About the Author

Tara Cousineau, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and a parent of two teenage girls in Boston, MA. Her expertise spans child and adolescent health, women's health, mind-body medicine, the science of happiness, and the use of innovative technologies to promote positive coping and well-being. As a social entrepreneur, Cousineau is the founder of BodiMojo, a health communications company that develops empowerment and wellness tools for youth. She is a recipient of numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health's Small Business Innovative Research Program. Her research and work has appeared in peer reviewed scientific journals.

Cousineau served as a global advisor to the Dove Self-Esteem Project with the social mission to improve girl's body confidence and self-esteem. She contributes to several blogs including The Huffington Post and her own websites: bodimojo.com and taracousineau.com. She has been quoted in Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Brides, Seventeen, Dove's Self-Esteem Project website, and Savvy Auntie.

Reviews

"A lovely book, replete with simple kindness and full of reminders of how to enjoy and embody a kindful life."
--Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart--Jack Kornfield

"For many years, Tara Cousineau has shared her message about the power of kindness and compassion to lift others out of the distress and despair of everyday living: from daily hassles to wrestling with inner feelings of low self-worth, and sense of disconnection. Putting her message into a book about our innate ability to care and be kind, and how to nurture this capacity, is timely and much needed. I, for one, would welcome it as a resource for clients and colleagues."
--Nancy Etcoff, PhD, author of Survival of the Prettiest, and assistant clinical professor and psychologist at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry--Nancy Etcoff, PhD

"Grounded in solid research, this book is heartfelt, funny, and so helpful, with tons of practical suggestions and effective tools. Sharp, insightful, and right to the point, Tara Cousineau shows us how live from a strong heart. Highly recommended."
--Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Hardwiring Happiness--Rick Hanson, PhD

"If there were a single practice capable of transforming person and planet, it would be kindness. If you were to read a single book on kindness, let it be this one. Blending her expertise in psychology with her deep life experiences, Tara Cousineau offers you a path for cultivating kindness within and without."
--Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness--Rabbi Rami Shapiro

"In her warm and wise voice, Tara Cousineau reminds us that beneath our often frenzied and distracted lives, kindness is at the heart of our being. Even with the practice of mindfulness, life is difficult for everyone. Kindness is an action we can perform in almost every moment; it connects us to others and brightens all our lives."
--Susan M. Pollak, coauthor of Sitting Together, and president of The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy--Susan M. Pollak

"Kindness truly connects people across their differences, and is the key ingredient in social change which this book beautifully demonstrates. Through a research lens, Cousineau takes us on a journey that is witty, relatable, and encouraging. It's a practical guide to understanding just how much kindness can reshape our world for the better. A must-read."
--Jaclyn Lindsey, cofounder and CEO of www.kindness.org--Jaclyn Lindsey

"Our world is hungry for kindness, and I know Tara Cousineau as someone who is dedicated to inviting more kindness, compassion, and understanding through her writing. I highly recommend The Kindness Cure for the wisdom it contains."
--Donald Altman, author of 101 Mindful Ways to Build Resilience, The Mindfulness Toolbox, and One-Minute Mindfulness--Donald Altman

"Tara Cousineau has created a groundbreaking, beautifully written book on kindness. It is a forgotten concept, but one which is vital for our health and well-being, especially in the times we live in now. This important book contains up-to-date, scientifically-based information and effective strategies for incorporating or reintroducing kindness into our lives, with enough personal and patient anecdotes to keep the reader interested and motivated. Even though I have been a therapist for thirty years and thought I knew a bit about kindness, reading this book truly challenged me to create more ways to incorporate more into my life, with my patients, my family and friends, and myself."
--Alice Domar, PhD, coauthor of Live a Little! (with Susan Love, MD), Be Happy Without Being Perfect, and Self-Nurture--Alice Domar, PhD

"This is a wonderful book that focuses on kindness, bringing in work from a variety of different disciplines. If you want to learn to bring more kindness into your life, this book is a good place to start."
--Kristin Neff, author of Self-Compassion, and associate professor in the department of educational psychology at The University of Texas at Austin--Kristin Neff

"Using practical techniques supported by research, Tara offers simple yet powerful exercises that reconnect us to qualities of compassion and kindness, and in the process, incline our minds and hearts to dwell in these states more naturally. The Kindness Cure gives us carefully considered, warmly delivered keys to a deeper experience of kindness and connectedness."
--Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness and Real Love--Sharon Salzberg

"We have chased personal success and happiness to the point of exhaustion. No matter how much we achieve or acquire, we come up empty, lonely, bereft. In short, we are in need of a cure. But, as Tara Cousineau so elegantly and thoroughly reminds us, our medicine is in our DNA. We are wired for caring, connection, and compassion. Read The Kindness Cure;and pass it on. Let the 'infection of kindness' begin!"
--Janet Conner, author of Writing Down Your Soul, The Lotus and The Lily, Find Your Soul's Purpose, and more--Janet Conner