<p>Why are we the way we are? Why do some of us find it impossible to calm a quick temper or to shake anxiety? The debate has always been divided between nature and nurture, but as psychology professor Daniel P. Keating demonstrates in <i>Born Anxious, </i>new DNA science points to a third factor that allows us to inherit both the nature and the nurture of previous generations—with significant consequences.<br><br><i>Born Anxious</i> introduces a new word into our lexicon: “methylated.” It’s short for “epigenetic methylation,” and it offers insight into behaviors we have all observed but never understood—the boss who goes ballistic at the slightest error; the infant who can’t be calmed; the husband who can’t fall asleep at night. In each case, because of an exposure to environmental adversity in utero or during the first year of life, a key stress system has been welded into the “on” position by the methylation process, predisposing the child’s body to excessive levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The effect: lifelong, unrelenting stress and its consequences–from school failure to nerve-wracking relationships to early death.<br><br>Early adversity happens in all levels of society but as income gaps widen, social inequality and fear of the future have become the new predators; in <i>Born Anxious</i>, Daniel P. Keating demonstrates how we can finally break the cycle.</p>