A Short Guide to a Happy Life

by Anna Quindlen

Book Overview

#1 New York Times bestselling author Anna Quindlen's classic reflection on a meaningful life makes a perfect gift for any occasion.

"Life is made of moments, small pieces of silver amidst long stretches of tedium. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won't happen. We have to teach ourselves now to live, really live . . . to love the journey,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375504613
• ISBN13: 9780375504617
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Random House
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

Practical

This is a practical self-help book. If you want something spiritual to go with it try An Encounter With a Prophet.

Wonderful

A beautifully written essay (combined with exquisite black-and-white photos) about what's really important in life ("It's so much easier to write a resumé than to craft a spirit"). It's very short; it's the kind of book that can be read in one sitting. However, it's also the kind of book that SHOULD be read over and over again. Highly recommended for anyone who's grown tired of the urgency addition that pervades the normal American lifestyle.

Good common sense applied

This is a great little book. It seems like we all know what the aurhor is saying but we need a gentle reminder each day. If you are looking for a gift for a loved one, I would recommend that you buy this book and the book An Encounter With A Prophet and combine the books as one gift. Little is the only negative about the entire book. I wish there was more of it

Inspiration and More

Tuesday I was at the bookstore when it opened to buy this book. I bought a copy for myself and one for my daughter, then went to sit on a bench overlooking the ocean to read it.This tiny gem of a book contains many thoughts that are just common sense until you see them written down. Then they become points to ponder, to think about and mull over in your mind and heart. Which is exactly what I did after finishing...I sat and looked out at the sea, thinking about what I had just read.Much of the text of this book was part of a commencement address that Quindlen was to give at Villanova. She released the speech after she cancelled and I have been told that it was so well-received that she was asked to put it into book form.This is a book to savor and to read over and over again and to give as a gift to a loved one. I plan to return to the bookstore to buy several more copies.Some of the thoughts in the book:On life: "there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul."On being a mother, a wife, and a friend: "I show up. I listen. I try to laugh."On being charitable and good to others: "if you do not do good... then doing well will never be enough."And on living for today: "I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get."Quindlen talks about leading a balanced life and not making work one's entire focus--she says "you cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are." and "Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work."Her thoughts on mortality, which Donald talked about in his review, are powerful-- and applicable to all of our lives.I certainly think Quindlen herself is a first-rate writer and thinker, and thank her for the valuable lessons in this book.

"Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work."

Most books take the vantage point of the author being an expert in thesubject or a celebrity. A Short Guide to a Happy Life claims to comefrom neither foundation, even though the Ms. Anna Quindlen will bewell-known to many for her best-selling books and Newsweekcolumns.Instead her perspective in this book is a humble and commonone, that of someone who experienced what we will all experience indue course, but at an earlier age -- the loss of her mother to ovariancancer when her mother was 40 and the author was 19. That early losschanged Ms. Quindlen's perspective on life, and she thinks it willeventually and should now change yours, too. "Do you think you'dcare so very much about [your career] if you developed an aneurysm oneafternoon, or found a lump in your breast while in the shower?"She describes her qualifications for describing the happy life,"I am a good mother to three children. I have tried to never letmy profession stand in the way of being a good parent.""I am a good friend to my husband." "I am a goodfriend to my friends, and they to me." ....Now that you havethe perspective, what is Ms. Quindlen's prescription for you:"Get a life in which you are not alone." "All of uswant to do well. But if we do not do good too, then doing well willnever be enough." The simplicity and ordinariness of thatperspective gives it a power and eloquence that the expert and thefamous person cannot command. But what was remarkable for me wasthe insight that she shares with us, that I would never have developedon my own....Basically, without awareness of mortality, we wouldcontinue to waste our lives in pursuit of things that are not really,after all, so important. This is what makes this a five star bookthat you should read immediately . . . and remember for all theremaining days of your life. It will make a wonderful gift for thoseyou love, and help bring you closer together.Let me quote just oncemore: "Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glitteringmica in a long stretch of gray cement." What a shame it would beto miss one of those moments. If you skip this book, you will havemissed one, I'm afraid.The message is powerfully reinforced by themany beautiful black and white photographs of nature, companionship,and youth in the book. Be sure to enjoy them, as well.After youhave finished reading this book, sharing it with others, and changingyour priorities, ask yourself a new question: If I only had today,what would I do differently? Then ask that question every morning.You'll be glad you did. So will we all.