Cringeworthy

A stunningly captivating, clever, and comical look at why social discomfort haunts us long beyond our teenage years. This book didn’t just help me make sense of my most awkward moments. It liberated me from feeling embarrassed by them. Well, most of them. – Adam Grant, author of GIVE AND TAKE and ORIGINALS
Melissa Dahl provides a fascinating (and often hilarious) examination of the underdiscussed feeling of awkwardness. Her practical, penetrating insights reveal that understanding what’s ‘cringeworthy’ can help us understand ourselves better–and create happier lives. – Gretchen Rubin, author of THE HAPPINESS PROJECT
In this deeply researched and frequently hilarious book, Melissa Dahl shows that our capacity for cringing with embarrassment—at our own ineptness or other people’s—is no mere psychological oddity. Her surprisingly uplifting message: through understanding awkwardness, we can learn to find more joy in the fundamental absurdity of being human. – Oliver Burkeman, author of THE ANTIDOTE
For anyone who’s ever felt awkward in a social situation (so, all of us), Melissa Dahl’s Cringeworthy is required reading. Dahl offers a thoughtful, original take on what it really means to feel awkward and how to handle them. A way to socialise better, without embarrassment? Sign us up. * Sunday Times *
This lively study explains how embracing embarrassing conversations or exposing situations can improve your life. Dahl is exceptionally good at describing emotions and the visceral physical sensations that often accompany them … pertinent and penetrating. – Katy Guest * The Guardian *
Dahl focuses largely on the nature of embarrassment, in exquisite but accessible detail, providing a brilliantly insightful look at what the perceptions of others do to us on a fundamental level. Having it on your shelves would be nothing to be embarrassed about. – Dean Burnett * The Guardian *
Cringeworthy unearths all the reasons we wince, flinch, and recoil, and offers emboldening advice for how to take them on. Awkwardness has never been so delightful. – Bianca Bosker, author of CORK DORK
Cringeworthy breaks down the psychological research of why we feel awkward in certain situations, and whether we can get over that burning, uncomfortable sensation of having done something extraordinarily embarrassing or just simply goofing up. There’s a certain joy in realizing that we’re all a little klutzy, a little tongue-tied, a little embarrassing sometimes—and that’s perfectly OK. * The Daily Beast *
From inappropriate air kisses to one-sided conversations, our awkward moments remind us how much we have in common. – Oliver Burkeman * The Guardian *
A must-read for everyone who’s struggled with awkwardness, in high school and beyond. * Inc. *

Melissa Dahl is a senior editor for New York’s The Cut, where she covers health and psychology. In 2014, she co-founded NYMag.com’s popular social science site Science of Us. Her work has appeared in Elle, Parents and TODAY.com. Cringeworthy is her first book.

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