In this full-color, magazine-like work, Shaffer (How to Beat Stress), a fitness coach, shares scientific research about living a joyful life. Drawing on positive psychology approaches that contend that “focusing on others makes us much happier than focusing on ourselves,” Shaffer organizes her advice around the topics of parenting, relationships, money, career, and aging. Useful observations (“Try to understand your fear and learn as much as you can about it”; “When we reduce what we own, and essentially detox our house, it has a detoxifying effect on our bodies”) are peppered throughout the step-by-step guides for being kinder, “beating the Monday blahs,” and finding greater meaning in one’s career. Her plans for action are rounded out by photos, listicles, tip-filled sidebars, and tables of statistics (such as lists of the happiest countries and cities). She stresses that the key to achieving a happier life is rooted in focusing on the essentials and getting rid of “baggage,” and includes interviews with experts such as celebrity organizer Marie Kondo and research from organizations such as the Mayo Clinic to bolster her claims on the mind-body connection and the importance of building good habits. Those looking for easily perusable self-help lessons will love this. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/27/2020 | Release date: 03/01/2020 

– Publisher's Weekly