is a system called RULER, a high-impact and fast-effect approach to understanding and mastering emotions that has already transformed the thousands of schools that have adopted it. RULER has been proven to reduce stress and burnout, improve school climate, and enhance academic achievement. This book is the culmination of Marc’s development of RULER and his way to share the strategies and skills with readers around the world. It is tested, and it works.

A confident professional man wearing glasses and a stylish checkered blazer over a light blue shirt, with a blurred background suggesting an urban setting.

Marc Brackett

Marc Brackett, Ph.D., is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University, and the author of the bestselling book Permission to Feel. March is the lead developer of RULER, an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that has been adopted by more than five thousand schools around the globe, and is the author of more than two hundred scholarly publications. He has been featured in many prominent media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Good Morning America, Today, and the Huberman Lab podcast, and has been the keynote speaker at more than seven hundred conferences around the world, including ones hosted by the White House, The New York Times, and the Aspen Institute. Marc regularly consults with Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft on best practices for integrating the principles of emotional intelligence into the workplace. In 2022, with Pinterest cofounder Ben Silbermann, Marc and his team cocreated HowWeFeel, a free award-winning Apple app designed to teach emotion skills and cultivate emotional well-being. In 2024, he launched the YouTube webcast Dealing with Feelings. Marc lives in Connecticut and New York City.

Praise for Marc Brackett

"In business, we are often pressured to withhold or suppress emotions, ultimately creating toxic environments and interpersonal conflict. In Permission to Feel, Marc Brackett teaches essential skills and tools for bringing our best selves forward. The results? Enhanced personal and professional outcomes, and healthier and more engaging workplaces. A must-read for every entrepreneur and their investors."

Deborah Quazzo

Managing Partner GSV AcceleraTE Fund

“There is a dire need to cultivate social and emotional skills in our nation’s youth. That starts with cultivating emotional intelligence in everyone involved in the education of children. Permission to Feel lays a framework for what adults need to learn in order to support children―and themselves―in achieving academic and life success.”

Carmen Fariña

Chancellor Emeritus, New York City Department of Education

“This book is groundbreaking, eye opening, practical, and perhaps even life changing. Weaving together powerful stories and provocative research, Marc Brackett brilliantly conveys how social and emotional skills can improve the quality of our lives, relationships, and work. With compassion, humor, and wisdom Brackett shares perspectives that challenge us all to be better people.”

Roger Weissberg

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago; Chief Knowledge Officer, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

“I love this book! Marc Brackett has inspired me to be more open; taught me how to become an emotion scientist; and given me the tools to heal wounds in my own life. Permission To Feel is raw, insightful, accessible, and in the end, empowering.”

Timothy Shriver

Chairman, Special Olympics

"A compelling and complete journey that delivers on its promise of giving us permission to feel. Marc Brackett shows us that emotional intelligence is not a gift but a skill―one that we can all learn, and benefit from immensely."

Angela Duckworth

Author of Grit, CEO, Character Lab, and Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania

"Permission to Feel is a deeply insightful and compelling examination of one of the most important but ignored dimensions of the human experience. In his honest, funny, and illuminating way, Marc Brackett helps us to understand how emotions influence our health, performance, and overall well-being, and how we can leverage their power to transform our lives.”

Vivek Murthy

MD, MBA. 19th Surgeon General of the United States