Sandra Hurst has left her husband. Again. After dropping out of college to marry Trent, divorcing him, then remarrying him, she's shown up on her parents' doorstep nursing her wounds. But her parents refuse to help this time — emotionally or financially.
Set during World War II, this novel explores the relationships between three generations of the same family. A father longs to show his son the world; a grandfather hopes to protect his son and grandson from the war; and a grandson sees the truth that the older men cannot face.
The Pursuit of Happiness: Between Prosperity and Adversity looks at activities, practices, and experiences that are instrumental in changing one’s level of well-being. This book focuses on the situations in which well-being is challenged, or even decreased, and explores, guided by Dialogical Self Theory, pathways that lead to its elevation. Research has suggested that there are three main determinants of well-being: genetic factors, one’s individual’s history, and happiness-relevant activities. The third and most promising means of altering one’s happiness level are activities and practices that require some degree of effort. A surprising finding is that these personal efforts may have a happiness-boosting potential that is almost as large as the probable role of genetics, and apparently larger than the influence of one’s individual history. Efforts are invested in fields of tension between prosperity and adversity. The Pursuit of Happiness covers a variety of topics, such as finding happiness and well-being in the face of extreme adversity, the role of honesty in genuine happiness, the promise of minimalistic life orientations, the value of inner silence, evaluating our lives from a future perspective, and the relationship between happiness, career development, counselling, and psychotherapy. This book was originally published as a special issue of the British Journal of Guidance & Counselling.
The prize-winning author of The Memory of Love investigates London’s hidden nature and marginalized communities in this fascinating novel. London, 2014. A fox makes its way across Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to collide—Jean, an American studying the habits of urban foxes, and Attila, a Ghanaian psychiatrist. Attila has arrived in London with two tasks: to deliver a keynote speech on trauma, and to contact a friend’s daughter Ama, his “niece” who hasn’t called home in a while. Ama has been swept up in an immigration crackdown, and now her young son Tano is missing. Jean offers to help Attila by mobilizing her network volunteer fox spotters. Soon, rubbish men, security guards, hotel doormen, traffic wardens—mainly West African immigrants who work the myriad streets of London—come together to help. As the search for Tano continues, a deepening friendship between Attila and Jean unfolds. Attila’s time in London causes him to question his own ideas about trauma, the values of the society he finds himself in, and a personal grief of his own. In this delicate tale of love and loss, of thoughtless cruelty and unexpected community, Aminatta Forna asks us to consider our co-existence with one another and all living creatures, and the true nature of happiness.
Often in life, we are told to do what makes us happy, and that long as we are happy, then we have some how made it. But what is this feeling of being happy? How do we know when we are happy? How do we measure happiness? Do we measure it against others? Against our wealth? Or the wealth of others? Happiness to me, is an inner feeling of calm, and feeling content with life. It is a knowing that there are going to be events that will occur which are outside of our control, but in realising what we can and cannot control, we can remain at ease, knowing all that happens to us is part of a larger process. The Happiness Gap will take you on a peaceful walk, at times you may not know where you are going, at times you will be asked questions that you are not sure of, but you will be given plenty of time to think. So with that being said, let The Happiness Gap take you on a walk, I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised at what is in store for you.
Nature has the power to restore us, but can it wash away our darkest truths? Set amid the red dust and heat of the Australian Kimberley wet season and the smoky backdrop of the holy river Ganges in India, this is a novel about rebirth and remembrance. Brian, a Vietnam veteran, has been missing for twenty years. Matt dreams of one day finding his own path like his heroic father, as Beth's religious fervour propagates a childhood of parental disappointment. Losing her battle with Cystic Fibrosis, Rachel Hudson asks her family for one last request: a journey to the exotic and the unknown. Ever the free spirit, she administers a dose of her notorious wanderlust. The Happiness Jar reveals the power of letting go of the memories that we think sustain us. It's a story about tightly held beliefs, the fragility of family and how quickly faith can fold when we release the burdens we place on ourselves and each other. Previously winning/shortlisted for the below awards this title is being republished: Winner, ACT Writing and Publishing Award for Fiction 2014; Runner Up, FAW Christina Stead Award 2013; Runner Up, FAW Jim Hamilton Award 2010; Shortlist, Penguin Varuna Scholarship 2011; Shortlist, HarperCollins Varuna Award 2011.
From the acclaimed author of Miss You Most of All comes a heartfelt, wonderfully affirming novel of sisterhood, healing, and new beginnings. No one could blame Bev Putterman for becoming estranged from her sister. No one but Bev, anyway. Growing up, Diana was difficult and selfish yet always their mother's favorite. And then came the betrayal that took away the future Bev dreamed of. Yet if Diana caused problems while alive, her death leaves Bev in a maelstrom of remorse. She longs to provide a stable home for Diana's fourteen-year-old daughter, Alabama. But between her commitment-phobic boyfriend and her precarious teaching position, Bev's life is already in upheaval without an unruly teenager around. All Alabama knows about Aunt Bev is what her mother told her--and none of it was good. They clash about money, clothes, boys, and especially about Diana. In desperation, Alabama sets out to find her late father's family. Instead she learns of the complicated history between her mother and aunt, how guilt can shut down a life--and most important, how love and forgiveness can open a door and make us whole again. . . Praise for the novels of Elizabeth Bass Wherever Grace is Needed "Bass draws her characters, particularly the adolescents, very well." --Publishers Weekly "Readers of all ages can enjoy this thoughtful story of two families overcoming tremendous challenges." --VOYA Miss You Most of All AN INDIE NEXT LIST NOTABLE SELECTION! "An exuberant celebration of life, love, family and friendship, told with a sassy Texas flair. It's a perfect balance of humor and heartache, a sweetly satisfying novel that will stay with the reader long after the final page is turned." --Susan Wiggs "The world Elizabeth Bass has created is full of life, humor, heartache and hope. You'll be happy to enter it and sad to leave." --Lorna Landvik
For centuries the pursuit of happiness was the preserve of either the philosopher or the voluptuary and took second place to the basic need to survive on the one hand, and the pressure to conform to social conventions and morality on the other. More recently there is a burgeoning interest in the study of happiness, in the social sciences and in the media. Can we really answer the question what makes people happy? Is it really grounded in credible methods and data? Is there consistency in the determinants of happiness across countries and cultures? Are happiness levels innate to individuals or can policy and the environment make a difference? How is happiness affected by poverty? By economic progress? Is happiness a viable objective for policy? This book is an attempt to answer these questions, based on research on the determinants of happiness in countries around the world, ranging from Peru and Russia to the U.S. and Afghanistan. The book reviews the theory and concepts of happiness, explaining how these concepts underpin a line of research which is both an attempt to understand the determinants of happiness and a tool for understanding the effects of a host of phenomena on human well being. The research finds surprising consistency in the determinants of happiness across levels of development. Yet there is still much debate over the relationship between happiness and income. The book explores the effects of many mediating factors in that relationship, ranging from macroeconomic trends and democracy to inequality and crime. It also reviews what we know about happiness and health and how that relationship varies according to income levels and health status. It concludes by discussing the potential - and the potential pitfalls - of using happiness surveys to contribute to better public policy.
An instant New York Times bestseller. Over 1 million copies sold! Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet. In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering? They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy. This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecedented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye. We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront each of the Obstacles of Joy—from fear, stress, and anger to grief, illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.