Socrates Cafe Tokyo Meetup Group

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."
-Kahlil Gibran

What is sadness good for? How should we cope with loss, death, and goodbyes? Why do we long for "perfect" and unconditional love? Why do we like sad music? How can we transform pain into creativity, transcendence, and love?

New York Times bestselling author Susan Cain reveals the power of bittersweetness through a mix of research, storytelling, and memoir, giving a melancholic outlook on life and revealing why certain cultures have been so blind to its value. Cain recognizes a specific type of personality that does not find its energy through happiness or sanguine emotions, but rather finds the important lessons sadness has to teach us and thrives through them. From her perspective, it may not be that we actually want to avoid sadness or pain after all, nor do we necessarily want to live in a world without sorrow and longing.
Perhaps that feeling of bittersweetness is what we must learn to hear in order to understand how to finally "Go Home".

Please try to READ THE BOOK in its entirety before joining on the day. If you find out you can’t make it after all, just update your attendance. Arriving late or not finishing the book is of course OK as long as you genuinely want to be there and talk about what you read.

ー➡️To cover the cost of the venue, we will ask for 100 (a hundred) yen to join ⬅️ー

We will be discussing: "Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole" by Susan Cain

------Details of the event-----
- 1:00 PM
The venue opens. Please come directly to the Tsunohazu Civic Center (角筈地域センター). Conference Room I（会議室B）in the 7th　floor　（7階）

-1:10 PM
Depending on the number of people, we will split into small groups to start the discussion. A list with the subtitles of the book and possible questions will be provided, but feel free to start the conversation as you like.
-2:15 PM
We will share our thoughts with other groups
-2:55 PM
Let's discuss together the conclusions that we got from each other (or maybe there will be more questions than answers!)
The limit of the number of people is stipulated by the capacity of the room so we can manage the discussion better and everyone can participate and have a voice. If you are unable to attend, please change your RSVP so others can join instead.

Let's talk about Bittersweetness!

NOTE: If you are interested in attending this bookclub but you are unable to afford it due to a particular financial situation, please send a direct message to the organizer. We will figure things out :)