Whether it’s anxiety about going to the doctor, boiling rage when we’re stuck in traffic, or devastation after a painful break-up, our lives are filled with situations that send us spiraling. But as difficult as our emotions can be, they are also a superpower. Far from being “good” or “bad,” emotions are information. When they’re activated in the right ways and at the right time, they function like an immune system, alerting us to our surroundings, telling us how to react to a situation, and helping us make the right choices.

But how do we make our emotions work for us rather than against us? Acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross, Ph.D. has devoted his scientific career to answering this question. In his new bestselling book Shift: Managing Your Emotions — So They Don’t Manage You, he dispels common myths—for instance, that avoidance is always toxic or that we should always strive to live in the moment—and provides a new framework for shifting our emotions so they don’t take over our lives.

Shift weaves groundbreaking research with riveting stories of people struggling and succeeding to manage their emotions—from a mother whose fear prompted her to make a spur-of-the-moment decision that would save her daughter’s life mid-flight to a nuclear code-carrying Navy SEAL who learned how to embrace both joy and pain during a hellish training activity. Kross spotlights a wide array of tools that we already have access to—in our bodies and minds, our relationships with other people, and the cultures and physical spaces we inhabit—and shows us how to harness them to be healthier and more successful.

Kross is the director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan and professor in its top ranked psychology department and Ross School of Business. His book Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why it Matters, and How to Harness It was an international bestseller.

Kross will be in conversation with Heidi Stevens, Director of External Affairs for the University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, and creative director for Parent Nation, an initiative of the TMW Center. Prior to joining Parent Nation, Stevens worked at the Chicago Tribune for 23 years, where she wrote a daily column called Balancing Act. She was awarded the Anne Keegan Award for Distinguished Journalism in 2018. Stevens maintains a nationally syndicated column once a week.

BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY of Shift at the event, while supplies last.

This event is suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded but not live streamed and will be available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.