Author recalls her ‘pursuit of happiness’

In fact she pursues happiness relentlessly for 289 pages of this paperback, now available from Nigel R Khan Bookseller – also (for good measure) an afterword in which the author pats herself on the back for pursuing happiness for an entire year, and two pages of acknowledgments of help from 90 people (she apologises to others too numerous to mention who offered advice and suggestions, on reading her manuscript … one wonders how she found the time to submit her writings to the publisher).

Moreover, she has advice for readers on starting their own happiness project by asking themselves what makes them feel good, feel bad, doesn’t feel right in their lives and directs them to her “Happiness Project Toolbox Website” and starting happiness project groups by e-mailing the author for a complete starter kit.

Yet even that’s not the end of this book. Next we have a “Happiness Manifesto” of 17 truisms, this is followed by eight pages of tips, nine tips for sticking to an exercise routine, seven for being a more light-hearted parent, nine for getting your “sweetheart” to do the chores – without nagging, seven for coping with the fact that you can’t remember a person’s name, seven for getting an energy boost in the next ten minutes, seven for how money can buy you happiness, seven for keeping resolutions, lastly (and eighth) seven tips for making someone like you.

However, you’ll need a magnifying glass to read the tips. At the foot of each page of tips is the injunction “Please visit THE HAPPINESS PROJECT / www.happiness project.com”

Nor is that all, there are a couple of pages of Reading Group Guides and finally suggestions for further reading – all 69 of them …

And for this they cut down trees. Ah well. Nuff said?