Happy Ever After: Escaping the Myth of the Perfect Life

EDIT: I still like this book a lot but saw in the news some people took issue with the interpretation of one of the labels of a variable in the marriage chapter! Apparently spouse present/absent refers to house not room! I give the author a lot of credit for politely acknowledging this after it was pointed out not so politely on Twitter.... ppl with a pro-marriage agenda clearly want to twist it into something bigger than it is. Excellent read and well researched - I like the idea that many of us are already at 'just enough' and can accept that, rather than asking for 'more please'. The first section on 'reaching' does take what a lot of us already know intuitively to be true, that poverty is terrible for happiness and being rich/well educated is not the route to happiness (and can even make you less happy). The sections on related and responsible seem newer and question important prevalent narratives - e.g. we don't all have to get married / have kids to be happy, and is there really evidence for the 'free will' that we use to hold people accountable for their successes and failures? I enjoyed this book and it made me think about my life differently.

Worth reading. The analysis is a bit flawed in certain sections but worth reading.

Living consciously asks of us to think for ourselves, and, as Dolan points out, if we do so and our way of thinking goes against the narrative traps society has perpetuated, it can be difficult. However, he provides ample research on a variety of topics as to why society would be beneficial for more of its citizens if we questioned the narrative traps we live by. Well done and thank you for sharing with us all.

Der Ansatz, durch Aktivität glücklicher zu werden ist sicher essenziell (vgl. auch die "Action for Happiness" Kampagne aus England. Weniger gut finde ich die abschließende Weisheit im Buch, dass Glücklichsein letztlich das oberste Ziel aller Menschen ist - lt. Viktor Frankl ist es jedoch ein sinnvolles Leben (und das Glück nur ein Nebeneffekt eines solchen). Ist zumindest meine Meinung.

A must read book. An eye opener Will emancipate you