Happier: Post#1- Overview

Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D. (McGraw-Hill, 2007), reviewed by Steve Gladis, Ph.D. May 2012. Overview: Tal Ben-Shahar is one of the pioneers of the happiness revolution. In this book, he asks us to reflect and meditate on important things like: What gives me meaning? What gives me pleasure? What are my strengths? Woven into a rich personal narrative, his research includes the work of such leading psychologists as Marty Seligman,  Ed Diener, Dan Kahneman , Barbara Frederickson, and Sonja Lyubomirsky. This book is easy to read and packed with great research and pure wisdom. It’s like sitting down with your grandfather and asking him what really matters in life. In fact, you might want to give that a try if that’s still possible. And if not, Tal has a great reflective exercise to try about giving advice to yourself. Read this book and give it to your kids or anyone you care about.