Emily Falk—What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

What We Value

WHAT WE VALUE:
THE NEUROSCIENCE OF CHOICE AND CHANGE
Emily Falk
W.W. Norton & Co., April 8, 2025
Hardcover, $29.99, eBook, $14.99, Audio Book, $14.99
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1324037095
eBook ASIN: B0D8R65BG2
Audio Book ASIN: B0DSCPF8BT

Falk reports:

What We Value examines the daily decisions that define our lives.

Throughout my career, I’ve been curious about how we can work with, rather than against, our brain's default tendencies to bring our choices closer to our bigger-picture goals. As the director of Penn’s Communication Neuroscience Lab and the Climate Communication Division of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, I’ve spent more than a decade studying the brain science behind effective communication and behavior change.

Emily Falk

In this book, I share what we’ve learned, using stories and science to explore how our brains guide decisions and how thinking like a neuroscientist can open new possibilities.

I also look at how this knowledge can help us recognize opportunities for change in our own behaviors and in how we connect with others. Finally, I discuss the choices that shape our shared cultures and communities and how we connect with one another.

The stories in the book come from people across a range of sectors, from the arts to sports to business.

The best advice I received was: whenever possible, schedule at least two conversations with interviewees. This allowed me to listen fully in the first conversation and not come in with preconceived ideas about whose story fit with which science concepts. After the first interview, I put the puzzle pieces together and then checked in with the interviewees when I spoke with them again to see if the links I had made made sense to them.

I’ve been fortunate to develop this book with the thoughtful input of my co-agents, Celeste Fine, Jaidree Braddix, and Ben Kaslow-Zieve. Working with my editor, Jessica Yao at Norton, and with Katie Booth, whose coaching and edits were invaluable, helped me clarify what I wanted this book to be.

Writing this book has sparked new questions for me about how we come to understand ourselves and others and how that understanding shapes the direction we take in life. I hope readers come away with a deeper appreciation for the brain’s remarkable capacity and see new possibilities in the choices we make every day and in our shared future.

Contact info:

Emily Falk, emilybfalk@falklab.org, Falk Lab
- Linked In: Emily Falk
- Bluesky: @falklab
- Instagram: @falk_lab
Book:
- W.W. Norton: What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change
- Falk Lab: What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change
Publicist: Erin Lovett, ELovett@wwnorton.com
Agents: Celeste Fine/Ben Kaslow-Zieve, https://parkfinebrower.com/agents/

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Banner image adapted from original photo by Emily Falk.

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

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