The best listens for cultivating gratitude at any time of year

When life gets hectic and hard, it's easier said than done to pay attention to what brings us joy. And yet that's exactly what acclaimed poet Ross Gay did in his bestselling series of lyrical essays, The Book of Delights. In his 2023 follow-up, The Book of (More) Delights, Gay presents another treasured chronicle of daily wonders, again documented over the course of a year. Research shows that when we actively appreciate the positive experiences and people in our lives, we also experience a lasting increase in our own happiness. As Gay explores everything from hummingbirds and sweet potatoes to the elaborate cookies his mother baked for her grandkids, let his exquisite reflections be a roadmap to finding ways to your own gratitude.

It’s easy to be thankful when things are going well, but what about when life isn't going so smoothly? Where do we find our gratitude then? In Gratitude: The Essential Practice for Happiness and Fulfillment, cultural anthropologist and educator Angeles Arrien gives listeners insight into how to cultivate gratitude so that it becomes a natural part of everyday life. In this listen, Arrien draws from social science research, along with stories, prayers, insights, and practices from cultures and traditions spanning the world. Showing how recent studies have proven that daily gratitude can change your life for the better, she invites you to explore: how to overcome envy and comparison, the best practices for remaining grateful. meditation, and more. Arrien’s narration of her own audiobook is inspiring and comforting.

Social scientist Brené Brown has inspired millions of people with her self-development wisdom. In this listen, Brown focuses on embracing imperfections and learning how to be thankful for the aspects of ourselves we might have previously seen as shortcomings. Rather than simply talking about it, Brown makes this attainable by creating actionable guideposts that can lead to wholehearted living. The Gifts of Imperfection has sold more than two million copies in 35 different languages across the globe. This 10th anniversary edition features a new forward and the audiobook is read by the author.

Less of a self-help guide, Gratitude in Low Voices is an inspiring memoir following the author’s own personal journey to gratitude. Dawit Gebremichael Habte has experienced a lot of trauma in his life. As a teenager, he was forced to flee his home country of Eritrea. During the Eritrean-Ethiopian war, he and his sisters immigrated to nearby Kenya. They had nothing. No parents. No documents to help their passage. No money. And yet Dawit refused to give up hope. Keeping a positive outlook helped Dawit focus on studying, and he was later accepted to Johns Hopkins University. He eventually got a job as a software engineer at Bloomberg, and later he was able to return to his hometown to help other Eritreans find business opportunities. In spite of all Dawit experienced in his lifetime, his positivity and his gratitude helped him stay focused on building a life for himself and helping others. Allow his story, as narrated by Benjamin Alfred Onyango Ochieng, to inspire your own journey towards gratitude in the face of uncertainty.

All of these audiobooks on this list discuss how gratitude and positivity can lead to life-changing events, but how does it really work? What is the science behind it? In The Science of Positivity, neurochemical expert Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD, teaches you the scientific benefits of positivity and optimism. Then she gives you the tools to find that positivity for yourself. In just minutes a day for six weeks, this listen will help you build new pathways to seeing the world in different ways and shift your thinking to a rewarding sense of optimism. Narrator Amanda Carlin narrates the audiobook in a style that makes the information relatable and easy to understand.

Wonderfully immersive, this audiobook is a truly unique experience. In The Wisdom of Sundays, Oprah Winfrey offers up steps to live your life with more gratitude for the world around you and a wide-open heart. In each of the 10 chapters in this listen, Oprah focuses on one powerful step in her own spiritual journey. Every step features personal essays and powerfully inspirational interviews with visionaries such as Gary Zukav, John Kabat-Zinn, Bryan Stevenson, and Caroline Myss.

We now know that positivity can have lasting effects on every aspect of your health. In fact, studies show that people with a positive mindset live, on average, about 7.5 years longer than those without. So for those of us who are a bit more cynical and negative, how do we turn it around and show more authentic gratitude for the world around us? In The Positive Shift: Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity, Dr. Catherine Sanderson looks at the scientific reasons behind how positive mindsets have a lasting effect on our psychological and physical health. Then she pulls from cutting-edge research in psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, along from real-world examples, to give listeners practical advice for how to change their thought patterns. Some of the positive behaviors Sanderson lists are: appreciating nature, volunteering, spending more money on experiences rather than things, and many more.

When Nicole Avant learned her mom had been shot during the night, she did something her mother taught her—set the tone for the day by doing the right thing. In that moment, the right thing was to care, by feeding the dogs before she went to the hospital where her mother would later die. This touching, inspiring memoir pays homage to diplomat, filmmaker, and philanthropist Nicole Avant's extraordinary parents while teaching listeners something more universal: how to move forward through grief through relentless optimism, grit, and gratitude.

Oge Mora’s children’s audiobook is a heartwarming story of community and sharing that will have young listeners thinking about gratitude in their own lives. Omu’s stew smells like heaven, and everyone in the neighborhood dreams of it. As neighbor’s come by one-by-one to get a taste, Omu generously gives out her stew a little at a time until she realizes she has none left. Was Omu so concerned about feeding others that she forgot to leave some food for herself? Oge Mora’s charming story is inspired by the strong women in her life, so this listen is her version of a thank-you letter.

Eileen Spinelli’s Thankful is a story about practicing thankfulness by paying attention to all of the wonderful things all kinds of people do for one another each and every day. This listen reminds listeners, both young and old, of the many blessings of everyday life. Narrator Ben Holland captures the gentleness of the story, as well as its delightful rhythm and rhymes, in his performance.