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Marc Brackett wants to give you permission to feel

Marc Brackett is no stranger to the importance of emotional, social, and mental health. As the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University, his life’s work and research is dedicated to the role of emotional intelligence in learning, decision making, relationship building, and mental health. Pairing his passion for child development and expertise in emotional intelligence, his book Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive is a comprehensive guide to the social and emotional learning our youth need to succeed in the modern world.

For this reason, Permission to Feel was a standout choice and our 2019 Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award winner in the Health & Wellness category. The BookPal team sat down with Marc to dive into the deeper impact of the book and his mission.

“My hope is to create an ‘emotion revolution’ in our nation’s schools and workplaces.”

In a world where connections are so often made through screens and digital learning is on the rise, it is crucial to identify and express emotions in an effective way. Permission to Feel is the powerful roadmap every parent, manager, and educator needs to adapt the best ways to educate and communicate with our children, ourselves, and our colleagues. Marc’s clear methods teach readers to better assign language and labels to the emotions they feel, creating a foundational well from which their mental, social, and emotional wellness can spring and thrive.

When asked what it’s been like since publishing Permission to Feel, Marc stated that the biggest wins have been “the feedback from readers about how helpful it’s been for them as parents, workers, and partners...I’ve been blessed with a very positive response [including] emails thanking me for opening people’s eyes to the value of emotions.”

Marc spent 25 years researching and developing the RULER method outlined in the book. Combining five key skills—Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotions—he designed his approach to reach far and wide, applicable to classrooms and individuals comprised of students of all ages and stages. By training teachers, educators, librarians, principals, counselors, and school staff about the importance of emotional intelligence, Marc hopes to help students and educators achieve greater outcomes in school, in work, and in life. To date, RULER has been adopted by over 2,000 schools across the globe, touching the lives of more than 1,000,000 students.

Marc continues to spread his message and connect with schools, organizations, and families, stating, “My goal is to focus on making this book available to the widest possible audience.” Meanwhile, we look forward to watching the book continue impacting schools, organizations, and homes around the world. Permission to Feel is a powerful resource and tool for families, classrooms, organizations, and those seeking peak performance and healthier relationships. It is truly an Outstanding Work of Literature, and we’re thrilled to share it and be bettered by it.

To learn more about our OWL Award Winners, click here. For more details on Marc Brackett’s book or to order Permission to Feel in bulk for your business, community, school, or organization, visit our online store.