THE OTHER SIDE OF CHANGE By MAYA SHANKAR

Change rarely arrives with warning. A relationship ends, a diagnosis alters everything, a job disappears, and suddenly, life as we knew it no longer exists.

In The Other Side of Change, renowned cognitive scientist and podcast host Maya Shankar offers a revelatory exploration of what truly happens to us when our plans fall apart, and how those moments can quietly transform us.

Blending cutting-edge cognitive science with intimate, deeply human stories, Shankar examines how people navigate profound disruption and uncover unexpected strengths along the way. Drawing from her own experience with unwanted change, she seeks out individuals who have faced life-altering upheaval, weaving their stories with scientific insight to reveal universal truths about resilience, identity, and meaning.

Rather than viewing upheaval as something to simply endure, The Other Side of Change reframes uncertainty as a powerful catalyst for inner transformation. Shankar shows how being thrust into a new reality can reshape our values, expand our perspectives, and help us reimagine who we can become on the other side.

Wise, compassionate, and urgently relevant, the book speaks to anyone processing loss, navigating transition, or standing on the edge of change.

Why Maya Shankar, Why Now

Beyond the book, Maya Shankar’s own life reads like a masterclass in reinvention. A former senior policy advisor in the Obama White House, founder of the U.S. government’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Team, and the first behavioral science advisor to the United Nations, Shankar has spent her career applying science to real-world human behaviour. Her podcast A Slight Change of Plans was named “Best Show of the Year” by Apple, and her work has been featured by The New Yorker, NPR, CBS Mornings, Today, and National Geographic’s Limitless with Chris Hemsworth.

A Rhodes Scholar with degrees from Yale and Oxford, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford, and a former violin student of Itzhak Perlman at Juilliard, Shankar brings a rare blend of intellectual authority, cultural fluency, and emotional insight, making her an exceptional voice for long-form profiles, in-depth interviews, and wide-reaching conversations.

About The Author

Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist, storyteller, and creator of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans. She served as a senior policy advisor in the Obama White House, where she founded and chaired the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team, and was later appointed the first behavioral science advisor to the United Nations. She holds a BA from Yale, a PhD from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience at Stanford. She has been profiled by The New Yorker and featured across leading television, radio, and digital platforms.