Review: Don't waste your time
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 09 27, 2013
"Happy Every Day" should actually be titled "Denial and Distraction: Coping Strategies for Life." The author suggests that by making a series of happy investments (all THINGS you should be DOING) in your life, you will feel happier. This may be true, but you will not actually be happier. Happiness is simply not something you do, and by ignoring the very real realities of life, he is setting many people up for a hard crash later. He begins the book by saying he was "wrecked." I fear he's in for another wrecking when he realizes all of his questions, his doubts, and his self-perceptions are still there, buried under journals of happy thoughts and good things because at no point in this book does he ever recommend dealing with truth and working your way through to happiness. He's advocating, basically, a fake it till you make it approach, and that is dangerous for the human psyche. For concrete example, he tells you not to watch the news for awhile because it's depressing and will keep you from being happy. He tells you if your friends aren't happy people, to ditch them and make happier friends. The premise of the book is getting yourself into a happiness bubble by eliminating everything in your life that doesn't make you happy and that's just no way to live. I read the whole book (read: powerpoint presentation, because that is the format. There is not a narrative.) because I agreed to review it honestly in exchange for a free digital copy, but I've already deleted it. Happiness is not something you do; happy is something you are and that comes from finding pure joy within yourself, whatever that looks like for you. Take the $3.99 you would spend on this book and buy yourself a Happy Meal. Then, at least, you're guaranteed a happy something.