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Essays on Ordinary Happiness
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
May 2009
On Sale: April 28, 2009
288 pages
ISBN: 0374239304
EAN: 9780374239305
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
What does it mean to be happy? Americans have had an obsession with βthe pursuit of happinessβ ever since the Founding Fathers enshrined itβalong with life and libertyβ as our national birthright. Whether it means the accumulation of wealth or a more vaguely understood notion of self-fulfillment or self-actualization, happiness has been an inevitable, though elusive, goal. But it is hard to separate βrealβ happiness from the banal self-help version that embraces mindless positive thinking. And though we have two booming βhappiness industriesββ religion, with its promise of salvation, and psychopharmacology, with its promise of better living through chemistryβeach comes with its own problems and complications. In Seven Pleasures, Willard Spiegelman takes a look at the possibilities for achieving ordinary secular happiness without recourse to either religion or drugs. In this erudite and frequently hilarious book of essays, he discusses seven activities that lead naturally and easily to a sense of well-being. One of theseβdancingβrequires a partner, and therefore provides a lesson in civility, or good citizenship, as one of its benefits. The other sixβ reading, walking, looking, listening, swimming, and writingβ are things one performs alone. Seven Pleasures is a marvelously engaging guide to the pursuit of happiness, and all its accompanying delights.
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