Discussing Bittersweet Music and Favorite Songs

As we enjoy the final swing of summer, we’re sharing one of our most memorable episodes. 

What is the feeling you get when a sad, familiar song tugs at you? Or the exquisite pain that comes with the awareness of passing time and loves lost? Best-selling author Susan Cain identifies the simultaneous mixture of joy and sorrow in life as “bittersweetness.” In this conversation with the Surgeon General, we learn about harnessing the forces of sadness and grief as ways of connecting. Light and dark, birth and death, the bitter and sweet are forever paired. Accepting this balance can bring comfort and solace to the experience of loss, which Cain sees as part of life's journey. Join in to understand how we can transform pain into beauty and longing into belonging.  

(05:22)  Humans don’t like feeling sad. But joy and sorrow are forever paired.  

(11:34)  Compassion is to suffer with someone  

(16:21)  How effortless perfection keep us from sharing our struggles  

(21:06)  Our need for beauty   

(25:40)  Dr. Murthy’s son joins the conversation!  

(26:14)  Grief isn’t a detour; it’s part of the main road  

(31:56)  Moving On vs Moving Forward  

(39:45)  Helping kids with loss & disappointment (with the help of a couple donkeys)  

(46:12)  The story of the Shards of Glass  

(55:36)  Playlist favorites, laughs, and what gives Susan hope 

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a note at housecalls@hhs.gov with your feedback & ideas. 

Susan Cain, Author and Speaker 

Twitter: @susancain 

Instagram: @susancainauthor 

Facebook: @authorsusancain 

About Susan Cain  

SUSAN CAIN is the #1 bestselling author of “Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole” and “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” which has been translated into 40 languages, spent eight years on The New York Times best seller list, and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine, which also named Cain one of its Most Creative People in Business.  

LinkedIn named her the Top 6th Influencer in the World, just behind Richard Branson and Melinda French Gates. Susan partners with Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant and Dan Pink to curate the Next Big Idea Book Club. They donate all their proceeds to children’s literacy programs.  

Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. Her TED talks on the power of introverts and the hidden power of sad songs and rainy days have been viewed over 40 million times.  

Cain has also spoken at Google, PIXAR, the U.S. Treasury, P&G, Harvard, and West Point. She received Harvard Law School’s Celebration Award for Thought Leadership, the Toastmasters International Golden Gavel Award for Communication and Leadership, and was named one of the world’s top 50 Leadership and Management Experts by Inc. Magazine. She is an honors graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School. She lives in the Hudson River Valley with her husband, two sons and golden doodle, Sophie. Visit Susan at susancain.net.