Book Review: New Happy by Stephanie Harrison
4/5 stars, personal growth, how to live
Already read the book? Check out my discussion here or listen to my discussion on YouTube.
Title: New Happy
Author: Stephanie Harrison
Pages: 288
Published: 2024
Genre: Personal Growth
Themes: happiness, how to live
Brief Overview
Well-being expert and social media sensation Stephanie Harrison of @newhappyco reveals the counterintuitive secrets to happiness and provides a practical guide to help us all learn how to live a happy life.
Through an inspiring blend of art and science, New Happy will forever change the way that you see yourself and the world. Whether you're wondering what career you should choose, navigating a life transition, going through a difficult time, teaching your kids what matters most, or simply hoping to experience more joy every day, New Happy offers the proven path to a happier life and a better world.
Review
I think this book does an excellent job of bringing together some really good ideas about happiness, many that I’ve discovered in drips and drabs other places and was also holding an unspoken hunch on. For a long time I’ve had the feeling that my definition of happiness was wrong, but I never felt like I had quite the right words or understanding to explain it. Stephanie does, and she brings a real authenticity to the conversation.
First, she breaks down the underlying forces that have led to our current definition of happiness and highlights the lies those forces have created. Then she defines a new set of new truths for happiness. Finally, she provides a framework for how to make your life feel happier based on these new truths that require you to spend time reflecting on your own life and answering questions for yourself. She does this all alongside really simple and elegant visualizations, timeless quotes from great thinkers, writers, and leaders throughout history, as well as research studies.
The only part the book lagged a little for me was towards the end, as I felt it drifted away from the practical to the grander ideas of being “meaningful” in the world. I’ll talk more about this in my full discussion. Other than that, I feel like this book really helped me, it’s organized really well with chapter summaries at the end, and really visually pleasing artwork.
Should You Read It?
As someone who’s a bit jaded by “self-help” books and tends to avoid the genre, I actually do recommend this book. I think it really well illustrates some ideas I’ve been trying to come to for a while that have become even more obvious to me since becoming a parent (not that it’s a parenting book or anything). But that the way we think about happiness and well being in our (American at least) society is deeply flawed and actually hurting us.
The thing I like most about this book is that she doesn’t prescribe what to do exactly—like many books that say “just start this habit, or stop doing this thing”—but she gives you a framework and tools for reflection that help you find small (and that’s the big emphasis) ways to make your life a little happier. As an avid journaler and self-reflection die hard, I found these tools to be just what I needed to work through some of these issues.
If you’re someone who feels like they’re never really happy or content with their life no matter where you are in it, I definitely recommend this book.
Buy the Book:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cArwNz
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/24230/9780593541388