Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy by Duffy, Chris

From a comedian and host of hit TED podcast, How to Be a Better Human, a hilarious and enlightening guide to laughing your way into a fuller life

"Warning: this book may cause repeated smiling. It's a delightful read about how we can bring more levity into our lives." --Adam Grant, author of Hidden Potential and Think Again

In his days as an exhausted fifth grade teacher, Chris Duffy taught the funniest person he's ever met: eleven-year-old Gary. Gary was the school newspaper's official food critic, blasting cafeteria pizza for looking like cardboard and opining that the baked beans weren't "beany" enough. These days, Duffy is a professional comedy writer and the host of a podcast with millions of listeners, but he's never forgotten the transformative joy of laughing with Gary during a bleak Boston winter. In Humor Me, he shares a road map for how to cultivate and strengthen a sense of humor in a challenging world.

Duffy embarks on a journey that takes him from comedy clubs to emergency rooms to a helicopter full of Navy SEALs and back to his own keyboard to reveal how--and why--a good laugh can bring us closer to the good life. Drawing on personal stories, insights from the social sciences, and the wisdom of comedians, Duffy offers practical strategies, including:

• How to hone the art of noticing, finding humor in the most unlikely places
• Why you should take social risks (to build connection through humor!)
• How to apply the comedy secret that laughs come in threes.

Humor Me promises to deepen your friendships, enhance your creativity, and lighten life's burdens, and is a genuinely funny read along the way.

Author: Chris Duffy
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Published: 01/06/2026
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.36h x 5.60w x 1.19d
ISBN: 9780385550680

Review Citation(s):
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2026
Booklist 11/01/2025
Publishers Weekly 11/10/2025

About the Author
CHRIS DUFFY is a stand-up comedian who has worked as a television writer (Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas on HBO, National Geographic Explorer) and is currently host of TED's hit podcast How to Be a Better Human, winner of the 2025 Webby Award for Advice & How-To Podcasts. He has appeared on Good Morning America, ABC News, and NPR.