A Day at Trilith: Celebrating the Launch of Human Flourishing: A Field Guide
When the Trilith Foundation set out to turn the research behind the Global Flourishing Study into something an ordinary reader could hold in their hands, the result was Human Flourishing: A Field Guide — a practical companion to the evidence base that researchers at Baylor, Harvard, and Gallup have been building for the past five years.
Last week, the Institute for Global Human Flourishing (IGHF) team traveled to Trilith Studios outside Atlanta to celebrate the book's launch alongside the partners who brought it to life.
Institute Director Dr. Byron Johnson was joined by Dr. Matthew Wilson, Senior Director of Research Translation and AI Strategy; Jenni Oaks, Senior Director of the Flourishing @Baylor initiative, and Rev. Scott Heare, Senior Director, Market Engagement and Innovation Strategy. The day began with media. Dr. Johnson spoke with reporters at Trilith's press release, then sat down with Trilith's Daniel Bashta for an Instagram Live conversation that touched on some of the study's most consequential findings: the outsized role close social relationships play in human thriving and the importance and surprising power of forgiveness and gratitude to improve mental health.
Between media appearances, the Baylor team met with Trilith Institute's Executive Leadership Team to continue discussions on how Baylor students might one day participate in Trilith's filmmaking courses and instruction, including the immersive Semester at Trilith program. It's the kind of conversation that makes the broader partnership tangible: a path for Baylor students to spend a season inside a community intentionally built around flourishing, learning storytelling in an environment where the research is lived out.
Just outside the Scholar & Scribe bookshop, where the launch party was hosted, was a reminder of the scale of the moment: a large wall advertisement promoting the book, with IGHF's logo alongside Trilith's, Harvard's, and the Global Flourishing Study.
Inside the bookshop, the celebration had the feel of something more than a product release. Drinks and a charcuterie spread, yes, but also artistic representations of flourishing, and outdoor "flourishing activations" inviting guests to engage with the ideas the book draws on. A living tree hung with handwritten reflections. A hand-lettered mural tracing the six domains of flourishing under the banner "Be Well, Do Good, Together." Quotes from the study and from literature printed on a green display cube, including the finding that forgiveness and openness to truth-telling predict lower depression and higher life satisfaction across nations.
During the program, Trilith Foundation leaders Brandon Patrick and Krissy Lewis publicly thanked the Baylor team for the effort and support that carried the Field Guide from concept to reality. Laura Hergott gave special recognition to IGHF for developing the AI-powered human flourishing survey that every reader who purchases the book will have free access to. That tool puts the research directly into the hands of the people reading it. Dan Cathy, founder and visionary leader behind Trilith Studios and the Trilith Foundation, was also in attendance.
Reflecting on the day afterward, Dr. Wilson remarked on how much the Trilith team models a culture of celebration, one the Baylor team was genuinely grateful to be part of. That culture is part of why the partnership has worked. Research institutes and creative studios don't always speak the same language, but Trilith and Baylor have found a common one: take the evidence seriously, and take the people it's meant to help even more seriously.
The Field Guide is available now, with every copy including access to IGHF's AI-powered flourishing survey. The Baylor team looks forward to continuing this multi-year collaboration with the Trilith Foundation for many years to come.