The Art and Science of Connection

Kasley Killam has had a lifelong passion for helping people build social connection and in THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CONNECTION, she turns her research and wisdom into a manual to help you find your people! – Emma Seppälä, Yale lecturer and bestselling author of SOVEREIGN and THE HAPPINESS TRACKAs a buttoned-up Brit I thought I would hate this book for its upfront approach to reaching out. I loved it! This inspiring read wakes us up with new concepts - social health, social muscles, social fitness gyms - which may seem strange at first but are profound, practical, and urgently needed by us all – Paul Cann, Chief Executive Officer, Global Initiative on Loneliness and ConnectionA riveting blend of science and story that will teach you countless innovative ways to build a greater community for yourself and others. A culture-changing book – Marisa Franco, author of PLATONICIn this important book, Killam does something new and significant by adding the concept of social health to our current focus on physical and mental health. She shows us how connections and community are an essential aspect of health – Thomas Insel, Former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and author of HEALINGSocial connections are the key to sustainable flourishing in an uncertain and changing world. Killam not only accurately diagnoses our human need for connection, but also offers concrete solutions for creating better conditions for global social health so that we can flourish together – Robert Emmons, Editor-in-Chief of THE JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, author of THANKS!This book is a much-needed corrective for humanity’s trajectory, guiding us from overemphasis on selfhood toward a socially healthy future. THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CONNECTION offers clear insights from research and practical strategies for strengthening bonds throughout the lifecourse. For leaders in positions to shape policy, this book is a catalyst for initiatives that will advance progress, innovation, and world peace – Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Science Director at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science CenterTHE ART AND SCIENCE OF CONNECTION is more than a book. It’s a call to action for our times, reminding us to nurture what is at the heart of human existence and that we should value most: our relationships with one another. In an age of loneliness, dislocation, discrimination, and division, Kasley Killam has articulated something we all intrinsically understand, but which increasingly few of us practice: that sharing time, experiences, and community is what life is about. Most impressively, Killam brings together decades of research, science, and learning into an elegant phrase and accessible prose that will rally people to the universal cause of how we all inhabit this world together, and how we do so meaningfully. And, perhaps most importantly, she provides inspiring examples of what good connection looks like - and practical tools to help us all feel part of our changing world, rather than left behind by it. I hope leaders, neighbours, community members, and individuals everywhere will read and learn from this book, and pass its lessons down the generations – Alex Smith, Founder of The Cares Family and Obama Fellow

Kasley Killam, MPH, is a leading expert in social health and author of The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier. As a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health, sought-after advisor and keynote speaker, and founder of Social Health Labs, Killam has been improving global well-being through connection for over a decade. Her collaborations with organizations like Google, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the World Economic Forum contribute to building more socially healthy products, workplaces, and communities. Killam’s insights can be found in outlets such as The New York Times, NPR, Scientific American, Psychology Today, and The Washington Post.