How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

 

Plot summary:  Margaret Jacobsen's life feels perfect. She has her MBA and the promise of a dream job. And her handsome boyfriend just proposed. Everything is falling into place. But then, on Valentine's Day, the unexpected happens and Margaret's life is changed forever, her future that seemed so bright suddenly gone. And everyone keeps telling her to be positive and smile...except for her physical therapist who barely talks to her; instead, he pushes her to try harder everyday. And her fiance? When he's not drunk he tells her he still loves her, but he never comes to visit her. Instead, it's her sister that shows up, the sister she's been estranged from for the past three years. Margaret's journey is one of pain and grief....and hope. And she learns some important truths along the way:

• Needing to find reasons to live had forced me to build a life worth living.
• The greater our capacity for sorrow becomes, the greater our capacity for joy.
• You have to live the life you have.
• When you don't know what to do for yourself, do something for somebody else.
• There are all kinds of happy endings. 

My thoughts:  This is one of those books that once I started reading it I couldn't put it down! Margaret's such a relatable character. Everything about her accident and recovery felt so real; I understood her moments of depression, cheered her resilience and moments of anger, and cried with her, too. And I loved her happy ending. Her sister, Kit, made me laugh; and I really liked Ian, her physical therapist. This book is so much more than a simple romance. It's amazing. And I loved it!

Happy Reading!

Other favorite Katherine Center books:

The Bodyguard

Things You Save in a Fire

Happiness for Beginners

Practicing gladness...

 "Most generally there is something about everything that you can be glad about if you keep hunting long enough to find it. You see, when you're hunting for glad things, you sort of forget the other kind."   --Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna

Life can be pretty depressing and discouraging. It's easy to get caught up in all the negativity. There are days when I struggle to find anything to even be grateful for, which is not a happy way to live. So this year I've decided to work on having a more positive mindset. Instead of dwelling on all the negative stuff, and on everything that's going wrong, I'm going to look for the good instead, and try to be more grateful for all the small blessings in my life. So, with a nod to Pollyanna's favorite game, here are a few things I found to be glad about today.

• I'm glad that in my job I only ever have to work M-F because that means I always have the weekends off.
• I'm glad that Miss Scarlet and the Duke returns to PBS tonight, because it's one of my favorite shows. 
• And I'm trying to be glad about all the snow we've gotten in the past few days because it does clean out the air, and we need a good snowpack this winter to fill up all our reservoirs. And even though I don't love winter weather, I do get to pull out my favorite sweaters when it's cold, so I'm glad about that, too.

Wishing all of you lots of joy & gladness in your own lives!

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh

 "The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you."  --Ritu Ghatourey

 

Things to know about Isadora:

• She's super smart.
• She works as a university researcher.
• She's also an introvert...and a bit socially awkward.
• Her last boyfriend broke her trust...and her heart.
• She doesn't have many friends.
• She's lonely.
• And she just turned 30.

A random magazine article titled "Thirty-One Ways to Be Happy" inspires Isadora to conduct her own personal research project and try out each item on the list to see if they really result in that promised happiness. She's sure she'll end up disproving the entire article, justifying her own unhappiness. And at first, nothing she tries makes her feel any different. Especially not those yoga classes! But then some new people enter life, including her 10-year-old neighbor, Delilah, and Cal, the new (and handsome!) psychology professor at work. As her experiment continues, her quiet, lonely life starts to change for the better. Is it possible the magazine article was right and she's found happiness after all?

I loved this book! Isadora's journey of self-discovery was both poignant and humorous. There were times her past heartaches and self-doubt made me cry. But the way her boisterous neighbor barged into her life totally made me laugh. And Cal's cute flirting, kind compassion, and unwavering support of Isadora made me like him so much. This is a very charming and heartwarming romance! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

A Happy Catastrophe by Maddie Dawson

Marnie MacGraw is a bit of a matchmaker--she believes in love and sees sparkles in the air when she meets two people who are meant to be together. Of course, she's already found her match. She loves Patrick--even though they are complete opposites--and she wants to have a baby with him. But she also knows she needs to be ready to accept whatever the universe brings her way.

Patrick Delaney is an introvert. He used to be a up-and-coming sculptor, but then a fire ruined his hands, scarred his face, and killed his girlfriend. That was seven years ago, but he thinks about it everyday. And even though he loves Marnie, he guards his heart from loving her too much because he can't risk the pain of losing her. And he thinks he's too empty inside to ever be anyone's father. 
 

Then along comes Fritzie. She's eight. She loves doing cartwheels and asking too many questions. And she's Patrick's daughter. A daughter he never knew he had. And she's about to change Marnie's and Patrick's life forever. 

My thoughts: I enjoyed everything about this book. It alternates between Marnie's and Patrick's POV, which worked well because the two of them are so different and I liked being able to see the same situation from both of their perspectives. I thought Patrick's struggle to get over his grief and guilt, figure out how to be a dad to an extroverted eight-year-old, and embrace the chaotic joy of having Marnie in his life was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. His and Marnie's relationship is messy, diverting, funny, flawed, hopeful and full of heart. I was rooting for them to make things work because I liked them so much. For me, A Happy Catastrophe turned out to be a sweet and charming romance. 

Happy Reading!

A Bookish dream...

Happy Reading!!

 P.S. I also love this inviting reading nook.

Oh, the happy hours I could spend here:

Be Happy!

The 'decision to be happy' is actually the decision to stop being unhappy.

--Barry Neil Kaufman

Most people are about as happy as they 

make up their minds to be.

--Abraham Lincoln

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

--Norman Vincent Peale

Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or 

what you have; it depends solely on what you think.

--Dale Carnegie

Be cheerful in all that you do. Live joyfully. Live happily.

Live enthusiastically, knowing that God does not dwell in

gloom and melancholy, but in light and love.

--Ezra Taft Benson

Buying happiness...

"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy books

and that's kind of the same thing."

--Anonymous

So, I splurged and bought a little happiness today in the shape of four new books. Two favorites:

And two books that I've never read:

It didn't cost me a lot of money because I found them used (thank you, Powells!), which makes me even happier. The best part? I now get to curl up in my favorite comfy chair and read them! Any day with a good book in it is a good day. What about you? Bought any happiness lately?

Way To Be!

This is a gem of a book that can be read in a weekend. Written by Gordon B. Hinckley, it offers up "nine suggestions gleaned from more than nine decades of living, that will help you achieve happiness and success." And who doesn't want more happiness and success in their lives? Here are his nine ways to be:

Be Grateful
Be Smart
Be Involved
Be Clean
Be True
Be Positive
Be Humble
Be Still
Be Prayerful


"It is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence....The better way to Be is the way of these nine Be's."

--Gordon B. Hinckley

I couldn't agree more.

Here's to BE-ing!

Catching Happiness

     "The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself."                      --Benjamin Franklin

     Franklin was a wise man.  Catching happiness is up to each one of us.  It can be as simple as finding a seashell on the shore, a beautiful overlook at the end of a hiking trail, or a sharp-shinned hawk in flight.  I'm partial to playing games like Forbidden Island, Dominion, and The Haunting House with my nephews and niece.  (A library book sale is always good, too.)
     In The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin spent one year consciously seeking ways to incorporate more happiness in her life.  It's a great read!  Her second book, Happier At Home, is out now as well.
             So, go out there and catch some happiness for yourself this year!