"In any human life there are going to be periods of unhappiness. That
is part of the human experience. Learning how to be sad is a natural
first step in how to be happier."--Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness
Research Institute
"How to Be Sad is a poignant, funny, and deeply practical guide to
better navigating one of our most misunderstood human emotions. It's a
must-read for anyone looking to improve their happiness by befriending
the full range of their own feelings." - Laurie Santos, Chandrika and
Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology at Yale University and host of The
Happiness Lab podcast
An expert on the pursuit of happiness combines her powerful personal
story with surprising research and expert advice to reveal the secret of
finding joy: allowing sadness to enrich your life and relationships.
Helen Russell has researched sadness from the inside out for her entire
life. Her earliest memory is of the day her sister died. Her parents
divorced soon after, and her mother didn't receive the help she needed
to grieve. Coping with her own emotional turmoil--including struggles
with body image and infertility--she's endured professional and personal
setbacks as well as relationships that have imploded in truly
spectacular ways. Even the things that brought her the greatest
joy--like eventually becoming a parent--are fraught with challenges.
While devoting a career to writing books on happiness, Helen discovered
just how many people are terrified of sadness. But the key to happiness
is unhappiness--by allowing ourselves to experience pain, we learn to
truly appreciate and embrace joy. How to Be Sad is a memoir about living
with sadness, as well as an upbeat manifesto for change that encourages
us to accept and express our emotions, both good and bad. Interweaving
Helen's personal testimony with the latest research on sadness--from
psychologists, geneticists, neuroscientists and historians--as well as
the experiences of writers, comics, athletes and change-makers from
around the world, this vital and inspiring guide explores why we get
sad, what makes us feel this way, and how it can be a force for good.
Timely and essential, How to Be Sad is about how we can better look
after ourselves and each other, simply by getting smarter about sadness.
