Synopsis: From money buying happiness, to popular culture teaching us about the important things in life, Gretchen Rubin’s ‘The Happiness Project’ is an honest and lively account of one woman’s ultimate quest for happiness.

Told over a period of twelve months, Gretchen’s memoir – adapted from her popular daily blog www.happiness-project.com is full of experiments and challenges as she questions age-old wisdom and test drives current scientific research – to discover one thing; how to be happy. The result is this – a book which teaches us all that the smallest changes can make the biggest difference. Gretchen found that challenges bring about a feeling of determination and self-worth, money can buy happiness if spent wisely and popular culture can teach us a thing or two. Gretchen knew that she couldn’t start a whole new life, but she could teach herself how to make the very best of what she already had.

Gretchen Rubin is the author of several books, including the bestselling ‘Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill’. She was clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized that she really wanted to be a writer. She lives in New York City with her husband and two young daughters.

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT
By Gretchen Rubin
Paperback £9.99
Harper Collins US
ISBN: 978-0-061-58326-1
Publication date: June 2011
www.harpercollins.com

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
Every once in a while a book comes along that stands head and shoulders above others in its genre. This is such a book, Gretchen Rubin takes a unique approach: the book is the story of her happiness project, what she tried and what she learned. It is a personal journey by one woman that ultimately resulted in her sharing what she learnt with a much wider audience. The style is honest and open, and contains many really useful ideas that can be applied to anyone’s life. Gretchen chose to start in January, but in reality you can start whenever you like. We loved her concept of the Twelve Commandments and her Secrets of Adulthood, but more than anything we loved her story and the wisdom contained in each chapter. Highly Recommended!

Read our interview with Gretchen
http://www.hotbrandscoolplaces.com/weekly-news/an-interview-with-gretchen-rubin-best-selling-author-of-the-happiness-project.html