Happiness Is : Unexpected Answers to Practical Questions in Curious Times

Rating:
Summary: Happiness Is ... reading this book!
Review: As a person who identifies more with Oscar the Grouch than Pollyanna, I admit that I opened this book with more than a little skepticism. Let's see - the author is not only going to define that elusive quality, happiness, but also explain - specifically and realistically - how anyone can achieve it, regardless of life circumstances?? Yeah, right.

As it turns out, right indeed! Shawn Shea actually pulls this off! By starting off with the understanding that achieving happiness is a struggle, he makes it clear this will not be a sugar-coated, quick-fix self-help manual. Yet with droll humor and down-to-earth examples, he also makes it clear that the quest for happiness, struggle though it may be, can be achievable, energizing, and even fun. Shea illustrates the nature of happiness with intimate portraits of people as far-ranging as a fourteenth century French anchorite and a twenty-first century airport limousine driver in Iowa. He finds happiness lessons for us on handball courts, at the tops of ski slopes, in the lives of heroic historical figures, and in steamy cups of coffee.

At the heart of Shea's prescription for achieving happiness is what he describes as a matrix - an interconnected set of influences that can each be tweaked toward happiness. This metaphor allows the reader to systematically and effectively approach what could otherwise seem like a complex, entangled mess of joy-depleting stuff.

I can safely say that if you read this book, you will emerge from it with at least a few reasonable ideas for how to reconnect, or remain connected, with joy. Happy reading!




Rating:
Summary: A Gem Of A Book
Review: Intrigued by the title, I picked up this book and was immediately captured by the intimate first person style. Dr. Shea lovingly shares his insights into the nature of happiness which he has learned as a result of his keen observations of people, both as a layman, and as a professional psychiatrist. These observations are vibrantly captured in the pages of the book and serve to illustrate the concepts he presents. Added depth is provided by his analysis of historical figures and his skillful renditions of people he has counseled. Each encounter is described so vividly, that you feel as though you were an invisible observer present in the scene. The threads of the book weave together into a coherent philosophy of happiness. Toward the end of the book, Dr. Shea provides us with a practical framework with which to analyze the causes of our own unhappiness, and, more importantly, clear advice on how to restore balance to our lives. Far different from the endless numbers of self-help books, this book presents a philosophy of happiness that is both elegant and refreshingly original. After reading this book, I was able to see the elements of my life, both happy and stressful, in much clearer way and have a greater appreciation for how to make myself happy. Not only a must read, this book is a must "pass along" to friends and family.

Rating:
Summary: This book is just great!
Review: Just loved it! A wonderful and inspiring read! `Happiness Is' succeeds in humanizing every persons quest for lasting happiness with sensitivity, compassion and humor. I found the generous anecdotes and shared insights from the Dr. Shea's experiences to be enormously reassuring and joyfully easy to identify with.

Dr. Shea's skillful use of metaphors, woven with history (both distant and more recent) serves to move the more complex messages of the book into form - `life' - on many so levels. This book is a jewel, and was just as moving (if not more so) the second time through. Everyone should read this book!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A Book For Everyone!
Review: The title "Happiness Is" caught my eye, so I decided to give the book a read and found that it was not filled with the typical psycho-babble preaching so rampant in this genre. This book is really for everyone, not just the self-help book set. Dr. Shea's colloquial style and anecdotes make you feel as if you are sitting across from him in a one-on-one conversation. The conversation, luckily enough, is never boring! Every chapter begins with a quote, many of which made me stop and think a bit before I started reading the chapter. One I have come to use as a daily mantra is the one from Chapter 3 by the poet John Milton which states: "The mind is it's own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven". I think that most people who could truly benefit from a change of mind set have in place firm excuses as to why those changes don't apply to them instead of being able to see themselves and thinking "Hey - that sounds like me!" Most people need to be hit over the head with a bat before they realize what unhappiness they really create for themselves by the way they go through their lives. I know I did and what I found in reading Dr. Shea's book is that everyone is looking to be happy, to have a happy life and to enjoy the world around them. This book, aside from being an enjoyable and entertaining read, gently guides you step by step into realizing that anyone and everyone has the tools to find the happiness that lies hidden in their own lives and how to enjoy it to the fullest. Dr. Shea's book is truly paradise found - and applied! This is a great book for anyone in your life - including yourself. If you want to start being happier and giving the gift of happiness to those in your life, send them a copy of this book.