The Happiness Project

I don't read self-help books.  I'm certainly not against them, I just find them extremely boring.  So when my book club picked this book I got it from the library simply as a token.  I had no intention of actually reading it.  I thought I would just skim the chapter headings to get an idea of what it was all about.  And, truth is, I really enjoyed it. I read it (mostly) cover to cover-skipping a couple chapters that didn't apply to me (the chapter on working, etc,).  It was funny and helpful and didn't leave me feeling guilty or annoyed. 

It is kind of the idea of the book Eat, Pray,Love.  A woman spends a year trying to improve her happiness.  But unlike Eat, Pray, Love the author finds happiness within the structure of her actual life.  She recognizes that she has responsibilities and then finds happiness within, instead of outside of them.  No trips to faraway places in this book.  It just chronicles her desire to find happiness as a mother, wife, and individual.

It reads much more like a memoir instead of a self-help book which made the whole thing palatable.  But interwoven amongst her funny stories were reports on scientific studies and straightforward ideas to improve life satisfaction.  My favorite quote of the book, "I also stopped eating brown sugar out of the jar.  Gross, but something I did do quite frequently." I can certainly take advice from someone like that.