Book review: Simply Happy

I had the privilege of receiving an advance copy of
Simply Happy, a different kind of Chicken Soup for the Soul book. This time, publisher Amy Newmark has written an entire book herself, based upon the wisdom she has gained from reading all of the inspirational submissions over the years.

As you may remember, I was honored to have my first-ever Chicken Soup for the Soul submission, French Toast, accepted and published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias, which benefitted the Alzheimer’s Association.

I was as surprised as anyone to pick up a Chicken Soup for the Soul publishing credit. I am pessimistic by nature, though I prefer to refer to myself as a “realist.” My job as a journalist involves me seeing the worst and best of humanity day in and day out, and I admit the bad news seems to have more of an impact than the positive.

But that is exactly what Newmark is trying to address in this collection, which offers simple, realistic tips on generating greater happiness and satisfaction in your life. Newmark uses prior Chicken Soup for the Soul submissions as the main resource, adding what she learned or how she applied some of those lessons. Newmark was a successful Wall Street analyst before she took the Chicken Soup for the Soul helm, so she doesn’t gush rainbows and kittens, but addresses struggles that many people can relate to and how changing your perspective or outlook can help. There are no wonder cures or guarantees of happiness here, but I found myself relating to quite a few of the essays.

One that definitely hit home was the “Imposter Syndrome,” where people (especially women) feel like they are inadequate, even when everyone around them thinks they are amazing. I definitely suffer from this and am sure this is common among caregivers!

I also enjoyed the essay about removing toxic people from your life and embracing the art of saying, “No.” As caregivers, we often feel it is our duty to do everything, but that eventually leads to burnout. We have to learn when to say no and ask for help.

Simply Happy goes on sale Oct. 4th and would make a thoughtful gift. If you read it, let me know what your favorite passages were.