About the Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller
"An enlightening, laugh-aloud read. . . . Filled with open, honest glimpses into [Rubin's] real life, woven together with constant doses of humor." --Christian Science Monitor
Gretchen Rubin's year-long experiment to discover how to create true happiness. Drawing on cutting-edge science, classical philosophy, and real-world examples, Rubin delivers an engaging, eminently relatable chronicle of transformation.
Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.
In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.
As an added bonus, this recording includes a sampling of Gretchen's podcast, Happier With Gretchen Rubin. In this episode, ""Choose the Bigger Life,"" Gretchen and her sister, Elizabeth Craft, discuss happiness, good habits, and whether Gretchen is going to get a dog.
About the Author :
I'm the author of the New York Times bestsellers ""The Happiness Project,"" "Happier at Home" and "Better Than Before." I write about my experiences as I test-drive the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about happiness, habits, and human nature. My next book will hit the shelves in summer 2017: "The Four Tendencies: The Surprising Truth about the Four Hidden Personality Types That Drive Everything We Do."
Find out your Tendency--are you an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel?--when you take the free quiz at GretchenRubin.com.
Subscribe to my award-winning weekly podcast "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" (more than 1 million downloads each month) and hear my sister and I discuss strategies and tips for how to make your daily life happier. I also created an app to help people harness the power of the Four Tendencies. Learn more at BetterApp.us or search the app store for "Better Gretchen Rubin."
My previous books include a bestselling biography of Winston Churchill, ""Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill," and one of John Kennedy, "Forty Ways to Look at JFK." My first book, "Power Money Fame S..: A User's Guide," is social criticism in the guise of a user's manual. I wrote "Profane Waste" in collaboration with artist Dana Hoey. I've also written three dreadful novels that are safely locked away in a drawer.
Before turning to writing, I had a career in law. A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School, I clerked for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. I live in New York City with my husband and two daughters.
I'm the author of the New York Times bestsellers ""The Happiness Project,"" "Happier at Home" and "Better Than Before." I write about my experiences as I test-drive the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about happiness, habits, and human nature. My next book will hit the shelves in summer 2017: "The Four Tendencies: The Surprising Truth about the Four Hidden Personality Types That Drive Everything We Do."
Find out your Tendency--are you an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel?--when you take the free quiz at GretchenRubin.com.
Subscribe to my award-winning weekly podcast "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" (more than 1 million downloads each month) and hear my sister and I discuss strategies and tips for how to make your daily life happier. I also created an app to help people harness the power of the Four Tendencies. Learn more at BetterApp.us or search the app store for "Better Gretchen Rubin."
My previous books include a bestselling biography of Winston Churchill, ""Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill," and one of John Kennedy, "Forty Ways to Look at JFK." My first book, "Power Money Fame S..: A User's Guide," is social criticism in the guise of a user's manual. I wrote "Profane Waste" in collaboration with artist Dana Hoey. I've also written three dreadful novels that are safely locked away in a drawer.
Before turning to writing, I had a career in law. A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School, I clerked for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. I live in New York City with my husband and two daughters.
Review :
"The Happiness Project is a wonderful book. Gretchen Rubin shows how you can be happier, starting right now, with small, actionable steps accessible to everyone. Among her many attainable strategies, her discovery of the connection between inner happiness and outer order is spot-on!"
-- "Julie Morgenstern, New York Times bestselling author"
"[An] intriguing little book...librarians will particularly like how she loves her local library, and self-helpers will be fascinated by her process.
-- "Library Journal"
"An enlightening, laugh-aloud read...Filled with open, honest glimpses into [Rubin's] real life, woven together with constant doses of humor."
-- "Christian Science Monitor"
"For those who generally loathe the self-help genre, Rubin's book is a breath of peppermint-scented air. Well-researched and sharply written...Rubin takes an orderly, methodical approach to forging her own path to a happier state of mind."
-- "Cleveland Plain Dealer"
"It's easy to relate to the down-to-earth Rubin, and her slightly raspy voice and enthusiastic delivery enhance that connection. She's not afraid to share personal foibles or admit failure."
-- "AudioFile"
"Packed with fascinating facts about the science of happiness and rich examples of how she improves her life through changes small and big, The Happiness Project made me happier by just reading it."
-- "BookPage"
"Practical and never preachy...the rare self-help tome that doesn't feel shameful to read."
-- "Daily Beast"
"Rubin's funny, perceptive account is both inspirational and forgiving, and sprinkled with just enough wise tips, concrete advice, and timely research to qualify as self-help. Defying self-help expectations, however, Rubin writes with keen senses of self and narrative, balancing the personal and the universal with a light touch. Rubin's project makes curiously compulsive reading, which is enough to make any reader happy."
-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"
"This book made me happy in the first five pages. And the more I read it, the happier I got. It's filled with great insights that have changed every part of my life, from love to money, from work to play, from writing to Diet Coke."
-- "A. J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author"
"This is the rare book that will make you smile and think--often on the same page."
-- "Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author"
