Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole

by Susan Cain

If you want to experience Keltner’s findings viscerally, watch this brilliant four-minute video that went unexpectedly viral: youtube.com/​watch?v=cDDWvj_q-o8. Produced by the Cleveland Clinic as part of a campaign to instill empathy in its caregivers, the video takes you on a short walk through the hospital corridors, the camera lingering on the faces of random passersby, people we’d normally walk past without giving a second thought—except that this time there are subtitles telling us their unseen trials (and occasional triumphs): “Tumor is malignant.” “Husband is terminally ill.” “Visiting Dad for the last time.” “Recently divorced.” And: “Just found out he’s going to be a dad.”