You're a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass): Embracing the Emotions, Habits, and Mystery That Make You You

Mike McHargue

Apr 2020 · Sold by Convergent Books

About this ebook

“Holding brain science in one hand and rich emotional presence in the other, this book feels timely and necessary.”—Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect

Why is there such a gap between what you want to do and what you actually do? The host of Ask Science Mike explains why our desires and our real lives are so wildly different—and what you can do to close the gap.

For thousands of years, scientists, philosophers, and self-help gurus have wrestled with one of the basic conundrums of human life: Why do we do the things we do? Or, rather, why do we so often not do the things we want to do? As a podcast host whose voice goes out to millions each month, Mike McHargue gets countless emails from people seeking to understand their own misbehavior—why we binge on Netflix when we know taking a walk outside would be better for us, or why we argue politics on Facebook when our real friends live just down the street. Everyone wants to be a good person, but few of us, twenty years into the new millennium, have any idea how to do that.

In You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass), McHargue addresses these issues. We like to think we’re in control of our thoughts and decisions, he writes, but science has shown that a host of competing impulses, emotions, and environmental factors are at play in every action we undertake. Touching on his podcast listeners’ most pressing questions, from relationships and ethics to stress and mental health, and sharing some of the biggest triumphs and hardships from his own life, McHargue shows us how some of our qualities that seem most frustrating—including “negative” emotions like sadness, anger, and anxiety—are actually key to helping humans survive and thrive. In doing so, he invites us on a path of self-understanding and, ultimately, self-acceptance.

You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) is a guided tour through the mystery of human consciousness, showing readers how to live more at peace with themselves in a complex world.

Ratings and reviews

Science Mike is, as always, extremely insightful and relatable. He has a way of connecting you, the audience, to complex ideas and concepts not just on an intellectual level, but on an emotional and (dare I say) spiritual level as well. This book takes a very scientific approach to the workings of the brain and the body, and applies it to humanity and the individual. It does so in a way that personally increased my knowledge and understanding of myself and humanity as a whole, but also helped me to see the beauty in it all. Any book that can do that is a miracle in and of itself!

it is good to see a balance of humor, thoughtfulness and science.

great read and learnt so much about myself

About the author

Mike McHargue, also known as “Science Mike,” is the host or co-host of two podcasts, Ask Science Mike and The Liturgists Podcast, which have attracted a curious following among Christians, the spiritually interested, and the religiously unaffiliated. He is the author of Finding God in the Waves, and his work has been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Huffington Post, and on All Things Considered. Mike is an in-demand speaker who appears all over the world—including recent stops at Google and MIT.