The best, and also the most fun, way to heal your inner child is to play. When did we become too grown up to assemble lego sets? To watch cartoons? Who determines when you are too old? Perfect book for those who just want life to sometimes be a little less serious. It’s supposed to be fun!

Joanna Fortune is a psychotherapist and attachment specialist with decades of experience, and author of three bestsellers. Her latest book, Why We Play, utilises her decades of insights into what makes us happy, and gives advice on the benefits of play in finding joy.

Fortune presents a map to reconnecting with one's inner child and finding a more playful state of mind, but this is not just for silliness. Finding joy through play, Fortune argues, allows us to become more creative and increase our capacity for empathy.

Fortune's book provides a variety of different reflections and exercises which encourage the reader to rediscover and nurture the fun and joy of play, in order to promote mental wellbeing and build resilience. I found myself loosening up as I read the book, trying out some of the tactics that Fortune recommends, and most importantly I found that it was informative and insightful. I would recommend this concise book to anyone looking to promote joy and wellbeing in their lives.

I love self-help books that come with practical advice and exercises, and Why We Play has exactly that. Sometimes it's hard to make the leap between a concept we know we should hear -- we all need to play and play more! -- and actually putting that into practice, especially when it's something that represents a shift from how we 'normally' act. Well-written and inspiring.

This was a really helpful read. I am a busy mom with a full time job and could certainly use more play in my life. I’ll keep these ideas in mind!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It gave me a new perspective on play and I enjoyed the research the author put into the subject.

4 therapeutic stars
“Will you take a risk on risk taking?”
“Play is for life.”
Fortune is coming from a therapeutic point of view. From the publisher: “Drawing on over twenty years of neuroscientific research and clinical practice, psychotherapist Joanna Fortune has discovered that play is central to the human experience - and is the key to living a happier, joyful life. With life-changing insights, tips, and exercises, she shares her proven approach.” Fortune suggests play activities for people who did not get to play much as a child and discusses learning to self-regulate emotions through play. She poses many questions about one’s childhood and parents regarding play.

Why We Play has much to offer, but I think the title is misleading. It is more about ACTIVITIES and QUESTIONS to find joy and meaning. I wasn’t expecting so much therapy with questions about alcohol, sex, drug use, and money. What she writes is important, the activities and questions are good, but because of Fortune’s (sometimes wordy) therapeutic viewpoint, the book has a serious nature to it. “Approached playfully, boredom is a mindful experience.” In my opinion, the book tries to do too much and the casual reader could be overwhelmed. It would be an excellent introduction and resource to play therapy for students going into that field!

Fortune includes many practical ideas for creating more fun/ play in your life. Some require simple toys such as a jump rope, chalk, ball, or hula-hoop, many others are word games that require imagination, paper, and pen. The resources section at the end includes many more creative play suggestions using simple or no materials.

“I hope you have read this book as an invitation to play. I wanted to provide practical ways in which you can flex your play muscles and get play-fit again by taking a chance on a new and sometimes silly way of doing things because play is spontaneous, chaotic, messy, relational … enables mistakes and stretches us a little beyond our so-called comfort zone.”

The author’s voice was warm and encouraging, easy to understand. I think the activities would be easier to follow in a print version, where one does not have to constantly pause the narrative to mentally answer the excellent questions posed. A print version can also be highlighted easier with activities one wants to come back to.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Why We Play explains why play is still necessary for adults. It includes exercises to get some short play sessions into your life.

Even though I play video and mobile games every day, a few more ideas are always welcome. I particularly liked Scribble Art. Take a plain piece of paper and a pencil. Close your eyes and scribble for a few minutes with your non-dominant hand. Open your eyes and turn the paper 180 degrees. Try to draw a picture using your scribbles. It reminded me of seeing objects in clouds, which I haven’t done since I was a child.

Even if Scribble Art is not for you, each chapter contains several more exercises to practice having fun. Overall, Why We Play is a useful book to regenerate the playfulness and creativeness that many of us lost as we grew up. 4 stars!

Thanks to Thread Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

“Why We Play” discusses the lost art of curiosity in play as an adult, diving deep into the science behind the benefits of play for creativity, inspiration and general wonderment. I found this book at a time when I was grappling with how to have fun in my chosen field, data science, when there are so many options to explore! This book reminded me that play is meant to be fun for the fun of it! Not just for what it can lead you to learn about yourself.

Highly recommend for those who need to be reminded of the “spark” that play ignites in us.

‘Why We Play: How to find joy and meaning in everyday life’ by Joanne Fortune is published today. If like me you cringe at the phrases ‘team-building’ and ‘find your inner child’, you may shy away from books like this. It’s not easy for us when we are trained to renounce “silliness” but Psychotherapist Joanne Fortune makes a good argument to embrace wonder and curiosity, especially in our professional capacity, arguing that “play…strengthens and enhances our creativity and productivity.”

I’m still not sold on the idea that play is ‘integral’ but this book makes a good scientific case for the benefits of play, in helping us create new stories for ourselves, in relationships and in our professional lives to “exercise our play muscles.”

A lovely read full of ideas exercises to help us find much needed joy in our lives,.A book I will be gifting to friends.#netgalley #threadbooks

„Why we play“ explains why it is not only important to play in childhood and adolescence but why it is vital to stay playful as an adult. The usual attitude towards silliness as an adult is that it is only for people who don’t take themselves seriously, however, Joanna explains the benefits of a playful mindset not only for our mental health, and our resilience but also for our work life. What I like most about the book are the many exercises you can try to play, either alone or with another person. I really enjoy being silly so some of her exercises already belong to my daily routine 😅 Seeing even more ideas was very inspiring for me. The only little minus point regarding the book is that I would have wished for a more scientific approach - I love reading about studies. But I think this is just a personal preference. I would recommend this book to everyone who might feel stuck in the seriousness of life and is looking for more joy as part of their daily routine.

Interesting book with some good information. I particularly enjoyed the exercise ideas which were easy and practical.

Great reminder to remember to find the joy in everyday life. I wanted to find more depth in this book but didn’t. That could be my own personal situation right now. Lots of great tips though.

'Why we play' is a great book for adults, promoting playfulness in adults, from play expert, Joanna Fortune. Having read previous books from this author relating to the play between parents and children, I was intrigued to see what wonderful ideas Joanna would come up with for those of us who maybe feel we have left our days of play behind us! I was not disappointed!

This is a very comprehensive read with theory to help us understand the benefits of play in all our adult relationships and practices, in addition to the fun stuff - the actual activities. I have enjoyed some great belly laughs with my family thanks to this book, in addition to enjoying some more fun connections with friends.

The activities are varied, extensive and by no means costly, all that is required is an open mind!

This is a book I would 100% recommend to any adult who wants to enjoy life and live their best life.

My thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy,

The author does a tremendous job at collating scientific data and proven ways to incorporating the activity of playing and it's selubrious impact on the lives of adults. I am amazed at the writing, it did not lag or lacked any substance. Amazing!

I love reading non-fiction books and learning about new topics from expert authors, and this book definitely fits that bill. As a parent of two young children, the examples of how to think creatively about everyday experiences and things are what grabbed me the most, because I want to pass on that curiosity about the world to my kids. While the theory parts were also interesting, the play examples were my favorite parts!

Thank you to Thread Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to access this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore this book and it was a such a treat to read. Joanna Fortune is psychotherapist, passionate about play and this book is specifically about the role of play in adult lives. I can sense how passionate Joanna is about this subject from reading this book and the book digs into why it's important we have play in our lives. I feel there are so many useful tips aimed at both helping me incorporate more fun and play in my life as an adult but also as mum with mum two young daughters. I love the idea of putting together a box of sensory objects, I have found the journalling exercises really useful too. I look forward to buying this book in print and picking it up every now and again to remind myself about the importance of play.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

As a therapist working with clients with chronic pain and as someone who has suffered with chronic pain, I know how important play is to the healing process so was thrilled to read an early copy of Joanna Fortune's book.
The author begins by looking at the science of play and why it is so important to us and the role it has to play in our society moving forwards. She illustrates how important play is to our wellbeing, how it makes us more flexible, hopeful, adaptable and resilient- all these things have a positive impact on our wellbeing and our mental health. The author goes on to look at how we can change the stories we live by and how to bring more play into our relationships and the workplace.
I loved the mixture of scientific research and suggestions on how to play in this book and I feel that it's going to be a really useful reference book for me in the future. It's a very accessible read and equally good to read through or just dip into the play suggestions. There's also a helpful appendix with more suggestions for play.
As someone who personally finds the idea of play challenging I feel that the author's work has illustrated further to me the importance of play, what might be holding me back from play and how I can begin to bring it into my life in small ways that work for me.
An excellent and important book that I'd recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

“Our happiness and wellbeing are shaped by our life experiences and how we see and understand ourselves internally and in relation to other people and within the world around us.”
An excellent reference guide to how we can introduce play and fun into every aspect of our lives, including the workplace where “a curious mind is a playful mind”.
The exercises are terrific!

Why We Play: How to find joy and meaning in everyday life is book full of great play ideas for adults. The author provides all the scientific evidence and reasons why play is important for adults and the benefits it provides. But for me personally I don't need any convincing and the best bits of the book for me were all the creative play ideas for lots of fun. I loved al the suggestions (some more than others), especially the .physical ones., and I definitely love the concept of convincing adults to play more. Amazing feel good, stress relief and health benefits. The book is an easy read and will definitely put a smile on your face