51 pages • 1 hour read
Arianna HuffingtonThrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Epilogue Summary
In a brief epilogue spanning two and a half pages, Huffington reminds her readers that she has included all of her pillars of “Third Metric” living because of the scientifically rooted benefits that they offer. Huffington also references her commencement speech she delivered at Smith college to the class of 2013. As she did in her address, Huffington encourages her readers to begin changing their lives anywhere, hoping that the tools, stories, and insights she offers will provide everyone with ways to “get back on track” (260) and find their “place to stand–your place of wisdom and peace and strength” (261) so that they can thrive. “Onward, upward, and inward!” Huffington proclaims as her final words (261).
Epilogue Analysis
By returning to her Smith College commencement address, which Huffington first mentioned in the introduction as an impetus for writing Thrive, Huffington completes a ring structure for her book. She also underscores one of her key claims: “Third Metric” success is accessible to anyone and that one can start anywhere (260). The final paragraph of Thrive is one of her most direct and exhortatory excerpts in the entire book, composed entirely in imperatives, or commands: “find your place;” “remake the world;” “onward, upward, and inward!” Her final tricolon underscores that that thriving is a journey, not a destination, and that requires both persistence and introspection.
