On my monitor at work is a quote from Diderot: “Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.” In Exuberance: The Passion for Life, Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychology and MacArthur fellow, explores and even celebrates the our capacity for play, passion and enthusiasm.
And what a ride it is! She looks at playful and celebratory behaviors in other animals, examining the possible evolutionary benefits of risk-taking and the chemical and hormonal rewards for discovery and learning. Her exuberant subjects include Snoopy, Tigger, Mr. Toad, Teddy Roosevelt, Richard Feynman, Louis Armstrong, Jane Goodall and many others from history, fiction, and personal interviews. She even warns us of the potential dangers, the rocks and shoals of the bounding waves:
Champagne enchants, but it also intoxicates more quickly than stiller wines: heed glides into heedlessness as effortlessly as the silk chemise drops to the floor.
I learned much about my own passions and obsessions (and feel a bit less guilty about them), and after reading Exuberance I feel like I understand some of those unique, absorbed, adventurous individuals who have crossed my path (you know who you are!).
This is no dry science text. Jamison invites us to sip champagne, shoot off fireworks, and celebrate with her in the passionate experience of humanity.
2 responses so far ↓
1 J // Feb 14, 2006 at 7:00 pm
I have to add my voice to the chorus in praise of this book. It’s a good read!
More than anything, I think it helped me to understand myself. I am pretty high on the exuberance scale, and I often have a hard time dealing with people who don’t understand/tolerate that.
I’m not saying I’m another TR (and who would want another one of those!), only that I move through life with great passion(s), and the pursuit of such is what makes me get out of bed in the morning. I have little patience with mundanity or conformity….
2 amelia // Feb 15, 2006 at 7:31 pm
i’ve started this book but haven’t finished it yet. curse the reading load of being an english grad student. or maybe i should curse my inability to read faster.
if you haven’t read her book _An Unquiet Mind_ you really should. it was really beautifully written. Jamison herself suffers from manic-depressive disorder (or is it called bipolar these days? i can’t keep it straight) and _An Unquite Mind_ is her treatment of that disease. she has a unique perspective in that she not only is manic-depressive but is also a psychiatrist. it’s well worth reading.
i’m looking forward to picking up _exuberance_ again.
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