Learn to overcome the never-ending pursuit of more, driven by dopamine. This book uses the latest neuroscience to provide practical strategies for taming your brain’s desire for novelty—improving your relationships and finding lasting satisfaction. Interesting and easy-to-read, this book is full of strategies for living a more intentional life.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Taming the Molecule of More gives us an insight into how we can make dopamine work for us in our daily lives. I was enjoying this book for the first couple chapters as it was teaching things that made sense. There were a few moments in Part II that led me to look up the author, After learning that the main author has no background in psychiatry or neuroscience, and only consulted a psychiatrist for parts of the book, I lost trust in the credibility of the content of the book. Even though everything was cited appropriately, it still felt like content from social media that gives off the vibes "Top 10 tips to improve your dopamine levels". I'm sure this book has a better audience that isn't me and it seems perfectly suited for them. But I struggle without explicit scientific proof in nonfiction books.

TLDR; I am not the target audience but it seemed a decent book for the target. 3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book follows from ‘The Molecule of More’ which Michael Long co-authored with Daniel Z Lieberman. I liked that book, and this one is an excellent continuation of the material in that book.

The earlier book discussed the fact that while there are many molecules in the brain, dopamine exerts a huge influence on how we behave. Much of the drive we have - to reach out for something new in the future comes from dopamine. As a pitfall, it can override careful decision making and we may give in to (reckless) impulse. This book is focused on how we can lead happy and meaningful lives with a combination of drugs, therapy, lifestyle and mindfulness. There is this interesting passage (below) which kicks off the challenge we face.

In the film Crimes and Misdemeanors, here's how a character played by psychoanalyst Martin Bergmann memorably described the problem: We define ourselves by the choices we have made. We are in fact the sum total of our choices. Events unfold so unpredictably, so unfairly, human happiness does not seem to have been included in the design of creation. It is only we, with our capacity to love, that give meaning to the indifferent universe. And yet most human beings seem to have the ability to keep trying, and even to find joy from simple things like their family, their work, and from the hope that future generations might understand more.

Unhappiness seems to be built into the human brain! This has its benefits as the restlessness we feel about our current state prompts us to aim for something we don’t have, largely driven by dopamine. This comes at a price – diluting the experience of having now in contrast to the alure of the future. Low dopamine leads to lack of interest in new things & low motivation. High dopamine leads to excess energy, decreased impulse control, and sometimes aggression. Dopamine cannot cross the blood brain barrier, so pills / supplements do not work. But pills do exist to help brain retain and manage the dopamine it produces better. The influence of microbiome bacteria is still being studied.

Many times, authors regurgitate a successful book’s content across the following books. I was happy that this was not the case here – there is some background to dopamine as a molecule, but large part of the book is about managing ourselves, and is a good logical compliment to the earlier book. The treatment is holistic spanning - research, treatments (such as for ADHD etc) and lifestyle changes. There are some nice surprises when life experiences are discussed. Does research/science support love at first sight being a possibility? Does multi-tasking achieve anything worthwhile? Can you get another person to love you? For the first one of these questions, the answer was intuitive, the second had a minor twist, while the last one had a nice surprise.

Overall, a book I much recommend. It is best to read this after reading ‘The Molecule of More’.

Why is dopamine such a powerful chemical in humans? How does it control motivation, interest, pleasure, and boredom? This book answers all these questions, and much more! Current issues such as social media, shopping, and gaming addictions are covered.

As someone who struggles with low dopamine, ADHD, and neurodivergence, Taming the Molecule of More felt like an absolute game changer. Michael E. Long breaks down the science of dopamine in a way that is not only accessible but incredibly actionable, offering real strategies to break free from the endless cycle of chasing the next best thing.

What I loved most about this book is how it validates the struggles of an ADHD brain—constantly seeking novelty, getting stuck in dopamine loops, and feeling like satisfaction is always just out of reach. Long doesn’t just explain why this happens; he provides a roadmap for regaining control. The insights on social media addiction, compulsive shopping, workaholism, and even relationships were eye opening, helping me recognize patterns I hadn’t even realized were at play in my own life, and I know this is something that can help others as well.

The book isn’t just about restricting dopamine driven behaviors—it’s about retraining your brain to use dopamine in a way that works for you, rather than against you. The emphasis on creativity, mindfulness, and building sustainable fulfillment rather than quick dopamine hits resonated deeply with me.

If you have ADHD, struggle with impulse control, or simply feel like you're always chasing something that never quite satisfies, this book is definitely one you should pick up. It’s packed with practical, research backed advice that can genuinely improve quality of life. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Michael E. Long, and BenBella Books for the eARC of this book.

Taming the Molecule of More builds on The Molecule of More, already published. There is some interesting information on what dopamine is and isn't, and the validity behind fad concepts such as dopamine fasts.

Personally, I wasn't such a fan of the messaging behind statements such as 'happy people don't improve their worlds' because I'm not sure there's much evidence to back up this claim.

What I took away from the book was that typically we know what's good for us and what isn't, and that it behooves us to put some time and effort into removing those things that are short term pleasures with long term pains, to invest into long term joys that might be short term annoyances.

Thank you to NetGalley and BenBella Books for providing me with an ARC of Taming the Molecule of More in exchange for an honest review.

Taming the Molecule of More builds on the (excellent) foundation set in The Molecule of More. It adds some interesting scientific anecdotes and a fair amount of practical life advice based on scientific findings related to dopamine. The books can be read independently (Part I of this book does a good job of recapping the main points in The Molecule of More), although I recommend reading both for a deeper understanding of the science before getting to the practical advice. If you are only going to read one of these books, I think The Molecule of More is a better choice. The advice given in this book is, if not already present in the previous one, easy enough to infer independently based on the previous one. My sense is that this book may be targeted to a less-scientifically-minded audience than The Molecule of More, which alas is also its Achilles' Heel since such an audience may be more prone to eschewing scientifically-themed books altogether in favor of less-intellectually-demanding self-help titles.
After reading the first half of the book, I was leaning toward a 4-star rating. The writing is clear, engaging, and flows very well (I ended up finishing it in a day), and the scientific anecdotes mentioned are both pertinent and fascinating. Alas, the latter parts of the book, while still interesting and well-written, didn't quite live up to the promise for me. One reason is that much of the advice focuses on common-sense strategies for mitigating the ill effects of superfluous internet use: a topic that is covered at least as well and often better in numerous other books, and got a little repetitive when applied to various related sub-topics (social media, online porn, etc.) The relationship-related advice offered in this book, while good, didn't seem to add much to what was already covered (very well) in The Molecule of More, and the section on creativity—in my opinion—fell far short of books focused on that topic (e.g., it did not even address creativity in the common terms of novelty and usefulness used in most relevant science).
The reason I finally decided to go with a 3-star rating (which in truth should have been 3.5, if that was possible) is that, based on the description, the foundation set in The Molecule of More, and the opening sections of the book, I was expecting heavier emphasis on science and at least some novel advice not already found in other titles that focus on internet-related problems, creativity, addiction, etc. I didn't feel I got much of that. Also, at this time when several recent books by neuroscientists and biologists have raised profound philosophical questions, I feel this book neglected to address some of the most burning ones—primarily, the question of determinism and free will (e.g., by Robert Sapolsky and others). The entire premise of this book relies on making (sometimes difficult) choices, when much recent research suggests that the very brain mechanisms this book relies on make such choices impossible or illusory. I had hoped that a new book in this space would at least offer an informed opinion on this topic. (Anecdotally, the erroneous use of Nietzsche's idea of will to power, and the very rudimentary treatment of Aristotelian ethics, were a bit of a letdown for this philosophy buff.)
In summary, I don't feel I would have been worse off if I had read only The Molecule of More, and augmented it with other offering deeper coverage of the advice topics mentioned in this title.