Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From—and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them

by Anu Gupta

For readers of Caste and How to Be an Antiracist, a page-turning deep-dive into how bias is learned—plus a strikingly original and highly effective set of tools to un-learn it.Imagine a world without bias. A world where all human beings can truly be just as they are and unleash their full potential.Take a moment to imagine how you feel in such a world—not what you think about it, or whether you believe it's possible, but how you feel.This is the proposition that opens Breaking Bias. It’s your invitation to embark on a journey that will radically change your experience and show you how you, in turn, can help reshape our world.Drawing on two decades of original research and experience training thousands of students, Anu Gupta, a lawyer, scientist, and educator whose work focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, has written a comprehensive and compellingly readable guide for anyone who wants to understand and unlearn conscious and unconscious biases. Whether you're a teacher or student, engineer or creative, parent or grandparent, this book will train you to become more aware of and transform bias in your daily life and within you—especially beliefs and perceptions you may hold about yourself and others.Blending ancient Buddhist wisdom with modern scientific evidence, Anu takes us on a deep-time journey to explore human identities and identity-based biases and to recognize that breaking bias is the key to unlocking multiple crises in our world—from racism, sexism, classism, and other -isms to burnout, loneliness, and climate change. Then he offers his signature PRISM toolkit—a science-backed, somatically informed set of contemplative tools—to help us dismantle learned bias within ourselves and in the world around us, moment by moment, with probing questions and writing prompts throughout the book that invite us to put these tools to use right from the start.Breaking Bias is one of the few books that go beyond examining the history of bias to offer actual training in how to reduce bias, and it’s the only one written by an author with Anu's unique intersectional a gay brown immigrant with Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu roots who is also an American lawyer and scholar of bias with lived experiences that span the globe. This is a book with the potential to transform the way we think and the way we live.

Genres: Nonfiction, Personal Growth

400 pages, Hardcover

Published September 17, 2024

About the author

Anu Gupta is an educator, lawyer, scientist, and the founder and CEO of BE MORE with Anu, a B Corp that trains professionals across corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors to build organizations where belonging replaces bias. His work has reached 300+ companies training more than 80,000 professionals impacting over 30 million lives. As a gay immigrant of color, he came to the work of breaking bias after almost ending his life due to lifelong experiences with racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. The realization that bias is learned—and can be unlearned— helped lead him out of that dark point and inspired a lifelong mission to build a global movement for social healing based on principles of mindfulness and compassion.

Reviews

[_booksagsm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anu Gupta’s Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From—and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them is a compelling exploration of how biases shape our world and how we can actively unlearn them. Published by Hay House, a publisher known for books that inspire personal transformation, this book aligns well with their mission by blending science, mindfulness, and social healing. Gupta, an educator, lawyer, and the founder of BE MORE with Anu, brings two decades of research and lived experience to offer a structured approach to reducing bias, making this book an insightful and practical guide.

Bias, both conscious and unconscious, influences our perceptions, decisions, and interactions, often reinforcing systemic inequalities. Gupta’s book not only explains how biases are formed but also presents actionable steps to dismantle them. Central to his approach is the PRISM toolkit, a science-backed method designed to help individuals recognize, reflect on, and actively counter biases in daily life. He integrates Buddhist wisdom with modern neuroscience, illustrating how breaking bias is not just about personal growth but also about addressing global issues like racism, sexism, and even climate change.

Three key takeaways from Breaking Bias stand out. First, bias is learned, which means it can also be unlearned—offering hope and agency for change. Second, increasing awareness of our biases is the first step toward transformation, encouraging readers to examine their beliefs and assumptions. Lastly, Gupta’s PRISM toolkit provides a structured, practical approach to dismantling bias in real-time. With its mix of research, personal narratives, and reflective exercises, this book is an essential read for those seeking to foster inclusivity and meaningful change.

[David Inwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part of this book is the PRISM exercises that are sprinkled throughout it. If you work through them, they can help you discover where your stereotypes and bigoted biases come from. I found them to be very insightful and useful.

The rest of the book is filled with fairly basic information about racism, sexism, and media manipulation. It's good, but kind of boring, and it's mostly stuff I have read elsewhere already. I wouldn't recommend reading it. But I do recommend getting the book just so you can work through the PRISM exercises. They were excellent.

[Bryan Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book to anyone seeking the knowledge of our existence. It ain't pretty! Awareness is the beginning for change. For those who have the courage to embark on this adventure to enlightenment.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and beautifully written. A must read during these challenging times.

[Carolyn Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and well researched. Some parts were a little too academic for me. Enjoyed how he brought stories from his own life.

[Lauren Oertel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for the anti-racism program I’ve been co-leading for six years now. We got to meet the author to discuss it, and both were fantastic experiences. The book provided many powerful insights and some wow moments that made me rethink certain things, such as our systems of education. I learned so much from this book and continue to think about incorporating it into my life.

I was also shocked to learn about the Great Chain of Being (GCB) framework and how much it connects to so much of the harm/cruelty we have seen over the years. Have you heard of that?

One of the topics mentioned was a “media detox” to manage and recover from the stress of being informed/engaged during such terrifying times. It can allow all of us to be in a better position to take action, so we can do so from a space of better health and energy. I tried it for a short vacation I took after reading this (four days of no news/social media/email) and it was an excellent experience.

I hope many more readers try this book and media detoxes.