DESCRIPTION
Everyone longs to be happy, yet many wrongly believe that happiness comes from having enough money, fame, personal comfort, worldly success, or even dumb luck. Happiness all too often seems to be an elusive, arbitrary thing — something that is always just out of reach.
Joan Chittister sees happiness differently — as a personal quality to be learned, mastered, and fearlessly wielded. In
Happiness she embarks on a "great happiness dig" through sociology, biology, neurology, psychology, philosophy, history, and world religions to develop "an archaeology of happiness." Sifting through the wisdom of the ages, Chittister offers inspiring insights that will help seekers everywhere cultivate true and lasting happiness within.
REVIEWS
Phyllis Tickle
-- author of The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why
"Sr. Joan Chittister never disappoints; but here she has exceeded even her own high standards. Happiness is a penetrating, insightful, wide-ranging study of its subject, and yet it is much more than that. It is pastoral. A thoughtful reader will be wiser for having read it, certainly, but also more complete and, I would wager, more at peace."
Rabbi Michael Lerner
-- editor of Tikkun magazine
"Joan Chittister has hit another home run with her book Happiness. Already a contemporary saint and an embodiment of the spiritual elder 'wise woman,' Benedictine Sister Joan draws her insights not only from the most profound philosophers and every major religious tradition East and West, but also from her own experience of a life well lived, consciously lived, and beautifully lived. This book has gems and insights in every chapter that will guide and awaken the reader to the rich possibilities of life."
Library Journal (STARRED review)
"Chittister's usual excellent and fluent style lends credence to this gentle reminder of the meaning of happiness (and perhaps of life in general). A good fit for readers of any faith yearning for contentment and self-improvement."
Spirituality & Practice
"In this ambitious and wide-ranging volume, Chittister tries to track down the elusive meaning of happiness. . . . A helpful guidebook that can serve as a wise companion on your personal quest for happiness."
St. Placid Priory Newsletter
"A gentle pondering of spiritual insights has gone into cultivating this most wondrous gift that is offered us."
The Reader
"This book is a good read. Relaxing yet enjoyably challenging it gets our brains into gear and our spirits jumping for joy."